Swindon XTC Tribute Artwork.
I felt rather disappointed that I couldn’t attend the event described here so I could get photos etc for the blog. But thank goodness for Jason Spickett, owner of the Swindon from the Air Facebook page.
Jason did a good write-up of this Swindon XTC artwork that he’s kindly let me use. So what follows, edited for SEO purposes, are Jason’s words. And some of his photos.
XTC Fans
There’s no doubting that Mike Smith and Swindon historian Graham Carter are amongst a large number of Swindon residents that are fans of Swindon born & bred band XTC.
After a lot of hard work and commitment to the project their dream of having a permanent marker to the world-renowned rock band came true. A large and enthusiastic crowd saw their tribute piece unveiled in Swindon’s Queen’s Park.
Present at the event, Mike Smith gave a short speech in which he said that he’s often asked ‘why hasn’t Swindon got a tribute to the band in their home town? Well thanks to you here today they have now’!
So Mike was present at the unveiling. But, due to prior commitments Graham Carter was unable to be there, but sent his best wishes and and followed events live online.
It was nice that a couple from America had decided to make it part of their trip. Further, a lovely French lady called Lisa came over from Paris especially for the unveiling.
Also in attendance was a member of the band: Steve Warren. Amongst other things he served as the band’s sound engineer and manager.
Performing the unveiling honours
Mayor of Swindon, Councillor Neil Hopkins did the performed the unveiling honours. In his speech he spoke of annoyance at the constant drip of negativity about our town. He said XTC comprised part of our cultural heritage, that we were aiming to become a city of culture and that XTC formed part of that culture. He also praised both Mike and Graham for their hard work and commitment. They’ve achieved something positive by bringing this lasting tribute to the people of Swindon.
MP Heidi Alexander spoke of her love forQueen’s Park. She explained how, when a youngster, she lived nearby. So it pleased her to see XTC remembered in this park. She also had words of praise for Mike and Graham apropos their efforts.
It pleased me to be able to cover the event and to be fortunate enough to see this tribute under construction. Made from two sheets of 10mm mild steel with a bright steel plate in between them, it’s been laser cut. The three sections were then slotted into a stand that’s concreted into the ground.
Funded by crowdfunding, the project saw donations arrive from many corners of the world. Japan, the USA, South Africa, Australia, Spain and France. Further, ticket sales to the Swindon RockPaper Scissors + Mr Love & Justice gig formed part of the fundraising.
I’m so pleased for Graham & Mike that they had a good crowd attend this event today. A very well done to them both.
See also:
In a related tale of the Magic Roundabout – the story goes that XTC featured this traffic processing system in their song: English Roundabout.
