25 O'Clock

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25 O'Clock

Studio album by XTC as The Dukes of Stratosphear

Released

1 April 1985

Recorded

December 1984
Chapel Lane Studios, Hereford, England

Genre

Neo-psychedelia

Length

26:43

Label

Virgin Records

Producer

John Leckie, Swami Anand Nagara and The Dukes

XTC as The Dukes of Stratosphear chronology

The Big Express
(1984)

25 O'Clock
(1985)

Skylarking
(1986)

Singles from 25 O'Clock

"The Mole from the Ministry"
Released: April 1985

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	^[1]
Pitchfork	(7.7/10) ^[2]
Piero Scaruffi	6/10^[3]

25 O'Clock is a mini-album from XTC which was released under their pseudonym The Dukes of Stratosphear, and is their eighth studio album. Joined by XTC member Dave Gregory's brother Ian on drums, the Dukes indulged in the stylistic tropes of 1960s psychedelia, particularly the British variety.

Released on April Fool's Day 1985, the mini-album was a tongue in cheek homage to the heyday of psychedelic rock. Several of the tracks were made to sound like individual bands (like the Syd Barrett-era Pink Floyd sound of "Bike Ride to the Moon"). Others were simply a pastiche of the styles of the period as a whole. Though recorded on contemporary 1980s equipment, the mixing and overdubs closely replicate production techniques used in the mid-to-late 1960s. The album is also notable for its cover art (drawn by Partridge) which resembled the cover on the 1967 LP Disraeli Gears by Cream.

The band issued a single and made a promotional film for "The Mole from the Ministry". The film contains visual references to Magical Mystery Tour by The Beatles and the promotional films for "Arnold Layne" and "The Scarecrow" by Pink Floyd.

The material on the 25 O'Clock mini-album (including the "hidden message" at the end of side two) was merged with the 1987 album Psonic Psunspot for release as Chips from the Chocolate Fireball: An Anthology on CD, simultaneous with Psonic Psunspot's vinyl release.

A remastered and expanded version of 25 O'Clock was released on 20 April 2009 by Andy Partridge's Ape House record label. This edition of 25 O'Clock is credited to "XTC as The Dukes of Stratosphear"

Track listing

All songs written and composed by Sir John Johns, except where noted.

LP: WOW 1

Side A
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"25 O'Clock"		5:01
2.	"Bike Ride to the Moon"		2:24
3.	"My Love Explodes"		3:54

Side B
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"What in the World??..."	The Red Curtain	5:01
2.	"Your Gold Dress"		4:38
3.	"The Mole from the Ministry"		5:50

CD: APECD023

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"25 O'Clock"		5:02
2.	"Bike Ride to the Moon"		2:23
3.	"My Love Explodes"		3:48
4.	"What in the World??..."	The Red Curtain	5:00
5.	"Your Gold Dress"		4:41
6.	"The Mole from the Ministry"		5:49
7.	"25 O'Clock (Demo)"		2:25
8.	"Bike Ride to the Moon (Demo)"		1:30
9.	"My Love Explodes (Demo)"		1:54
10.	"What in the World??... (Demo)"	Curtain	3:40
11.	"Nicely Nicely Jane (Demo)"		1:17
12.	"Susan Revolving (Demo)"		1:24
13.	"Black Jewelled Serpent of Sound (Radio Caroline Edit)"		2:17
14.	"Open a Can of Human Beans"	Curtain	4:44
15.	"Tin Toy Clockwork Train"		3:17

Also includes the promotional video for "The Mole from the Ministry" as a QuickTime file.

Personnel

Credits

Produced by John Leckie, Swami Anand Nagara and The Dukes

Other versions

On the tribute album A Testimonial Dinner: The Songs of XTC, They Might Be Giants contributed a cover version of "25 O'Clock".

References

↑ Cater, Evan. "Review: The Dukes of Stratosphear - 25 O'Clock". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 18 June 2011.
↑ Dahlen, Chris. "Review: The Dukes of Stratosphear - 25 O'Clock". Pitchfork. Retrieved 18 June 2011.
↑ Scaruffi, Piero (1999). "XTC". pieroscaruffi.com. Retrieved January 17, 2014.

v t e XTC

Andy Partridge Colin Moulding Terry Chambers Barry Andrews Dave Gregory

Studio albums	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)

EPs	3D - EP

Live albums	BBC Radio 1 Live in Concert

Compilations	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

Other albums	Homespun Homegrown Instruvenus Waspstrumental

Related articles	Discography The Dukes of Stratosphear Urgh! A Music War A Testimonial Dinner: The Songs of XTC

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