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.

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.

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

Chief editor of Side-Line – which basically means I spend my days wading through a relentless flood of press releases from labels, artists, DJs, and zealous correspondents. My job? Strip out the promo nonsense, verify what’s actually real, and decide which stories make the cut and which get tossed into the digital void. Outside the news filter bubble, I’m all in for quality sushi and helping raise funds for Ukraine’s ongoing fight against the modern-day axis of evil. Besides music I’m also an SEO and AI content flow specialist and have an interest in everything finance from stocks to crypto. There is music in everything!

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UK dark electro pop act 404 Error has shared a new single and video, “Vote for Us”. Released last Friday to coincide with the immediate aftermath of the UK General Election 2024, “Vote for Us” also features a new virtual B-side, a reworking of XTC’s post-punk/new wave classic, “Making Plans (for Nigel)”.

“Vote for Us” is the latest offering from 404 Error‘s new album, “Scene Killers”. A semi-anonymous project, 404 Error is the work of a musician going by the name of 36663, whose debut album combines minimal synth, alt electro, darkwave, and synthpop influences.

In a comment the band says that the new 404 Error album, “Scene Killers”, “explores themes around regionally skewed histories and rose-tinted remembrances of the dark alternative scene; the pressure from gatekeepers and influencers to “support the scene” or lose it; and the persistent scapegoating of fans amid accusations of “killing the scene”, when bands, DJs, and promoters fail to generate interest in their events.”

“Scene Killers” by 404 Error is out now from Bandcamp, Spotify, and all major digital music platforms.

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

Chief editor of Side-Line – which basically means I spend my days wading through a relentless flood of press releases from labels, artists, DJs, and zealous correspondents. My job? Strip out the promo nonsense, verify what’s actually real, and decide which stories make the cut and which get tossed into the digital void. Outside the news filter bubble, I’m all in for quality sushi and helping raise funds for Ukraine’s ongoing fight against the modern-day axis of evil. Besides music I’m also an SEO and AI content flow specialist and have an interest in everything finance from stocks to crypto. There is music in everything!

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Noone else but XTC’s Andy Partridge has been working with the 80s pop infused act Darling Boy (aka Alexander Gold) for the new single “Breaking Into Forever” as far as production goes.

Not all that surprising as we have seen Partridge’s credits popping up allover the place in the past few years namely in records by (and we limit to those which will interest the scene public more or less): Tricky, Blur, Thomas Dolby, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Icehouse, Primus, Sarah McLachlan, Bad Company, The Stranglers, The Mission, The Residents, and many many more.

Not sure if you will like the bubblegum pop produced here though.

On a side-note, Darling Boy refers to “Beautiful Boy (Darling Boy)”, a song written and performed by John Lennon. It was released on the 1980 album “Double Fantasy”, the last album by Lennon and Ono released before his death. Paul McCartney has stated this is one of his favourite songs composed by Lennon, and when he appeared on Desert Island Discs in 1982 included it as his favorite in his selection, as did Yoko Ono as the only John Lennon song in 2007. It was used as the B-side of “Happy Xmas (War Is Over)” to promote the compilation album “The John Lennon Collection” in November 1982.

Music history, it never stops to amaze us doesn’t it.

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

Chief editor of Side-Line – which basically means I spend my days wading through a relentless flood of press releases from labels, artists, DJs, and zealous correspondents. My job? Strip out the promo nonsense, verify what’s actually real, and decide which stories make the cut and which get tossed into the digital void. Outside the news filter bubble, I’m all in for quality sushi and helping raise funds for Ukraine’s ongoing fight against the modern-day axis of evil. Besides music I’m also an SEO and AI content flow specialist and have an interest in everything finance from stocks to crypto. There is music in everything!

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Genre/Influences: Electro-pop.

Format: Digital, CD.

Background/Info: Claus Larsen (Leæther Strip, Klutae, Mirland/Larsen…) and John R. Mirland (Mirland, Negant, M73, Mirland/Larsen…) aren’t only running Læbel, they’re also sharing a common passion for electro-pop music, which they’ve transposed into Am Tierpark. This is already the Danish duo’s third full length, which was released in 2019.

