Colin Moulding

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Colin Moulding
Colin Moulding.jpg
Moulding in 1978
Background information
Birth nameColin Ivor Moulding
Also known asThe Red Curtain, The Colonel
Born (1955-08-17) 17 August 1955 (age 68)
Swindon, Wiltshire, England [1]
Genres Rock, pop
Occupation(s)Musician, songwriter, singer
Instrument(s) Bass, vocals, guitar, keyboards
Years active1972–present
Labels Cooking Vinyl, Geffen, Idea, Virgin
Formerly of

Colin Ivor Moulding (born 17 August 1955) is an English bassist, singer, and songwriter who was one of the core members of the rock band XTC. Moulding wrote their first three charting UK singles: "Life Begins at the Hop" (1979), "Making Plans for Nigel" (1979) and "Generals and Majors" (1980).

Contents

Life and career

Moulding is self-taught as a bass player; he was learning rock riffs at the age of 15. He cites Andy Fraser of Free as an early musical influence, and has stated a preference for an intuitive approach to writing and playing rather than study. [2] When writing songs Moulding has used guitars and keyboards rather than the bass guitar. [3]

Outside his work with XTC (and their alter-ego side project The Dukes of Stratosphear), Moulding released a non-charting solo single ("Too Many Cooks in the Kitchen" b/w "I Need Protection") in 1980 under the pseudonym "The Colonel".[ citation needed ]

In 1986, David Gilmour approached Moulding over becoming Pink Floyd's new bass player following Roger Waters' departure. He turned it down as XTC were in the midst of recording Skylarking . [4]

He later played bass and co-produced one track on the 1994 Sam Phillips album Martinis and Bikinis , and in 2005, he contributed to Billy Sherwood's Pink Floyd tribute album Return to the Dark Side of the Moon , playing bass and singing lead vocal on "Brain Damage".[ citation needed ]

In 1995, Moulding contributed bass on several tracks of French band L'Affaire Louis' Trio's album L'Homme aux mille vies.

In February 2007, Partridge told music website Pitchfork Media that Moulding was "not interested in music any more, and doesn't want to write". [5] Moulding concurred in having a recent loss of interest in music. [2]

In November 2008, he emerged for an interview about "Making Plans For Nigel" for an installment in the series of interviews by Todd Bernhardt. He gave a two-hour interview in December on the Todd Rundgren fansite, Rundgren Radio. [2]

Moulding made vocal contributions to a Billy Sherwood progressive rock album (The Prog Collective, August 2012), combining with Rick Wakeman on "Check Point Karma". He performed a lead vocal for the song "The Man Who Died Two Times" from the album In Extremis by the progressive rock band Days Between Stations (released 15 May 2013) and appears in the video for the song, released in June 2014. [6]

In 2012, he appeared on Sherwood's tribute album to Supertramp.[ citation needed ]

Moulding played bass on "High Noon", a track on Anton Barbeau's 2016 release Magic Act, and contributed vocals to the title track of Little World, a 2016 collaboration between Barbeau and Sacramento singer Allyson Seconds. Moulding also appeared in both the "High Noon" and "Little World" videos. [7]

In 2017, Moulding and former XTC drummer Terry Chambers recorded an EP titled Great Aspirations that was credited to "TC&I". It was released on 20 October 2017. [8] In October/November 2018 TC&I, featuring Moulding, Chambers, Steve Tilling, Gary Bamford, Susannah Bevington and Moulding's son Lee, played a series of six gigs at the Swindon Arts Centre. The sets consisted of a selection of Moulding's songs from XTC's career plus material from the TC&I EP and a cover of Andy Partridge's "Statue of Liberty". Highlights of the concerts were released in August 2019 on CD and in download format under the title 'Naked Flames: Live at Swindon Arts Centre'. [9]

Discography

'XTC studio album appearances' ( more correctly 'writing credits')

Other studio album appearances

Naked Flames (TC&I live album) (2019)

Solo

Compilation album appearances

Non-album XTC songs

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">XTC</span> English rock band

XTC were an English rock band formed in Swindon in 1972. Fronted by songwriters Andy Partridge and Colin Moulding, the band gained popularity during the rise of punk and new wave in the 1970s, later playing in a variety of styles that ranged from angular guitar riffs to elaborately arranged pop. Partly because the group did not fit into contemporary trends, they achieved only sporadic commercial success in the UK and US, but attracted a considerable cult following. They have since been recognised for their influence on post-punk, Britpop and later power pop acts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andy Partridge</span> English musician and XTC founder

Andrew John Partridge is an English guitarist, singer, songwriter, and record producer who founded the rock band XTC. He and Colin Moulding each acted as a songwriter and frontman for XTC, with Partridge writing and singing about two-thirds of the group's material. While the band were a formative punk group, Partridge's music drew heavily from 1960s songwriters, and his style gradually shifted to more traditional pop, often with pastoral themes. The band's only UK top 10 hit, "Senses Working Overtime" (1982), was written by Partridge.

