"I like accidents. I like to put myself in the way of musical harm. I like being at the wheel of that musical car, and aiming it at the wall, just to see what shape the car's going to come out. It might come out an interesting shape that would have taken me forever to decide on otherwise." Complicated Game offers unique insight into the work of XTC founder Andy Partridge, one of Britain's most original and influential songwriters. It is also an unprecedentedly revealing and instructive guide to how songs and records are made. Developed from a series of interviews conducted over many months, it explores in detail some thirty of Partridge's songs - including such well-known singles as 'Senses Working Overtime' and the controversial 'Dear God' - from throughout XTC's thirty-year career, as well as an extensive interview dedicated solely to the art and craft of songwriting. While the interviews cast new light on the writing of lyrics, the construction of melodies and arrangements, the process of recording, and the workings of the music industry, they are also filled with anecdotes about Partridge, his XTC bandmates, and their adventures around the world - all told with the songwriter's legendary humour. This fascinating book also includes pages from Partridge's songwriting notebooks and reproductions of his original artwork designs; a guided tour of his hometown of Swindon; and a foreword by Steven Wilson, the guitarist, songwriter, and record producer best known as the founder and leader of Porcupine Tree.

Written and compiled from hours of interviews with Andy Partridge, Colin Moulding and Dave Gregory, this biography offers an often moving account of the trials and tribulations that have beset the Swindon based art rockers since their emergence in 1977.

XTC's Andy Partridge, Colin Moulding, an Dave Gregory have remained willfully out of the limelight -- until now. XTC: The Exclusive Authorized Story behind the Music provides all the information fans have waited decades for! The book follows the musical and personal evolution of XTC album by album, beginning with the band's founding back in the early seventies in Swindon, an English industrial town that is still the band's home. Each chapter is a breakdown of all XTC's songs, what the lyrics mean, how the melodies were created, and what happened in the studio. Throw in dozens of photographs and memorabilia from the band's own archives, add the release of a long-awaited new album simultaneously with the book's publication, and what you get is an electric bestseller.XTC's last three albums sold over 1.5 million copies. A few of their many classic singles include "Dear God", "Peter Pumpkinhead", "Wrapped in Grey", and "Making Plans for Nigel".

Clubbing explores the cultures and spaces of clubbing. Divided into three sections: Beginnings, The Night Out and Reflections, Clubbing includes first-hand accounts of clubbing experiences, framing these accounts within the relevant research and a review of clubbing in late-1990s Britain. Malbon particularly focuses on: the codes of social interaction among clubbers issues of gender and sexuality the effects of music the role of ecstasy clubbing as a playful act and personal interpretations of clubbing experiences.

Based on extensive original interviews, the detailed story of the beloved American rockers' formative years in the Midwest, and how those rural roads carried Cheap Trick to multiplatinum success.

Two iconic bands. An unforgettable life. One of the most dynamic groups of the ‘70s and ‘80s, Talking Heads, founded by drummer Chris Frantz, his girlfriend Tina Weymouth, and lead singer David Byrne, burst onto the music scene, playing at CBGBs, touring Europe with the Ramones, and creating hits like “Psycho Killer” and “Burning Down the House” that captured the post-baby boom generation’s intense, affectless style. In Remain in Love, Frantz writes about the beginnings of Talking Heads—their days as art students in Providence, moving to the sparse Chrystie Street loft Frantz, Weymouth, and Byrne shared where the music that defined an era was written. With never-before-seen photos and immersive vivid detail, Frantz describes life on tour, down to the meals eaten and the clothes worn—and reveals the mechanics of a long and complicated working relationship with a mercurial frontman. At the heart of Remain in Love is Frantz’s love for Weymouth: their once-in-a-lifetime connection as lovers, musicians, and bandmates, and how their creativity surged with the creation of their own band Tom Tom Club, bringing a fresh Afro-Caribbean beat to hits like “Genius of Love.” Studded with memorable places and names from the era—Grace Jones, Andy Warhol, Stephen Sprouse, Lou Reed, Brian Eno, and Debbie Harry among them—Remain in Love is a frank and open memoir of an emblematic life in music and in love.