Wasp Star (Apple Venus Volume 2) is the 14th studio album by the English rock band XTC, released on Cooking Vinyl/Idea Records on 23 May 2000. It is the follow-up to 1999's Apple Venus Volume 1 and contains rock-based material largely written between 1994 and 1996.Wasp Star reached number 40 on the UK Albums Chart. In 2002, the group released an instrumental version of the album entitled Waspstrumental. XTC dissolved in 2006, leaving Wasp Star their final studio album to date.

Apple Venus Volume 1 was originally supposed to be a double album, but Andy Partridge and Colin Moulding were persuaded to divide it into two releases, with the orchestral material on Apple Venus Volume 1 and the other songs on Wasp Star. By this stage, guitarist and singer Andy Partridge and bassist and singer Colin Moulding were the only two band members left. The duo therefore utilised session musicians on every track to fill in the musical elements that they were incapable of performing themselves. Partridge's daughter Holly made her singing debut on record singing backup vocals in the song "Playground"; she now sings and plays guitar in the English pop-rock group The SheBeats.

Colin Moulding's songs were all older material presented for previous albums but rejected due to space or other considerations. "Standing In For Joe" was originally written for aborted 'Bubblegum' album project in the early 1990s and "In Another Life" was originally demoed for Oranges & Lemons.

All tracks written by Andy Partridge, except where noted.

XTC

Additional personnel

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