Stamp collecting is the collecting of postage stamps and related objects. It is related to philately, which is the study of stamps. It has been one of the world's most popular hobbies since the late nineteenth century with the rapid growth of the postal service, as a never-ending stream of new stamps was produced by countries that sought to advertise their distinctiveness through their stamps.
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.
Andrew John Partridge is an English 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 British top-10 hit, "Senses Working Overtime" (1982), was written by Partridge.
Colin Ivor Moulding is an English bassist, singer, and songwriter who was one of the core members of the rock band XTC. Though he was less prolific a songwriter than his bandmate Andy Partridge, Moulding wrote their first three charting UK singles: "Life Begins at the Hop" (1979), "Making Plans for Nigel" (1979) and "Generals and Majors" (1980).
"Garden of Earthly Delights" is a song written by Andy Partridge of the English rock band XTC, released as the opening track on their 1989 album Oranges & Lemons. Partridge wrote the song as a children's guide to the world dedicated to his son Harry Partridge. He intended it to sound "like this crazy tapestry of camels and elephants and belly dancers and all the Arabian Nights, interwoven -- a big ornate Eastern rug come to life." It features Arabic modalities and a guitar solo played through two harmonizers set to different intervals.
The Official Fuzzy Warbles Collector's Album is a CD box set of rarities from XTC guitarist and frontman Andy Partridge. The box set brings together the eight previously released Fuzzy Warbles volumes, originally issued between 2002 and 2006, and includes an exclusive ninth disc entitled Hinges. The large volume of material dates back to 1979.
Fuzzy Warbles Volume 1 is the first volume in the Fuzzy Warbles series, released in December 2002. The Fuzzy Warbles Series brings together demos, rarities and side projects from XTC founding member Andy Partridge.
Fuzzy Warbles Volume 2 is the second volume in the Fuzzy Warbles series, released in December 2002. The Fuzzy Warbles Series brings together demos, rarities and side projects from XTC founding member Andy Partridge.
Fuzzy Warbles Volume 3 is the third volume in the Fuzzy Warbles series, released in February 2003. The Fuzzy Warbles Series brings together demos, rarities and side projects from XTC founding member Andy Partridge.
Fuzzy Warbles Volume 4 is the fourth volume in the Fuzzy Warbles series, released in February 2003. The Fuzzy Warbles Series brings together demos, rarities and side projects from XTC founding member Andy Partridge.
Fuzzy Warbles Volume 5 is the fifth volume in the Fuzzy Warbles series, released in September 2004. The Fuzzy Warbles Series brings together demos, rarities and side projects from XTC founding member Andy Partridge.
Fuzzy Warbles Volume 6 is the sixth volume in the Fuzzy Warbles series, released in September 2004. The Fuzzy Warbles Series brings together demos, rarities and side projects from XTC founding member Andy Partridge.
Fuzzy Warbles Volume 7 is the seventh volume in the Fuzzy Warbles series, released in September 2006. The Fuzzy Warbles Series brings together demos, rarities and side projects from XTC founding member Andy Partridge.
Fuzzy Warbles Volume 8 is the eighth volume in the Fuzzy Warbles series, released in September 2006. The Fuzzy Warbles Series brings together demos, rarities and side projects from XTC founding member Andy Partridge.
Pebbles is an extensive series of compilation albums in both LP and CD formats that have been issued on several record labels, though mostly by AIP. Together with the companion Highs in the Mid-Sixties series, the Pebbles series made available over 800 obscure, mostly American "Original Punk Rock" songs recorded in the mid-1960s — primarily known today as the garage rock and psychedelic rock genres — that were previously known only to a handful of collectors. In 2007, the release of the Pebbles, Volume 11: Northern California CD marked the final album in the Pebbles series. The following year, Bomp! marked the 30th anniversary of the original Pebbles album with a spartan, limited-edition, clear-vinyl reissue complete with the original pink cover insert.
Pebbles is a compilation of US underground and garage single record releases from the mid- to late-1960s. It had a limited original release in 1978 and a more general release in 1979. It was followed by several subsequent Pebbles compilations and albums. This album is nowadays known as Pebbles, Volume 1 and was originally issued in 1978 as Pebbles, Volume One: Artyfacts from the First Punk Era, an obvious riff on Nuggets: Original Artyfacts from the First Psychedelic Era, a similar, groundbreaking compilation from 1972.
Merchandise related to the American television The X-Files franchise includes VHS and DVD sets, compact discs, video games, T-shirts and a magazine devoted specifically to the show.
Trash Box is a 5-CD box set of mid-1960s garage rock and psychedelic rock recordings, primarily by American bands. This box set is similar to the earlier Pebbles Box and includes almost all of the same recordings in that box set, along with numerous bonus tracks at the end of each disc. Supposedly, the Trash Box collects the first five volumes of the CDs in the Pebbles series. However, as is generally true of the CD reissues of these five volumes, the tracks differ significantly on all five discs as compared to both the original Pebbles LPs and the later Pebbles CDs in the corresponding volumes; and the surf rock rarities on Pebbles, Volume 4 have been eschewed entirely. Overall, there are 109 tracks in the box set as compared to 101 songs on the individual CDs and 72 tracks in the Pebbles Box. Although most of the recordings on the Trash Box were released at some point on one of the individual Pebbles albums, several of the songs have not appeared elsewhere in the Pebbles series. Inexplicably, one of these songs is the well-known hit "I Fought the Law " by the Bobby Fuller Four – which is also included in the Pebbles Box – in place of the much rarer "Wine Wine Wine" by Bobby Fuller that appears on Pebbles, Volume 2.
XTC released 12 original albums and over 30 singles for Virgin Records, between 1977 and 1992. They signed to Cooking Vinyl for their final two albums in 1999 and 2000.
The Dukes of Stratosphear were an English rock band formed in 1984 by Andy Partridge, Colin Moulding, Dave Gregory, and Ian Gregory. Modeled after psychedelic pop groups from the 1960s, the Dukes were initially publicised by Virgin Records as a mysterious new act, but were actually an XTC spin-off band. They recorded only two albums: 25 O'Clock (1985) and Psonic Psunspot (1987). In the UK, the records outsold XTC's then-current albums The Big Express (1984) and Skylarking (1986).
