Andy Partridge Eyeglasses

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Andrew John "Andy" Partridge (born 11 November 1953 in Mtarfa, Malta) is an English singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He has been known as Sir John Johns and Melchior and rose to fame as a founding member, guitarist and chief songwriter of the pop/new wave band, XTC. He lives in Swindon, Wiltshire, where he was raised.

Partridge serves as XTC's de facto art director. Except for the second album, Go 2, the band's album cover art has been based on his ideas. For example, the back cover of Rag and Bone Buffet: Rare Cuts and Leftovers took shape after Partridge requested "lots of rusty junk" and proceeded to create a mockup of the band members with it. XTC toured heavily throughout the late-1970s through to 1982. Partridge, suffering from the stresses of the road, and claiming severe stage fright, hit abrupt sobriety after his wife intervened and tossed out his prescribed Valium supply he had been physically dependent upon for over 13 years. This and other personal issues brought the band's tours to a standstill.

In addition to his work with XTC, Partridge has released demos of his songs under his own name in the The Official Fuzzy Warbles Collector's Album and the "Fuzzy Warbles" album series on his APE House record label. Eight individual volumes of Fuzzy Warbles are now available, as well as the Fuzzy Warbles Collector's Album, which includes a bonus ninth disc Hinges. He has collaborated (as performer, writer or record producer) with numerous recording artists, including Martin Newell, with whom he recorded and produced an album in 1993 entitled The Greatest Living Englishman released in Japan as a duo album. He has additionally lent his experience and talents to artists that include Peter Blegvad, Harold Budd, Jamie Cullum, Stephen Duffy, Terry Hall, The Heads, Charlotte Hatherley, Robyn Hitchcock, Jen Olive, The Residents, Thomas Dolby, David Yazbek, and Pugwash. In 2010, Partridge released a limited edition CD of music inspired by science fiction illustrator Richard M. Powers' art titled POWERS.