Respectable Street
"Respectable Street" | ||||
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Single by XTC | ||||
from the album Black Sea | ||||
Released | March 1981 (1981-03) | |||
Recorded | 1980 | |||
Studio | Townhouse Studios, London | |||
Genre |
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Length | 3:56 | |||
Label | Virgin | |||
Songwriter(s) | Andy Partridge | |||
Producer(s) | Steve Lillywhite | |||
XTC singles chronology | ||||
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"Respectable Street" is a song written by Andy Partridge of XTC, released as the opening track on their 1980 album Black Sea. According to Partridge, the song is about English streets[3] and "the hypocrisy of living in a so-called respectable neighborhood. It's all talk behind twitching curtains. It's all Alan Bennett land."[4] In another interview Partridge reveals that Respectable Street was based on a real street Bowood Road in Swindon, which was diagonally opposite the flat above a shop on Kingshill Road where he was living at the time he wrote it.[5] Discounting the Canada-only "Love at First Sight", it was the fourth and last single issued from the LP. BBC Radio banned the song because of its references to abortion and a "Sony Entertainment Centre".[6]
Legacy
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8b/Bus_DSC00893_%2816198003067%29.jpg/220px-Bus_DSC00893_%2816198003067%29.jpg)
Music journalist John Harris highlighted "Respectable Street" as "one of the most evocative items in Partridge's oeuvre."[3] In 1996, critic Jack Rabid praised its "sardonic crack" and wrote "am I the only one who's noticed that super-fans Blur have ripped this song off three times already???!!!!"[7]
In 1982, it was the only song XTC performed at a televised gig simulcast in Paris, which became one of the last live performances of their career. Partridge experienced a panic attack mid-performance and walked off the stage.[4]
It is the first XTC recording in which Dave Gregory contributed his keyboard playing.[8]
Personnel
XTC
- Terry Chambers
- Dave Gregory
- Colin Moulding
- Andy Partridge
Variations
- Original album version - Black Sea (1980)
- Single remix (1981) - Rag and Bone Buffet: Rare Cuts and Leftovers
- Live versions
- BBC Radio 1 Live in Concert (1982, recorded November 1980)
- Urgh! A Music War (1981)
- Home demo, live studio demo, and instrumental versions released on 2017 expanded edition of Black Sea
References
- ^ Schabe, Patrick (27 October 2006). "The Man Who Sailed Around His Soul". PopMatters.
1980's Black Sea sold well on the album charts on the strength of its solid post-punk tracks, including "Respectable Street", "Towers of London", and "Generals and Majors".
- ^ Segretto, Mike (2022). "1982". 33 1/3 Revolutions Per Minute - A Critical Trip Through the Rock LP Era, 1955–1999. Backbeat. pp. 414–415. ISBN 9781493064601.
- ^ a b Harris, John (2 April 2010). "The sound of the suburbs and literary tradition". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 November 2018.
- ^ a b Farmer, Neville (1998). XTC: Song Stories: The Exclusive Authorized Story Behind the Music. London: Helter Skelter Publishing. pp. 94, 134. ISBN 190092403X.
- ^ Partridge, Andy (2016). Complicated game : inside the songs of XTC. Todd Bernhardt (1st ed.). London. p. 110. ISBN 978-1-908279-78-1. OCLC 900032028.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ Bernhardt, Todd; Partridge, Andy (26 February 2007). "Andy discusses 'Respectable Street'". Chalkhills.
- ^ Rapid, Jack (July 1997). "Upsy Daisy Assortment". The Gallery of Sound Stereo-Type.
- ^ Dave (9 March 2008). "Interview of Dave Gregory". Rundgren Radio (Audio). Retrieved 14 January 2008.
External links
- "Respectable Street" on Chalkhills
- Respectable Street on Discogs
- Respectable Street on MusicBrainz
- 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
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