XTC a Staple of the '80s Despite Taking the Quiet Path

Nobody saw Andy Partridge whooping it up as a guest MTV veejay during the '80s or Colin Moulding sweeping the land with his own line of men's fragrance, and that's precisely the reason why the British post-punk band was an absolutely necessary tonic for the excesses of one of entertainment's flashiest decades. Even after pervasive stage fright led Partridge to suspend XTC's touring days, the band simply continued to generate lively and organic pop/rock throughout the entire era, helping to invent alternative rock back when the music lacked that title and resided comfortably underground. This is '80s music at its most precise, intricate and uncompromising, and, partially because of XTC, the niche for slightly skewed pop has continued to grow despite the constant threat of obscurity. Click below for more specific XTC praise and analysis.

• Profile of XTC
• Top 8 XTC Songs of the '80s