On October 27, 1986, “Virgin” label released “Skylarking”, the ninth XTC studio album. It was recorded in 1986, at “Utopia Sound Studios” in Woodstock, NY; “The Sound Hole Studios” in San Francisco, and was produced by Todd Rundgren.
Personnel:
- Andy Partridge– vocals, guitar
- Colin Moulding– vocals, bass, and bonfire
- Dave Gregory– vocals, guitar, piano, synthesizer, Chamberlin, string arrangement, the odd tiple
- Prairie Prince– “the part of the time bomb” (i.e., drums)
- Beech Avenue Boys (i.e., XTC) – backing vocals
- Todd Rundgren– melodica, keyboards, backing vocals, orchestral arrangements, computer programming, engineer
- Mingo Lewis – percussion
- Charlie McCarthy – alto and tenor saxophone, flute
- Bob Ferreira – tenor saxophone, piccolo, bass clarinet
- Dave Bendigkeit – trumpet
- Dean Hubbard – trombone
- John Tenney – violin
- Emily Van Valkenburgh – violin
- Rebecca Sebring – viola
- Teressa Adams – cello
- Jasmine Veillette – vocals
- Kim Foscatoand, George Cowan – additional engineering
- Greg Fulginiti – mastering
Track listing:
All tracks by Andy Partridge, except where noted.
- Summer’s Cauldron
- Grass – Colin Moulding
- The Meeting Place – Colin Moulding
- That’s Really Super, Supergirl
- Ballet for a Rainy Day
- 1000 Umbrellas
- Season Cycle
- Earn Enough for Us
- Big Day
- Another Satellite
- Mermaid Smiled
- The Man Who Sailed Around His Soul
- Dying – Colin Moulding
- Sacrificial Bonfire – Colin Moulding