Easter Theatre
"Easter Theatre" | ||||
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Single by XTC | ||||
from the album Apple Venus Volume 1 | ||||
Released | 2 April 1999 (1999-04-02) | |||
Recorded | 1998 | |||
Genre | Chamber pop | |||
Length | 4:37 | |||
Label | Cooking Vinyl | |||
Songwriter(s) | Andy Partridge | |||
Producer(s) |
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XTC singles chronology | ||||
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Audio sample | ||||
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"Easter Theatre" is a song written by Andy Partridge of the English rock band XTC, released as the lead single from their 1999 album Apple Venus Volume 1. According to Partridge, the lyrics were an attempt to match a "muddy" ascending chord progression. "There's the little melodic figure at the beginning, which I thought sounded medieval and earthy, combined with placid, droning high keyboard chords, which sound like you're floating—so it suggested floating over a land."[1] He further elaborated in an interview with Guitar Player magazine: "The ascending figure sounds like something pushing up and growing out - like springtime. The whole meaning of the song came out of the onomatopoeia of these ascending chords."[2]
Partridge called "Easter Theatre" one of the few "perfect songs" of his career in a 2010 interview for the XTC fansite Chalkhills, feeling that he had "exorcized a lot of those kind of Lennon-and-McCartney, Bacharach-and-David, Brian Wilson type ghosts out of my system" with the song.[3] He jokingly apologized for "the fake Brian May guitar solo ... I thought it was really incongruous, but everyone thought I should leave it."[2] Demo and instrumental versions of the song appear on Homespun (1999) and Instruvenus (2002), respectively.
Personnel
XTC
- Andy Partridge – vocals, electric guitar, keyboards
- Colin Moulding – bass, backing vocals
- Dave Gregory – Mellotron, acoustic guitar, keyboard programming
Additional performers
- Prairie Prince – drums, percussion
- Steve Sidwell – trumpet
References
- ^ Rooksby, Rikky (2006). Lyrics: Writing Better Words for Your Songs. Backbeat Books. p. 86. ISBN 978-1-4768-5344-4.
- ^ a b Swenson, Kyle (April 1999). "Orchestral XTC". Guitar Player.
- ^ Bernhardt, Todd (27 June 2010). "Andy answers fans' questions about guitar playing and players -- Part I". Chalkhills.
External links
- "Easter Theatre" on Chalkhills
- v
- t
- e
- Andy Partridge
- Colin Moulding
- Terry Chambers
- Barry Andrews
- Dave Gregory
- White Music
- Go 2
- Drums and Wires
- Black Sea
- English Settlement
- Mummer
- The Big Express
- 25 O'Clock
- Skylarking
- Psonic Psunspot
- Oranges & Lemons
- Nonsuch
- Apple Venus Volume 1
- Wasp Star (Apple Venus Volume 2)
- Waxworks: Some Singles 1977–1982
- Beeswax: Some B-Sides 1977–1982
- The Compact XTC
- Chips from the Chocolate Fireball
- Explode Together: The Dub Experiments 78-80
- Rag and Bone Buffet: Rare Cuts and Leftovers
- Drums and Wireless: BBC Radio Sessions 77–89
- Fossil Fuel: The XTC Singles 1977–92
- Upsy Daisy Assortment
- Transistor Blast: The Best of the BBC Sessions
- Coat of Many Cupboards
- Apple Box
- Psurroundabout Ride
- "Statue of Liberty"
- "This Is Pop?"
- "Life Begins at the Hop"
- "Making Plans for Nigel"
- "Generals and Majors"
- "Towers of London"
- "Sgt. Rock (Is Going to Help Me)"
- "Respectable Street"
- "Senses Working Overtime"
- "Ball and Chain"
- "Wonderland"
- "Love on a Farmboy's Wages"
- "Thanks for Christmas"
- "All You Pretty Girls"
- "This World Over"
- "Wake Up"
- "Grass"
- "The Meeting Place"
- "Dear God"
- "Mayor of Simpleton"
- "King for a Day"
- "The Disappointed"
- "The Ballad of Peter Pumpkinhead"
- "Easter Theatre"
- A Testimonial Dinner: The Songs of XTC
- Fuzzy Warbles
- Great Aspirations
- Homespun
- Homegrown
- Take Away / The Lure of Salvage
- Waspstrumental
- XTC: This Is Pop
- Planet England