Andy Partridge
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| Andy Partridge | ||
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 2000 Wasp Star promo shot
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| Background information | ||
| Birth name | Andrew John Partridge | |
| Born | November 11, 1953 Valletta,  Malta |
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| Origin |  Swindon, Wiltshire, England |
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| Genre(s) | New Wave | |
| Occupation(s) | Guitarist, singer, songwriter, | |
| Instrument(s) | Guitar, singing | |
| Years active | 1972-present | |
| Label(s) | Virgin, Idea, APE House | |
| Associated acts |
XTC, The Dukes of Stratosphear | |
| Website | http://www.ape.uk.net/ | |
| Notable instrument(s) | ||
| 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.
Partridge also serves as XTC's de facto art director. Most of the band's album cover art is based on his ideas. For example, the back cover of Rag and Bone Buffet: Rare Cuts and Leftovers 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 demos of his songs 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 artists including Robyn Hitchcock, Veda Hille, Charlotte Hatherley, Peter Blegvad 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 Hitchcock's Ole! Tarantula album with The Venus 3.
Partridge and his ex-wife Marianne have two children, Holly and Harry. He has been in a long-term relationship with Erica Wexler - niece of legendary American producer Jerry Wexler - since his divorce.
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