Photograph by Dommett Young; Courtesy [email protected]

EXTC, finishing what the originals started 40 years ago.

“I recall the show went very well, the band seemed to be in good spirits,” remembers XTC drummer Terry Chambers about the final concert that band ever played — in San Diego, circa March 1982. None of them realized at the time that it would be their last public performance. “The audience was electric, everyone was on their feet and cheering throughout. It was the first date of our first major U.S. headlining tour, playing decent-sized venues, and the future looked good. I had no idea that Andy [Partridge, singer] was in such bad shape. Even after the gig, when we were travelling to LA, we had no clue that anything was wrong.”

He recalls that XTC had previously played San Diego in 1980, a one-off date at the North Park Lions Club that has achieved somewhat mythic local status, given their rising stardom at the time. “In those days,” recalls Chambers, “we never saw much of the cities we were playing in. We drove straight to the hotels, then from the hotels to the venues, then from the venues to the next town. I would have loved to explore San Diego, but never had that opportunity.” XTC would only play that one show of their 1982 American tour, April 3, before canceling the rest of the dates, reportedly due to frontman Andy Partridge’s stage fright.

A stage-crashing incident during their song “Melt the Guns” may have contributed.Several people rushed onto the stage during Partridge’s spoken-word anti-gun rant in the middle of the tune. One of the crashers managed to hand the singer a copy of a local radical alt-newspaper that had been littering the venue and parking lot all night, which Partridge flipped through while security removed the interlopers from the stage. After the show, the band cancelled their LA date, then the rest of the tour, essentially retiring from concert appearances forever, other than occasional TV show performances.

Partridge may never have performed in San Diego again, but he did record a collaborative album with local guitarist Mike Keneally, Wing Beat Fantastic. Of its twelve songs, eight were co-written by Keneally and Partridge during two writing sessions, two years apart. “The chance to work with Andy was absolutely a mind-blower,” says Keneally, who quoted XTC’s “The Mayor of Simpleton” in his song “Day of the Cow 2” from his own 1992 debut album. “He’s a true songwriting hero of mine and, during the 1980s, he demonstrated that there was still a place for truly high-quality writing in pop music. His songwriting gift is still as strong as ever.”

Drummer Terry Chambers, who was a member XTC from 1972 to 1982 and appears on all of their albums between White Music and Mummer, never played in San Diego again either, nor anywhere in North America, with XTC or any other band. His first time returning to town will be a March 25 set with his new tribute project EXTC (“named and backed by Andy Partridge”) at downtown’s House of Blues Voodoo Room, performing XTC songs not heard live in 40 years. “It’s strange that I’m back playing in the city where, almost 40 years ago to the day, XTC played their last gig,” muses Chambers. “The other XTC members won’t tour, so we’re out there giving it our all. And we’re loving every minute. Because that’s where we want to be, on the road giving people the best night out we can.” His backing group includes Steve Tilling (from the band TC&I, which Chambers formed with fellow XTC vet Colin Moulding), guitarist-singer Steve Hampton (Dead Crow Road), and Matt Hughes on bass and vocals.

He’s looking forward to returning to the left coast of the USA. “I believe Frank Zappa spent some of his childhood in San Diego. He’s a big inspiration to me. Whether you like his music or not, you can’t help but admire his talent and creativity. It’s maybe not the type of music you instantly love, but if you listen carefully, it’s clear he was an incredible artist. I also understand that Ron Blair, the bass player for Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, was a San Diegan. He worked brilliantly with the band’s drummer, Stan Lynch. They never overplayed. They were the icing on an already delicious cake, doing exactly what was needed to make Tom’s great songs even tastier.”