<i>Oranges & Lemons</i> (album) 1989 studio album by XTC

Oranges & Lemons is the 11th studio album and the second double album by the English band XTC, released 27 February 1989 on Virgin Records. It is the follow-up to 1986's Skylarking. The title was chosen in reference to the band's poor financial standing at the time, while the music is characterised as a 1980s update of 1960s psychedelia. It received critical acclaim and became the band's highest-charting album since 1982's English Settlement, rising to number 28 in the UK and number 44 in the US.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Billy Sherwood</span> American singer and multi-instrumentalist

William Wyman Sherwood is an American multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, singer, record producer and mixing engineer. He is best known for his tenures in the English progressive rock band Yes as guitarist and keyboardist in 1994 and from 1997 to 2000 and as bassist since 2015, following the death of original bassist Chris Squire. He is also known for working with former and current Yes members on other projects.

<i>English Settlement</i> 1982 studio album by XTC

English Settlement is the fifth studio album and first double album by the English rock band XTC, released 12 February 1982 on Virgin Records. It marked a turn towards the more pastoral pop songs that would dominate later XTC releases, with an emphasis on acoustic guitar, 12-string electric guitar and fretless bass. In some countries, the album was released as a single LP with five tracks deleted. The title refers to the Uffington White Horse depicted on the cover, to the "settlement" of viewpoints, and to the Englishness that the band felt they "settled" into the record.

<i>Nonsuch</i> (album) 1992 studio album by XTC

Nonsuch is the 12th studio album by the English band XTC, released 27 April 1992 on Virgin Records. The follow-up to Oranges & Lemons (1989), Nonsuch is a relatively less immediate and more restrained sounding album, carrying the band's psychedelic influences into new musical styles, and displaying a particular interest in orchestral arrangements. The LP received critical acclaim, charted at number 28 in the UK Albums Chart, and number 97 on the US Billboard 200, as well as topping Rolling Stone's College album chart.

<i>Go 2</i> 1978 studio album by XTC

Go 2 is the second studio album by the English band XTC, released 6 October 1978 on Virgin Records. The United Kingdom version contained no singles, but the American and Canadian versions included the single "Are You Receiving Me?" released on 27 October 1978 along with a music video produced for the song.

<i>Skylarking</i> 1986 studio album by XTC

Skylarking is the ninth studio album by the English rock band XTC, released 27 October 1986 on Virgin Records. Produced by American musician Todd Rundgren, it is a loose concept album about a nonspecific cycle, such as a day, a year, the seasons, or a life. The title refers to a type of bird (skylark), as well as the Royal Navy term "skylarking", which means "fooling around". It became one of XTC's best-known albums and is generally regarded as their finest work.

<i>The Big Express</i> 1984 studio album by XTC

The Big Express is the seventh studio album by the English rock band XTC, released on 15 October 1984 by Virgin Records. It is an autobiographical concept album inspired by the band's hometown of Swindon and its railway system, the Swindon Works. In comparison to its predecessor Mummer (1983), which had a modest, pastoral approach to production, the album features a bright, uptempo sound marked by studio experimentation and denser arrangements, setting a template that they further developed on subsequent albums.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Terry Chambers</span> English drummer

Terry Peter Chambers is an English drummer who was a member of the band XTC from 1972 to 1982 and the popular Australian–New Zealand group Dragon between 1983 and 1985. He appears on all of XTC's albums between White Music (1978) and Mummer (1983).

<i>3D EP</i> 1977 EP by XTC

3D EP is the debut record by English rock band XTC, released on 7 October 1977 through Virgin Records. The songs were recorded and mixed at Abbey Road Studios with production and engineering by John Leckie. "I'm Bugged" and "New Town Animal in a Furnished Cage" were also recorded at these sessions and these versions later appeared on their debut LP White Music (1978). Promotional videos were made for "Science Friction", "She's So Square" and "Dance Band". These same songs appeared on the White Music CD as bonus tracks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anton Barbeau</span> American singer-songwriter

Anton Barbeau is an American psychedelic singer-songwriter and producer from Sacramento, California. He is a multi-instrumentalist, playing guitar, piano, bass guitar, drums, synthesizers, and Mellotron.

