Legendary songwriter Andy Partridge signs to Warner/Chappell

23 June 2017 - Press release

Singer-songwriter Andy Partridge has signed a worldwide deal with Warner/Chappell Music (WCM), the music publishing company of Warner Music Group. The deal covers his most recent solo releases and all of his ongoing songwriting.
 
Best known as the co-founder, main songwriter, guitarist and lead vocalist of the band XTC, Partridge has also written for other artists ranging from Jamie Cullum to The Monkees in a career spanning five decades.
 
Andy Partridge says:  “There are very few people I trust in the music industry, and with good reason, but one of the rare few is Mike Smith.  When Mike asked me to come with him to Warner/Chappell, I jumped at the chance, knowing that when Mike says something gets done, it gets done.  He's got a great sense for pairing people up, and what's going to work artistically, and what isn't.  An excellent ear for good music.  I am more than pleased to be aboard the good ship Warner/Chappell with Captain Mike at the helm.  Sail on.”
 
Mike Smith, Managing Director of WCM UK, adds:  “Andy Partridge is one of the great songwriters of his generation.  I was smitten by his music as a teenager and was lucky enough to work with him during my time at EMI, when he was nominated for an Ivor Novello, and then later when I worked in records and would approach him to collaborate with my artists.  His music has touched countless people around the globe, through an incredible catalogue of stunning albums to the many uses of his songs in film and television.  Andy is a unique talent, a superb British songwriter who has established himself both as part of a groundbreaking band and as a collaborative writer without equal.”
 
Andy Partridge co-founded the band Star Park in 1972, with friends Colin Moulding and Terry Chambers.  The band subsequently changed their name to Helium Kidz and then XTC, signing to Virgin Records and releasing their debut album White Music in 1978.
 
XTC were part of the punk and new wave explosion of the 1970s, playing music in a huge variety of styles and attracting a devoted cult following.  In 1982, the band stopped touring and became a studio project.  In total, across several different line-ups, XTC released 14 studio albums and some 40 singles before going their separate ways in 2006.
 
Partridge also wrote and recorded demos and solo material in a series of albums named Fuzzy Warbles, releasing eight volumes, as well as a collectors’ album, on his own record label Ape House.
 
He has also collaborated with artists including Peter Blegvad, Harold Budd, Jamie Cullum, Thomas Dolby, Stephen Duffy, Terry Hall, Charlotte Hatherley, Robyn Hitchcock, Miles Kane, Mike Keneally, Meat Beat Manifesto, Martin Newell, Jen Olive, Pugwash, The Heads, The Monkees, The Nines, The Residents and David Yazbek.