i thought this was the XTC forum!?

yes, Albert Brown was XTC's best drummer. His sister Savoy has a sucky blues band, and his cousin Bobby is a bastard.

Anyone else seen this?

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Okay little article, don't know where they get the idea that Andy Partridge 'doesn't do interviews' though, you can't shut the fooker up! But this gives some nice snippets about the Dukes etc.

No doubt some smart bugger will post the thing online, but I'm buggered if I know how!

Hearing this for the first time since December – Man this is guid!

Al.x

Here's a snippet from the old forum, don't know who posted -- I had a hard copy, scanned and ran it through OCR -- thought it was worthwhile:

Listen to the Hollies’ “Look Through Any Window” up against the Dukes’ “Vanishing Girl.” The direct-in Rickenbacker intro rifts are almost identical in style and sound, but on V.G. it is actually a rip-off of the melody from “The Lion Sleeps Tonight.” Very clever, indeed! Although “Kaleidoscope” is very Lennonesque psychedelia (a Ia “Lucy In The Sky , it is actually a closer pastiche of The Move’s “Blackberry Way.” “Pale And Precious” is in fact a Beach Boys Pet Sounds pastiche, which most closely resembles a morphodite union of “God Only Knows” and “Good Vibrations.” “Mole” is “Walrus” Listen also to Tears For Fears’ “Sowing The Seeds Of Love,” a great bit of neo-psychedelic tipping of the hat to “I Am The Walru.” “Shiny Cage” is “I’m Only Sleeping,” very Lennon again but replete with the dissonant but melodic, slack-stringed, George Martin composed but George Harrison executed guitar solo. “You’re My Drug” is a West-Coast pastiche of The Byrds’ “So You Want To Be A Rock & Roll Star” or “Monterey” by Eric Burdon & The Animals. My own jury is still out on “The Affiliated.” It reminds me a little of a “Rocky Raccoon” type of acoustic guitar ballad. Could also be Kinks pub psychedelia. The schmaltzy, jazzy bit in the middle is Unit 2 + 4’s “Concrete & Clay.” “It’s Snowing Angels,” incidentally, is a lot like The Loving Spoonful’s “Daydream.” “Have You Seen Jackie” is most like Pink Floyd’s “Arnold Layne.” “25 O’Clock” is The Electric Prunes’ “I Had Too Much To Dream Last Night.” “My Love Explodes” is The Yardbirds’ “Over, Under, Sideways, Down.” “Bike Ride To The Moon” is a combination of “Bike” by Pink Floyd, “My White Bicycle” by Tomorrow and “Cherry Blossom Clinic Revisited” by The Move. “Brainiac’s Daughter” is “Octopus’s Garden.” “You’re A Good Man, Albert Brown” is “Yellow Submarine,” but also smatterings of “Over The Wall We Go” byDavid Bowie (Oscar), “I Was Kaiser Bill’s Batman” byWhistlin’ Jack Smith, “The Universal” bySmall Faces, various Kinks pub psychedelia (again), among others, etc., etc.

...since the news of soon to be released remasters of XTC albums which will include extras, i'm looking forward to the Dukes reissues as i'm to understand there'll be some new stuff in there. I haven't be made aware of any extras/out takes from the Dukes sessions so i wondered if anyone else here has some info about what might be in store.

Are we expecting there to be brand new unheard tunes or do you think there'll be unused Dukes stuff which eventually morphed into XTC tracks on Skylarking, Oranges & Lemons onwards cos they definitely went more psychedelic post Dukes...

Hopefully they'll include: Susan Revolving, Nicely Nicely Jane (both have beautiful acoustic demos begging to be issued - finally), Big Day (25 O'Clock Version) and Have You Seen Sydney? (pre-Jackie).

Plus the "My Love Explodes" demo would be nice without Andy's idiotic (although I'm gonna guess he was amused) introduction of "Omnibus" that was on Fuzzy Warbles (...yeah, he introduced it not on it's own individual track - not that it warrants an introduction in any case - but on the actual same track as "My Love Explodes" while the guitar is still ringing out. You have to wonder...). And the "25 O'Clock" and "Bike Ride To The Moon" demos to boot. Maybe the Tuli Kupferberg stuff? Studio laughter? Alternate versions?

I'm hoping all this will be included with lyrics (in full colour). This is still only a mere seven bonus tracks to the initial five tracks, clocking in at a whopping twelve tracks (that's even a would-be small amount for even a standard album release).

Psonic Psunspot has no known recorded outtakes. Just alternate Lilly Fraser spoken stuff - some of which were on the Coat Of Many...box set.
Nothing hugely substantial. Just alternately trippy.

Considering other albums have much, much more in way of still-not-legitimately-released outtakes (25 O'Clock and not Black Sea?!?) I'm still wondering how 25 O'Clock could legitimately warrant a reissue, aside from the obvious (more money).

You never want to think that but, considering there has been zero real information and it's supposed release in one month's time, it's beginning to feel a lot like this is the case. And seeing that Beeswax, Explode Together and Rag & Bone Buffet are simply (supposedly) being reissued as opposed to being corrected, perfected and completed it really seems like this is in actual fact the case. These compilations were always pretty random at best and in the case of Rag & Bone edited, non-chronological and with, irritatingly, crossfading all over the place to feel less like a compilation and more like and "experience" (dramatically rolls eyes). It'd be nice to see Go + issued as bonus tracks for Go 2 (as it should've been in 2001 with "Instant Tunes") and Mr. Partridge's Take Away...be issued on it's own with cover art faithfully restored - I'm surprised it wasn't done with the Japanese mini-LP sleeve collection in 2001.

I guess we'll just have to wait and be left in the dark about the whole affair (crosses fingers in vain).

Alright, here is some cool information about the re-issues:

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Now, I'm relived.

Thanks Per!

I'm eargly awaiting my reissue CDs, especially for the "newer" Dukes songs. If Andy had felt compelled he could have given us three more new songs and we'd have a third Dukes album! Honestly, if XTC do get back together, I'd really love to see another thing from the Dukes. Do you think they feel like they are too old now? I hope not. I don't care how much like XTC it sounds really, as long as it's good and pyschedelic!

I'd have to say, hard to choose favorite tracks, I really dig them all. My top five though, hm, I'd probably go with these.

1. Vanishing Girl
2. 25 O'Clock
3. Brainiac's Daughter
4. What In The World
5. Little Lighthouse

I think there is a been there, done that feeling about the Dukes. That's just a guess. Of course I would love to see a new disc of music from them. My five favorites are:

1. Your Gold Dress
2. Bike Ride To The Moon
3. Little Lighthouse
4. Vanishing Girl
5. My Love Explodes

Yeah, I can understand that. I would have liked that bugglegum project too, the demos sound good. I suppose what I really want is new music, and some pyschedelic sounds would be nice.

My Love Explodes, duh! I forgot about that tune. I love that one. For my first year at college, I drove 14 hours (I was originally an out of state student) and I listen to the Dukes entire way. Haha, well, I had some other stuff, but for me the trip is tied to the Dukes and I will love those songs forever, no matter what.

I'm really looking forward to the remasters because the sound on the Chips CD needs to be updated.

...got my dukes re-issues this morning & currently digesting the sumptuous contents...

...the 'what in the world?' demo is a real eye opener! techno! techno! techno notice!