Colin Moulding
Moulding in 1978
Moulding in 1978
Background information
Birth nameColin Ivor Moulding
Also known asThe Red Curtain, The Colonel
Born (1955-08-17) 17 August 1955
Swindon, Wiltshire, England[1]
GenresRock, pop
Occupation(s)Musician, songwriter, singer
Instrument(s)Bass, vocals, guitar, keyboards
Years active1972–present
LabelsCooking Vinyl, Geffen, Idea, Virgin
Formerly of

Colin Ivor Moulding (born 17 August 1955) is an English bassist, singer, and songwriter who was one of the core members of the rock band XTC. Moulding wrote their first three charting UK singles: "Life Begins at the Hop" (1979), "Making Plans for Nigel" (1979) and "Generals and Majors" (1980).

Life and career

Moulding is self-taught as a bass player; he was learning rock riffs at the age of 15. He cites Andy Fraser of Free as an early musical influence, and has stated a preference for an intuitive approach to writing and playing rather than study.[2] When writing songs Moulding has used guitars and keyboards rather than the bass guitar.[3]

Outside his work with XTC (and their alter-ego side project The Dukes of Stratosphear), Moulding released a non-charting solo single ("Too Many Cooks in the Kitchen" b/w "I Need Protection") in 1980 under the pseudonym "The Colonel".

In 1986, David Gilmour approached Moulding over becoming Pink Floyd's new bass player following Roger Waters' departure. He turned it down as XTC were in the midst of recording Skylarking.[4]

He later played bass and co-produced one track on the 1994 Sam Phillips album Martinis and Bikinis, and in 2005, he contributed to Billy Sherwood's Pink Floyd tribute album Return to the Dark Side of the Moon, playing bass and singing lead vocal on "Brain Damage".

In 1995, Moulding contributed bass on several tracks of French band L'Affaire Louis' Trio's album L'Homme aux mille vies.

In February 2007, Partridge told music website Pitchfork Media that Moulding was "not interested in music any more, and doesn't want to write".[5] Moulding concurred in having a recent loss of interest in music.[2]

In November 2008, he emerged for an interview about "Making Plans For Nigel" for an installment in the series of interviews by Todd Bernhardt. He gave a two-hour interview in December on the Todd Rundgren fansite, Rundgren Radio.[2]

Moulding made vocal contributions to a Billy Sherwood progressive rock album (The Prog Collective, August 2012), combining with Rick Wakeman on "Check Point Karma". He performed a lead vocal for the song "The Man Who Died Two Times" from the album In Extremis by the progressive rock band Days Between Stations (released 15 May 2013) and appears in the video for the song, released in June 2014.[6]

In 2012, he appeared on Sherwood's tribute album to Supertramp.

Moulding played bass on "High Noon", a track on Anton Barbeau's 2016 release Magic Act, and contributed vocals to the title track of Little World, a 2016 collaboration between Barbeau and Sacramento singer Allyson Seconds. Moulding also appeared in both the "High Noon" and "Little World" videos.[7]

In 2017, Moulding and former XTC drummer Terry Chambers recorded an EP titled Great Aspirations that was credited to "TC&I". It was released on 20 October 2017.[8] In October/November 2018 TC&I, featuring Moulding, Chambers, Steve Tilling, Gary Bamford, Susannah Bevington and Moulding's son Lee, played a series of six gigs at the Swindon Arts Centre. The sets consisted of a selection of Moulding's songs from XTC's career plus material from the TC&I EP and a cover of Andy Partridge's "Statue of Liberty". Highlights of the concerts were released in August 2019 on CD and in download format under the title 'Naked Flames: Live at Swindon Arts Centre'.[9]

Discography

'XTC studio album appearances' ( more correctly 'writing credits')

