"Respectable Street"
Single by XTC
from the album Black Sea
ReleasedMarch 1981 (1981-03)
Recorded1980
StudioTownhouse Studios, London
Genre
Length3:56
LabelVirgin
Songwriter(s)Andy Partridge
Producer(s)Steve Lillywhite
XTC singles chronology
"Sgt. Rock (Is Going to Help Me)"
(1980)		 "Respectable Street"
(1981)		 "Senses Working Overtime"
(1982)

"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

A street view of Swindon in 2005

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

Variations

  • Original album version, Black Sea (1980)
  • Single remix (1981)
  • Live versions
  • Home demo, live studio demo, and instrumental versions released on 2017 expanded edition of Black Sea

References

  1. ↑ 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".
  2. ↑ 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.
  3. 1 2 Harris, John (2 April 2010). "The sound of the suburbs and literary tradition". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 November 2018.
  4. 1 2 Farmer, Neville (1998). XTC: Song Stories: The Exclusive Authorized Story Behind the Music. London: Helter Skelter Publishing. pp. 94, 134. ISBN 190092403X.
  5. ↑ 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)
  6. ↑ Bernhardt, Todd; Partridge, Andy (26 February 2007). "Andy discusses 'Respectable Street'". Chalkhills.
  7. ↑ Rapid, Jack (July 1997). "Upsy Daisy Assortment". The Gallery of Sound Stereo-Type.
  8. ↑ Dave (9 March 2008). "Interview of Dave Gregory". Rundgren Radio (Audio). Retrieved 14 January 2008.


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