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Andy Partridge





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  Name Andy Partridge
  Img XTC2000ejpg
  Img Capt 2000 Wasp Star promo shot
  Img Size <!-- Only use for images smaller than 220 pixels -->
  Background temporary
  Birth Name Andrew John Partridge
  Born <br> Valletta , Malta
  Origin Swindon , Wiltshire , England
  Instrument Guitar, singing
  Genre New Wave
  Occupation Guitarist , Singer , Songwriter ,
  Years Active 1972-present
  Label Virgin , Idea , APE House {Link without Title}
  Associated Acts XTC , The Dukes Of Stratosphear
  URL http://wwwapeuknet
  Notable Instruments Fano Guitar


Andy Partridge (born Andrew John Partridge, on 11 November 1953 , in Valletta , Malta ) is a founding member, Guitarist and chief Songwriter of the New Wave Band , XTC . He lives in Swindon , Wiltshire , where he was raised. He is famous for his creative use of the twelve string guitar in his songs.

Partridge also serves as XTC's de facto art director. Most of the band's '' took shape after Partridge requested "lots of rusty junk" and proceeded to create a mockup of the band members with it. As XTC gained popularity, they had been on tour for the bulk of a five-year period ending in 1982, when Partridge, suffering from stress-related illnesses reportedly brought about by his wife throwing out his supply of Valium , forced the band to stop touring.

In addition to his work with XTC, Partridge has released Demo s of his Song s under his own name in the ''Fuzzy Warbles'' album series on his APE House Record Label . Eight individual volumes of ''Fuzzy Warbles'' are now available, as well as the ''Fuzzy Warbles Collector's Album'', which includes a bonus ninth disc ''Hinges''. He has collaborated (as performer, writer or Record Producer ) with numerous Recording Artist s including Robyn Hitchcock , Veda Hille , Charlotte Hatherley , Peter Blegvad , The Residents , and Mitch Friedman .

Partridge also served initially as the producer for the English band Blur during the recording of '' Modern Life Is Rubbish ''. However, he was replaced by Stephen Street at the insistence of their record label Food, due to Partridge's lack of "street-cred" with the music press of the period. Other collaborations that failed to bear fruit included unused writing contributions for Sophie Ellis-Bextor and a proposed writing partnership with Brian Wilson which never progressed past a telephone enquiry from Wilson's PA .

In 2004, Partridge contributed the song ''"I Wonder Why the Wonder Falls"'' as the Theme Music to the short-lived TV drama '' Wonderfalls ''. In 2006, a song he and Robyn Hitchcock collaborated on, ''"'Cause It's Love (Saint Parallelogram)"'' was released on the Robyn Hitchcock & the Venus 3 album '' Olé! Tarantula ''.

Partridge has enjoyed periodic popularity as a broadcaster, most notably in the mid-1980s when he was a regular performer on BBC Radio 1. Most famously he posed as 'Agony Andy', a spoof agony aunt on the Janice Long show, but he also contributed comic items to '' Saturday Live '' and '' Studio B15 '', and was a regular panelist on both '' Roundtable '' and ''The Great Rock'n'Roll Trivia Quiz''. He has also presented the pilot for an ITV children's quiz show ''Matchmakers'', and written sketches for Channel 4's '' Armstrong And Miller ''.

Partridge and his ex-wife Marianne have two children, Holly and Harry. He has been in a long-term relationship with Erica Wexler - Daughter of American screenwriter Norman Wexler - since his Divorce .


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