Song · XTC
“All You pretty Girls” by XTC
From the album The Big Express (1984)
“All You pretty Girls” by XTC appears on 1 radio countdown from 1 station in 2003. It was first released in 1984 on the album The Big Express. Its best result is #1348 on the Fred XM Top 2044 Songs of All-Time (July 2003). In the combined RockLists rankings it is #5,925 alternative song of all time.
Watch
Video from YouTube (XTC - Topic). Pressing play loads YouTube's player. Watch on YouTube
XTC's "All You Pretty Girls" came off The Big Express, the band's 1984 album, and it started as a doodle: Andy Partridge was messing around playing some Hendrix, landed on a little two-note figure, and liked the tune he heard hiding inside it. He wrote the words and music and sings lead, with Colin Moulding on bass.
David Lord produced and recorded it, and the studio sleight of hand is half the fun. Pete Phipps is credited on drums, but apart from the opening every drum sound on the record came out of a LinnDrum, and the choir is really a Mellotron sample played back through a speaker stuck inside a fire bucket. Phil Thornalley mixed it with the band. The video cost £33,000 to make; the single only got as high as 55 in the UK.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
RockLists rankings
Alternative & Modern Rock
All Rock Formats
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | 1348 | Fred (XM 44) | Fred XM Top 2044 Songs of All-Time (July 2003) | 2044 |
Comments
Log in or create a free account to join the conversation about "All You pretty Girls" by XTC.
No comments yet. Be the first to share your thoughts.