EXTC take XTC songbook back on the road with 2026 ‘This Is Pop’ greatest hits UK tour
EXTC take XTC songbook back on the road with 2026 'This Is Pop' greatest hits UK tour
EXTC, the pop-punk-rock band led by XTC drummer Terry Chambers, will tour the UK in 2026 with the “This Is Pop” greatest hits tour. The This Is Pop tour starts on 20 February 2026 at Colchester Arts Centre and runs through to 13 June 2026 in Bristol, focusing on classic XTC material played live.
Table of contents
EXTC set built around the XTC catalogue
EXTC were formed in 2019 by Terry Chambers to bring the XTC catalogue back to the stage after decades without regular XTC touring. The band was explicitely named and approved by XTC frontman, Andy Partridge.
Live shows centre on XTC singles and album tracks from the late 1970s onward. Recent setlists have featured “This Is Pop”, “Making Plans For Nigel”, “Senses Working Overtime”, “Mayor of Simpleton”, “Generals and Majors”, “Sgt. Rock (Is Going To Help Me)”, “Love on a Farmboy’s Wages”, “Ball and Chain”, “Life Begins at the Hop” and later tracks such as “Stupidly Happy”. The band also perform deeper cuts from albums including “Drums and Wires”, “Black Sea” and “English Settlement”.
The band’s current live activity follows the release of “Live USA Vol 1.”, a concert recording captured on the group’s 2024 US tour and issued in October 2025, and the 2025 release “EXTC Live”.
EXTC Tour overview and dates
Under the banner “This Is Pop”, the band present a greatest hits set across 13 UK shows. The run opens at Colchester Arts Centre on 20 February, before moving to Glassbox Theatre in Gillingham on 27 February and Bedford Esquires on 6 March. Birmingham’s The Crossing follows on 7 March, with Newcastle’s The Cluny on 13 March, Cambridge Junction on 27 March and Stroud Subscription Rooms on 28 March.
After a short break the tour resumes on 30 April at The Cavern in Liverpool, then continues to Manchester’s Band on the Wall on 1 May, The 1865 in Southampton on 15 May and London venue 229 on 16 May. The final weekend brings them to Metronome in Nottingham on 12 June and Thekla in Bristol on 13 June, completing the 2026 This Is Pop greatest hits tour.
- 20 February 2026 – Colchester, Arts Centre
- 27 February 2026 – Gillingham, Glassbox Theatre
- 6 March 2026 – Bedford, Esquires
- 7 March 2026 – Birmingham, The Crossing
- 13 March 2026 – Newcastle, The Cluny
- 27 March 2026 – Cambridge, Junction
- 28 March 2026 – Stroud, Subscription Rooms
- 30 April 2026 – Liverpool, The Cavern
- 1 May 2026 – Manchester, Band on the Wall
- 15 May 2026 – Southampton, The 1865
- 16 May 2026 – London, 229
- 12 June 2026 – Nottingham, Metronome
- 13 June 2026 – Bristol, Thekla
Tickets for the EXTC This Is Pop greatest hits tour are on sale via AGMP’s concert platform, with additional allocations available through major ticket outlets.
About EXTC
The project is based in Swindon, England, and built around drummer Terry Chambers, who originally joined XTC in the early 1970s and played on all studio albums from “White Music” (1978) through “Mummer” (1983).
Chambers left XTC’s live line-up when the group abandoned touring and later moved to Australia, where he joined Dragon and worked as a session musician, before returning to the UK in 2016. He then reunited with bassist Colin Moulding in the duo TC&I, releasing the “Great Aspirations” EP in 2017 and the live album “Naked Flames” in 2019. EXTC followed in 2019, initially featuring Chambers with guitarist-vocalist Steve Tilling (also of Circu5) and a rotating cast of players linked to XTC’s extended circle.
As the project developed, it evolved into a touring band dedicated to interpreting XTC’s catalogue. Recent line-ups have included frontman and guitarist Steve Hampton, bassist-vocalist Terry Lines and, at various stages, Steve Tilling, Beren Matthews and Ken Wynne on guitar and bass duties. Performances range from UK clubs and festivals, such as the Isle of Wight Festival and hometown shows in Swindon, to tours in North America and Japan.
About XTC
XTC are an English rock band from Swindon, Wiltshire, formed in 1972 by Andy Partridge (vocals, guitar) and Colin Moulding (vocals, bass), with Terry Chambers on drums and, later, Barry Andrews on keyboards. Before adopting the name XTC, the group worked under earlier names such as Star Park and the Helium Kidz. They signed to Virgin Records in 1977 and emerged from the UK punk and new wave circuit with their first commercial recordings, including the “3D EP” and debut album “White Music” in early 1978.
Over the next few years the band moved from the sharp, fast songs of “White Music” and “Go 2” (both 1978) to more structured new wave on “Drums and Wires” (1979) and “Black Sea” (1980). The double album “English Settlement” (1982) expanded their arrangements further and was followed by “Mummer” (1983) and “The Big Express” (1984), recorded as the band reduced and then stopped touring after 1982, choosing to work as a studio-based project. Under the psychedelic side-project name The Dukes of Stratosphear, the same core members issued the mini-album “25 O’Clock” (1985) and “Psonic Psunspot” (1987).
The group continued their studio chronology with “Skylarking” (1986), produced by Todd Rundgren, followed by “Oranges & Lemons” (1989) and “Nonsuch” (1992), all released through Virgin. After a contractual dispute and a pause in activity, the group returned on the label Cooking Vinyl and their own imprint Idea/APE with “Apple Venus Volume 1” (1999), an orchestral-leaning record, and the more guitar-driven “Wasp Star (Apple Venus Volume 2)” (2000). These albums effectively closed the band’s studio output.
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