<i>Apple Box</i> 2005 box set by XTC

Apple Box is a box set by XTC compiling Apple Venus Volume 1 and Wasp Star along with their respective demo albums Homespun and Homegrown. It is the third box set of their career following Transistor Blast: The Best of the BBC Sessions and Coat of Many Cupboards, released by Idea Records.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dear God (XTC song)</span> 1987 single by XTC

"Dear God" is a song by the English rock band XTC that was first released as a non-album single with the A-side "Grass". Written by Andy Partridge, the song lyrics grapple with the existence of God and the problem of evil. Partridge was inspired by a series of books with the same title, which Partridge viewed as exploitative of children. The song was originally intended for the album Skylarking, but left off due to concerns from Partridge and Virgin Records. After college radio DJs across America picked up the song, US distributor Geffen Records recalled and re-pressed Skylarking with the track included.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Days Between Stations</span>

Days Between Stations is a partnership between guitarist Sepand Samzadeh and keyboardist Oscar Fuentes Bills. They named the band after the 1985 novel by Steve Erickson. Samzadeh describes the band's sound as "art-rock", while Fuentes describes it as "post-prog".

<i>In Extremis</i> (Days Between Stations album) 2013 studio album by Days Between Stations

In Extremis is the second full-length album by the Los Angeles, California based progressive rock band Days Between Stations. In Extremis is a concept album about a man at the point of death. The title "In Extremis" refers to the Latin term "In extremity" – A term used in reference to the last illness prior to death.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grass (XTC song)</span> 1986 single by XTC

"Grass" is a song written by Colin Moulding of the English rock band XTC, released as the lead single from their 1986 album Skylarking. It reached number 100 on the UK Singles Chart.

<i>Great Aspirations</i> 2017 EP by TC&I

Great Aspirations is the debut record by English duo TC&I. The EP was released on 7 October 2017. The record marked the first recordings made by Chambers since 1984 when, after leaving XTC, he relocated to Australia and joined the band Dragon, touring with them from 1983 to 1984 and recording an album. With the exception of guest appearances as a session vocalist, bass player, and collaborator on several albums, the EP also marked the return to recording by Moulding, his first new recordings since XTC's disbandment in 2006.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ball and Chain (XTC song)</span> 1982 single by XTC

"Ball and Chain" is a song written by Colin Moulding of XTC for their 1982 album English Settlement. It was issued as the second single from the album on 26 February 1982, following the success of the band's biggest hit "Senses Working Overtime". The single reached No. 58 in the UK Singles Chart.

<i>Giants</i> (Days Between Stations album) 2020 studio album by Days Between Stations

Giants is the third full-length album by the Los Angeles, California-based band Days Between Stations and features guest appearances by XTC member Colin Moulding, Billy Sherwood of Yes and backing vocalist for Pink Floyd, Durga McBroom. It was released on September 21, 2020.

References

  1. "XTC biography – accessed July 2008". Oldies.com. Retrieved 18 July 2011.
  2. 1 2 3 Doug Interview of Colin Moulding Archived 25 February 2009 at the Wayback Machine Rundgren Radio (fansite), 7 December 2008, Retrieved 9 December 2008
  3. "XTC The Optimism's Flames Colin Moulding interview - June 16, 2003". Optimismsflames.com. 16 June 2003. Retrieved 18 April 2017.
  4. Kendall, Jo (17 August 2023). ""I had a phone call from Dave Gilmour and he said, 'Would you be interested in coming down?' Former XTC man Colin Moulding on how he almost joined Pink Floyd". louder. Retrieved 19 August 2023.
  5. pitchforkmedia.com Archived 17 July 2007 at the Wayback Machine
  6. "DAYS BETWEEN STATIONS RELEASE THEIR FIRST EVER PROMO VIDEO!". prog.teamrock.com. Retrieved 24 June 2014.
  7. "POPDOSE VIDEO PREMIERE: ALLYSON SECONDS, "Little World"". Popdose.com. 27 September 2016. Retrieved 20 November 2017.
  8. Ham, Robert (26 November 2017). "Colin Moulding on Reteaming With Terry Chambers for 'DIY' New Project & Possibility of XTC Reunion". Billboard . Retrieved 19 July 2018.
  9. "TC&I Naked Flames: Live at Swindon Arts Centre". Jammerzine.