Content: Am Tierpark remains faithful to their basic sound, which is definitely inspired by the 80s electro-pop/wave scene and mixed with a few harder and more personal elements. “Kings Of Failure” is an album carried by happy sounding embodies, which are sometimes reminding OMD me of (especially for “No More Chances”), but still featuring a few harder passages driven by EBM-sounding bass lines. I also noticed a few more melancholic passages.

+ + + : Am Tierpark is progressively evolving and clearly confirms this is much more than simply a side-project. The melodic aspect of the work is absolutely great –mainly at the beginning of the album. Melodies and choruses –featuring the emotional singing of Claus Larsen, together create an elevating effect on the best  cuts of the album. But what I like the most is the kind of ‘feel good’ sensation listening to “Kings Of Failure”.

– – – : I think it’s quite surprising, but the title song is absolutely not my favorite song and even one of the few I would not recommend.

Conclusion: Am Tierpark is slowly moving on, getting better on each new album.

Best songs: “No More Chances”, “Calling Your Name”, “Reach XTC”, “Are We Crashing”.

Rate: (8).

Artist: www.facebook.com/amtierparkofficial

Label: http://laebel–music.dk / www.facebook.com/laebelmusic

Inferno Sound Diaries

I have been working for over 30 years with Side-line as the main reviewer. My taste is eclectic, uncoventional and I prefer to look for the pearls, even if the bands are completely unknown, thus staying loyal to the Side-Line philosophy of nurturing new talents.

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Klammer are about to release a new single on 3rd June on Under Dogz Records. It’s a very different version of The Human League’s classic early single “Being Boiled”. You can watch the video below.

Hailing from Leeds, Klammer have been previously described as the love child of XTC and Gang Of Four. Formed by UK Producer Steve Whitfield (The Cure/The Mission/Jane Weaver) in 2014, they have already released 3 albums, with last years “You Have Been Processed” being their most recent one.

The band is currently writing their 4th album but in the meantime they are releasing their version of The Human League’s early classic single “Being Boiled” on June 3rd 2019.

The cover reminds us a bit of the great cover made in 1992 by Terry Hoax of the Depeche Mode track “Policy Of Truth”… remember that one?

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

Chief editor of Side-Line – which basically means I spend my days wading through a relentless flood of press releases from labels, artists, DJs, and zealous correspondents. My job? Strip out the promo nonsense, verify what’s actually real, and decide which stories make the cut and which get tossed into the digital void. Outside the news filter bubble, I’m all in for quality sushi and helping raise funds for Ukraine’s ongoing fight against the modern-day axis of evil. Besides music I’m also an SEO and AI content flow specialist and have an interest in everything finance from stocks to crypto. There is music in everything!

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Author Mark Fisher presents a new musical exploration of the cult UK act XTC: “What Do You Call That Noise? An XTC Discovery Book”. The book will hold 228 pages that involves not only the band, but also some of the world’s leading musicians and keenest XTC fans. “What Do You Call That Noise?” will be released on March 4.

Every member of XTC makes an appearance. Andy Partridge speaks about mixing, Dave Gregory on arranging and Barry Andrews on the piano. The book also features interviews with XTC drummers Pete Phipps, Pat Mastelotto, Ian Gregory, Prairie Prince, Dave Mattacks and Chuck Sabo. But that’s not all. In this new XTC book, you’ll find contributions from Peter Gabriel and members of The Jam, Squeeze, The Bangles, Dr Hook, New York Dolls, Barenaked Ladies, The Waitresses, Voice of the Beehive, Odds, Jellyfish, Fassine and Future of the Left, among many others.

In 2017, Fisher already published “The XTC Bumper Book of Fun for Boys and Girls”.