  • White Music (1978)
    • "Crosswires"
    • "Do What You Do"
    • "I'll Set Myself on Fire"
    • "Dance Band" (CD bonus track)
    • "Heatwave" (CD bonus track)
    • "Instant Tunes" (CD bonus track)
  • Go 2 (1978)
    • "Buzzcity Talking"
    • "Crowded Room"
    • "The Rhythm"
    • "I Am the Audience"
  • Drums and Wires (1979)
    • "Making Plans for Nigel"
    • "Day in Day Out"
    • "Ten Feet Tall"
    • "That is the Way"
    • "Life Begins at the Hop" (CD bonus track)
    • "Limelight" (CD bonus track)
  • Black Sea (1980)
    • "Generals and Majors"
    • "Love at First Sight"
    • "Smokeless Zone" (CD bonus track)
    • ”Ban the Bomb (CD bonus track)
  • English Settlement (1982)
    • "Runaways"
    • "Ball and Chain"
    • "Fly on the Wall"
    • "English Roundabout"
  • Mummer (1983)
    • "Wonderland"
    • "Deliver Us from the Elements"
    • "In Loving Memory of a Name"
  • The Big Express (1984)
    • "Wake Up"
    • "I Remember the Sun"
    • "Washaway" (CD bonus track)
  • 25 O'Clock (1985)
    • "What in the World??..."
  • Skylarking (1986)
    • "Grass"
    • "The Meeting Place"
    • "Big Day"
    • "Dying"
    • "Sacrificial Bonfire"
  • Psonic Psunspot (1987)
    • "Vanishing Girl"
    • "Shiny Cage"
    • "The Affiliated"
  • Oranges and Lemons (1989)
    • "King for a Day"
    • "One of the Millions"
    • "Cynical Days"
  • Nonsuch (1992)
    • "My Bird Performs"
    • "The Smartest Monkeys"
    • "War Dance"
    • "Bungalow"
    • "Didn't Hurt a Bit" (CD bonus track)
  • Apple Venus Volume 1 (1999)
    • "Frivolous Tonight"
    • "Fruit Nut"
  • Wasp Star (Apple Venus Volume 2) (2000)
    • "In Another Life"
    • "Boarded Up"
    • "Standing in for Joe"

Other studio album appearances

Naked Flames (TC&I live album) (2019)

Solo

    • "The Hardest Battle”/“Say It”(Original demo)/“ The Hardest Battle (first exploratory demo) (2021)

Compilation album appearances

Non-album XTC songs

  • "Down a Peg"
  • "Say It"
  • "Skeletons"
  • "Where Did the Ordinary People Go?"

References

  1. ↑ "XTC biography – accessed July 2008". Oldies.com. Retrieved 18 July 2011.
  2. 1 2 3 Doug Interview of Colin Moulding Archived 25 February 2009 at the Wayback Machine Rundgren Radio (fansite), 7 December 2008, Retrieved 9 December 2008
  3. ↑ "XTC The Optimism's Flames Colin Moulding interview - June 16, 2003". Optimismsflames.com. 16 June 2003. Retrieved 18 April 2017.
  4. ↑ Kendall, Jo (17 August 2023). ""I had a phone call from Dave Gilmour and he said, 'Would you be interested in coming down?' Former XTC man Colin Moulding on how he almost joined Pink Floyd". louder. Retrieved 19 August 2023.
  5. ↑ pitchforkmedia.com Archived 17 July 2007 at the Wayback Machine
  6. ↑ "DAYS BETWEEN STATIONS RELEASE THEIR FIRST EVER PROMO VIDEO!". prog.teamrock.com. Retrieved 24 June 2014.
  7. ↑ "POPDOSE VIDEO PREMIERE: ALLYSON SECONDS, "Little World"". Popdose.com. 27 September 2016. Retrieved 20 November 2017.
  8. ↑ Ham, Robert (26 November 2017). "Colin Moulding on Reteaming With Terry Chambers for 'DIY' New Project & Possibility of XTC Reunion". Billboard. Retrieved 19 July 2018.
  9. ↑ "TC&I Naked Flames: Live at Swindon Arts Centre". Jammerzine.
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