New official XTC bootleg series titled 'Live Boots' planned from 2026. Live Boots LPs exclusive to Record Store Day. First of the series kicks off with one of the band's renowned gigs from Emerald City, New Jersey in April 1981. 2LP set cut by Jason Mitchell at Loud Mastering and pressed on 200-gram audiophile vinyl. New notes from all four original band members - Partridge / Moulding / Gregory & Chambers. For all of the narrowness of it's early period "Punk Rock" was an accommodating, if disgruntled young soul, finding room for former pub rockers, R&B revivalists, end of era glam rock types and older (usually) American fellow travellers alongside it's itchy'n'scratchy, DIY, frequently shambolic, monotone sleeved 7" releases. It also provided a door ajar for others to push through who may have been enamoured of punk's fresh attitude but who, whisper it, could actually play live, like 'real musicians'.A then drummer from an entertaining & commercially successful first wave punk band was overheard telling his bandmates, with great suspicion, that Andy Partridge - with whom the band was sharing a stage that night - knew more than three chords, something of a crime in Punk circles. Fortunately for him, this was before the arrival of Dave Gregory whose ability would have given the Punk purist a more complete meltdown. The truth remained that the self-imposed narrowness of many early Punk bands led to their demise as the record industry looked to "New Wave" & later, "Post Punk" amid other descriptions to find both a broader audience & some projected longevity - especially necessary for success in the USA. Put simply, the bands that played best stood the best chance of survival. This suited XTC more than most. With a pair of - already accomplished - songwriters, a stable line-up of twin guitars/bass/drums since third album release "Drums and Wires", material from 4 albums and 10 single releases from which to choose and hundreds of gigs to their name, the band established a hard-earned reputation as one of the most powerful 'must see/hear' acts of the era, surely destined to join the elite live bands of the period. Listening to this electric performance from April 1981 - for all of it's sonic imperfections seems to confirm that status, making it even harder to accept that, within a year, XTC would play it's final gigs. Dave Gregory recalls this as "Gig 11 on a 19-date U.S. tour, planned to promote the living daylights out of our Black Sea album, this night was a return to a hot venue we'd previously visited in January 1980 as part of the gruelling Drums & Wires campaign... XTC at that time was a performing machine capable of creating megawatts of excitement."Andy Partridge comments that "we were tighter than a firefly's fundament that night, even more astounding was the adrenaline-soaked speed we took every song at". If this is how the band performed night after night, it's no wonder touring took a heavy toll, but for those many fans who never got the chance to see the band live, this recording is the opportunity to experience that high-octane energy like never before. Released exclusively via Record Store Day, this 200-gram heavyweight (double) LP is the first time the concert will be officially available on vinyl and is also the first of a planned series of XTC official bootleg releases titled 'Live Boots' & drawn from the band's archives with minimal audio restoration undertaken by cutting engineer Jason Mitchell working with Andy Partrdige.
