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The Big Express

The Big Express
XTC bigexpress84.jpeg
Studio album by XTC
Released 15 October 1984
Recorded Early 1984 at Crescent Studios, Bath, England
Genre New wave, pop rock
Length 44:01
Label Virgin
Producer

David Lord, XTC

Photography: Gavin Cochrane
XTC chronology
Mummer
(1983)
The Big Express
(1984)
25 O'Clock
(1985)
Singles from The Big Express
  1. "All You Pretty Girls"
    Released: September 1984
  2. "This World Over"
    Released: October 1984
  3. "Wake Up"
    Released: January 1985
Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
AllMusic 4/5 stars
Chicago Tribune 2.5/4 stars
Encyclopedia of Popular Music 3/5 stars
The Rolling Stone Album Guide 3.5/5 stars
The Village Voice B

David Lord, XTC

The Big Express is the seventh studio album by the English band XTC, released in 1984. It was one of XTC's harder-edged albums, in contrast to the pastoral Mummer and Skylarking which were released in sequence with it. Initial copies of the LP were released in a round sleeve. Working titles considered for the album were Coalface, Head of Steam, Shaking Skin House, Bastard Son of Hard Blue Rayhead, The Known World, and Bull with the Golden Guts.

The singles released from the album were "All You Pretty Girls" (released 3 September 1984 and reached No. 55 on the UK Singles Chart), "This World Over" (released 29 October 1984) and "Wake Up" (released 28 January 1985). The album reached No. 38 on the UK Albums Chart, and No. 178 on the U.S. Billboard 200.

The band made a big-budget promotional video for "All You Pretty Girls", and appeared on the BBC-TV programme Saturday Superstore with lip-synch performances of "This World Over" and "All You Pretty Girls".

The seventh track, "I Bought Myself a Liarbird" is about their former manager, Ian Reid. The fourth track, "Seagulls Screaming Kiss Her, Kiss Her" was written by Partridge on the band's mellotron. It inspired the name of the Japanese indie rock band, Seagull Screaming Kiss Her Kiss Her.

All songs written and composed by Andy Partridge, except where noted.

with:

The Big Express spent two weeks on the UK album charts, reaching No. 38. In the U.S., the album spent 7 weeks on the Billboard 200 album charts and reached its peak position of No. 178 in December 1984.

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Wikipedia

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