Chips From The Chocolate Fireball

This album is a compilation of an EP (25 O’Clock) and an LP (Psonic Psunspots) released by The Dukes of Stratosphear in 1985 (April Fool’s Day) and 1987, respectively. The band was the alter-ego group of XTC, who paid tribute to many of their favorite psychedelic era bands of their teens. Homage can be heard given to Syd Barrett’s Pink Floyd,The Blue Magoos, The Electric Prunes, Pepper’s era Beatles, The Move, The Birds, The Beach Boys as well as others. Sir John Johns (Andy Partridge) wrote the lion’s share of the songs, while The Red Curtain (Colin Moulding) contributed his own gems as well. Lord Cornelius Plum (Dave Gregory) and brother E.I.E.I. Owen (Ian Gregory) filled in on guitar, melotron and drums. “Swami” John Leckie produced. The 1985 EP came after XTC’s The Big Express (released 1984) where Partridge can be heard lamenting on the last track, “My Train is Running Low on Soul Coal”, alluding to the possibility that his creative powers may have been on the wane. But the Dukes project opened up an entirely new sound and approach for XTC that was crystalized in 1986’s “Skylarking”, considered by many to be their finest hour. “This Is Pop” at it’s finest. The band considered the EP to be a bit more inspired than the subsequent LP. They put in place the rule that no take could be attempted more than twice, to create the raw garage band psychedelic feel that they were aiming for. “Psonic Psunspots” however, had more time and a larger budget from Virgin records to work with, but lacked the spontaneous feel, although many of the tracks are dead ringers for the heros they are paying tribute to.