Barry Andrews - Rossmore Road
This popped up on shuffle for me yesterday and I was just wondering what the rest of you thought of it.
For me, it's probably the best thing Barry Andrews did (either within XTC or outside them). The way he creates this eerie, creepy audio landscape of an urban area in the dead of night is utterly superb, and totally evocative of many experiences I've had wandering around London in the witching hours.
It barely seems to crop up in conversation among XTC fans or anyone else, which is curious as if he'd managed to stay in the band and sneak it on to an album, I'm pretty sure we would all be picking it as a highlight (though this is all hypothetical, of course).
https://youtube.com/watch?v=aEODh7VjaWA&si=xpQXeHTY82BxG9Aj
I may have a personal bias here, though. Many years ago I had a lowly position in a Planning Department for the City of London, and worked closely with somebody who specialised in street design (so essentially at least half of what Barry is singing about in the song). Careers-wise, it's a path unfollowed for me, as I was offered further opportunities if I was willing to study for a post-graduate course (which given that I'd just finished one unrelated post-graduate course already I was reluctant to do).
Still, that job gave me appreciation for the design and symmetry of a lot of the things we take for granted in the city, and while wandering back late at night after doing DJ'ing or just drinking with friends, I used to love walking through abandoned office areas and listening to the air-con and street lights "all humming".
I also ended up living around the corner from a hotel called "Rossmore Hotel" in the 2010s and forever had the song stuck in my head... sadly it was nowhere near Rossmore Road, though. You obviously need a lot of money to live in that area now.