Here’s a YouTube teaser for the book:

2018 marked the 40-year anniversary of XTC’s first studio album “White Music”. While XTC was founded in 1972, it wasn’t until 1979 that XTC had their first UK charting single. Colin Moulding and Andy Partridge continued their partnership until the group’s dissolution in 2006. Lately there has been renewed interest in XTC, in part due to the release of eye-opening XTC documentary “This Is Pop” about the band’s history and legacy, which looks at XTC and their journey from mercurial pop outsiders to full blown national treasures and one of Britain’s most influential yet unsung bands.

In case you never heard of the band – which we highly doubt – then you will surely know this fabulous track:

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

Chief editor of Side-Line – which basically means I spend my days wading through a relentless flood of press releases from labels, artists, DJs, and zealous correspondents. My job? Strip out the promo nonsense, verify what’s actually real, and decide which stories make the cut and which get tossed into the digital void. Outside the news filter bubble, I’m all in for quality sushi and helping raise funds for Ukraine’s ongoing fight against the modern-day axis of evil. Besides music I’m also an SEO and AI content flow specialist and have an interest in everything finance from stocks to crypto. There is music in everything!

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Genre/Influences: Industrial, industrial-techno, tribal-techno, cinematographic.

Background/Info: Herman Klapholz strikes back with his ‘Mother-ship’ project Ah Cama-Sotz. “I Believe” has been released as regular album, but also in a very limited edition (500 copies) featuring an extra album entitled “Allerheilgenvloed”.

Content: “I Believe” moves on where some of the most ‘rhythmic’ albums of Ah Cama-Sotz have stopped while it also reflects some techno-influences from Herman’s side-project Gatto Nero. The songs mix industrial atmospheres and sounds together with tribal rhythms and dark-techno. You also will notice some mystic- and Eastern-like influences. There also is a surprising cover version of “Warm Leatherette” among the tracklist.

“Allerheiligenvloed – Her Verdronken Land Van Saeftinghe” is a totally different work and getting back to the ambient- and soundscape approach of the artist. It’s a conceptual work transposed into a dark and mysterious soundscape/cinematographic approach. Herman Klapholz has used classical/sacred chants injecting a poignant touch to the work.

+ + + : It’s really fascinating to see how this veteran from the ‘industrial’ scene also became one of the most innovating artists in his genre. You can hear the eclecticism of Herman Klapholz, which as a creative fluid is running through his music. “I Believe” is a masterpiece, mixing different influences to get an intelligent and efficient danceable opus. It has something shamanic for the rhythms and mysterious for the atmospheres. I sometimes imagine that tracks from this album could have been how Muslimgauze should sound today. The tracks  progressively grow and this crescendo feeling sometimes ends in pure trance! Songs such as “Lords Of Evil”, “I:Travel” and “El Cuerpo, Mild As A Teardrop On A Grave” all are pure sonic xtc!

But next to the trance and tribal work, the bonus disc also is worthy of examination. Ah Cama-Sotz accomplished a meaningful and somewhat ‘sacred’ opus. The choice of the classical chants (especially these from children choirs) bring something magic on top of the dark soundsphere. You get the impression to hear the vibrations resonating in a cathedral.

– – – : Both albums are totally different from each other so it’s difficult to find a real coherence between them both. But I don’t complain as I like both exposures of this artist’s creative mind.

Conclusion: Ah Cama-Sotz took some time to accomplish this new work, but an intelligent and successful work first of all needs the patience of the musician himself. Ah Cama-Sotz never stops taking me by surprise and already accomplished a brilliant opus.

Best songs: “Lords Of Evil”, “I:Travel”, “El Cuerpo, Mild As A Teardrop On A Grave”, “The Beast Within”, “The Underground” + “Chapter IV”, “Chapter III”.

Rate: (8½).

Artist: www.ahcama-sotz.com / www.facebook.com/Ah-Cama-Sotz-102719986433969

Label: www.handsproductions.com / www.facebook.com/hands.official

Inferno Sound Diaries

I have been working for over 30 years with Side-line as the main reviewer. My taste is eclectic, uncoventional and I prefer to look for the pearls, even if the bands are completely unknown, thus staying loyal to the Side-Line philosophy of nurturing new talents.

www.side-line.com