Album: Chips from the Chocolate Fireball (An Anthology) by The Dukes of Stratosphear (1987)
Format: Album

Description: Chips from the Chocolate Fireball: An Anthology is a CD-only compilation album from XTC which was released under the pseudonym The Dukes of Stratosphear. It includes both their 1985 mini-album 25 O'Clock and the Psonic Psunspot album from 1987.
It was re-released as a part of the XTC reissue series in 2001 with songwriters Sir John Johns and The Red Curtain credited under their real names, and superseded in 2009 by special edition versions of both records with numerous bonus tracks.
The album artwork was originally intended to resemble that of Frank Zappa's Hot Rats LP, but a miscommunication between the band and Virgin saw a negative photographic effect used as opposed to the infrared photography of Zappa's album. Andy Partridge has gone on record as actively disliking this artwork.

Artist Background: The Dukes of Stratosphear were an English rock band formed in 1984 by Andy Partridge, Colin Moulding, Dave Gregory, and Ian Gregory. Modeled after psychedelic pop groups from the 1960s, the Dukes were initially publicised by Virgin Records as a mysterious new act, but were actually an XTC spin-off band. The project amounted to the albums 25 O'Clock (1985) and Psonic Psunspot (1987). In the UK, the records outsold XTC's then-current albums The Big Express (1984) and Skylarking (1986). The band... Emerged in the 1980s era.

Related Artists: Andy Partridge, The Teardrop Explodes, The Olivia Tremor Control, Julian Cope

Music Scene: Emerged in the 1980s era.

Tags: 1980s, Album

Additional Context: Available on Discogs marketplace


Chips from the Chocolate Fireball: An Anthology is a CD-only compilation album from XTC which was released under the pseudonym The Dukes of Stratosphear. It includes both their 1985 mini-album 25 O'Clock and the Psonic Psunspot album from 1987.
It was re-released as a part of the XTC reissue series in 2001 with songwriters Sir John Johns and The Red Curtain credited under their real names, and superseded in 2009 by special edition versions of both records with numerous bonus tracks.
The album artwork was originally intended to resemble that of Frank Zappa's Hot Rats LP, but a miscommunication between the band and Virgin saw a negative photographic effect used as opposed to the infrared photography of Zappa's album. Andy Partridge has gone on record as actively disliking this artwork.

Chips from the Chocolate Fireball (An Anthology)

The Dukes of Stratosphear

Track List

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