John Partridge

Andrew John Partridge was born on 11 November 1953 at Mtarfa Royal Navy Hospital in Mtarfa, Malta, to English parents. He grew up on Penhill council estate in Swindon, Wiltshire. Partridge was an only child. His father John was a navy signalman, and his mother Vera a retail assistant in a chemist's shop. When Partridge entered adolescence, it was discovered that his father was having an extramarital affair; his mother consequently had a nervous breakdown, leading to her being institutionalised. She "verbally disowned" Andy once he started growing his hair long. As a teenager, Partridge was a fan of contemporary pop groups like the Beatles, but was intimidated by the process of learning guitar. When the Monkees grew popular, he became interested in joining a music group. He recalled watching local guitarist Dave Gregory performing Jimi Hendrix-style songs at churches and youth clubs: "Sort of acid-skiffle. I thought, 'Ah, one day I'll play guitar!' But I didn't think I would be in the same band as this kid on the stage." He was a good whistler as a boy, trying to learn finger whistling too and including his whistling in his song "Papersnow". He was particularly fond of psychedelic records such as Pink Floyd's "See Emily Play" (1967), Tomorrow's "My White Bicycle" (1967), and the Moles' "We Are the Moles" (1968). The first records he ever bought were the Beatles' Sgt. …

Partridge was married to Marianne Wyborn from 1979 to 1994. Together, they had two children: Holly and Harry. Harry is an independent web animator who created the comedic short Saturday Morning Watchmen (2009), and later, Dr. Bees, Starbarians and Trilby Dogtooth. After his divorce, Partridge entered into a long-term relationship with American singer Erica Wexler. Partridge has attributed the subject matter of XTC songs including "Seagulls Screaming Kiss Her Kiss Her" and "Another Satellite" to aspects of their ongoing relationship. Partridge had met Wexler in the early 1980s; they began dating shortly after she split from artist Roy Lichtenstein in 1994, and she has lived with him in Swindon since then. The subject matter of Partridge's songs frequently touch upon politics, religion, his hometown of Swindon, social class, factory work, insects, comic book characters, seafaring, war, and ancient rituals. Partridge did not become interested in politics until the 1979 United Kingdom general election, in which he voted for Margaret Thatcher's Conservative Party "purely because she was a woman. I was that naive. Now I'm very left." He also identifies as an atheist. …