"Wrapped in Grey" is a song written by

Andy Partridge Andrew John Partridge (born 11 November 1953) is an English guitarist, singer-songwriter and record producer best known for co-founding the band XTC. He and Colin Moulding each acted as a songwriter and frontman for XTC, with Partridge writing a ...

XTC XTC were an English rock band formed in Swindon in 1972. Fronted by songwriters Andy Partridge (vocals, guitars) and Colin Moulding (vocals, bass), the band gained popularity during the rise of punk and new wave in the 1970s, later playing ...

, released on their 1992 album '' Nonsuch''. It was to be issued as the third single from the album, but its initial pressings were withdrawn by

Virgin Records Virgin Records is a British record label owned by Universal Music Group. They were originally founded as a British independent record label in 1972 by entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, Nik Powell, and musician Tom Newman (musician), ...

for an unknown reason. This was a stimulus for the band to go on "

strike Strike may refer to: People *Strike (surname) * Hobart Huson, author of several drug related books Physical confrontation or removal *Strike (attack), attack with an inanimate object or a part of the human body intended to cause harm * Airstrike, ...

" against the label for a few years until their contracts were terminated.

Lyrics and composition

Partridge described the song as "ersatz

Bacharach Bacharach (, also known as ''Bacharach am Rhein'') is a town in the Mainz-Bingen district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It belongs to the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' of Rhein-Nahe, whose seat is in Bingen am Rhein, although that town is not with ...

". Along with "Rook" (1992) and "

Easter Theatre "Easter Theatre" is a song written by Andy Partridge of the English rock band XTC, released as the lead single from their 1999 album '' Apple Venus Volume 1''. According to Partridge, the lyrics were an attempt to match a "muddy" ascending chord p ...

" (1999), he named "Wrapped in Grey" as one of the "perfect songs" of his career, feeling that he had "exorcised a lot of those kind of Lennon-and-McCartney, Bacharach-and-

David David (; , "beloved one") was a king of ancient Israel and Judah and the third king of the United Monarchy, according to the Hebrew Bible and Old Testament. The Tel Dan stele, an Aramaic-inscribed stone erected by a king of Aram-Dam ...

Brian Wilson Brian Douglas Wilson (June 20, 1942 – June 11, 2025) was an American musician, songwriter, singer and record producer who co-founded the Beach Boys. Often Brian Wilson is a genius, called a genius for his novel approaches to pop compositio ...

type ghosts out of my system by doing all that." He remembered once hearing the song on the radio and feeling like "the boy from

Penhill Penhill ( high at the trig point, at Height of Hazely) is a prominent hill, south west of Leyburn, in the Pennines, North Yorkshire, England. It forms a ridge that commands the southern side of Wensleydale and the northern side of Coverda ...

made good". Although he sings lead vocal, he played none of the instrumentation on the recording. Music journalist Pete Paphides highlighted the song's "transcendent

Beach Boys The Beach Boys are an American rock band formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961. The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and their friend Al Jardine. Distinguished by thei ...

-style harmonies" and felt it would one day make "a most fitting epitaph". Reviewing '' Nonsuch'', Kronto Reviews' Leo Breebaart considered the song "very

chamber-music Chamber music is a form of classical music that is composed for a small group of Musical instrument, instruments—traditionally a group that could fit in a Great chamber, palace chamber or a large room. Most broadly, it includes any art music ...

like". Spectrum Culture's Stacey Pavlick likened the song's chorus to "a sparkling firework" while Kronto Reviews' Leo Breebaart considered it "the best song on the album" and "a truly touching song".

Withdrawn single

Virgin's choice of "Wrapped in Grey" as a single pleased Partridge, who considered it a leap into "the adult market". He planned and storyboarded a

silhouette animation Silhouette animation is animation in which the characters are only visible as black silhouettes. This is usually accomplished by backlighting articulated cardboard cut-outs, though other methods exist. It is partially inspired by, but for a nu ...

music video for the song inspired by the work of

Lotte Reiniger Charlotte "Lotte" Reiniger (2 June 1899 – 19 June 1981) was a German film director and the foremost pioneer of silhouette animation. Her best known films are ''The Adventures of Prince Achmed'', from 1926, the oldest surviving feature-length a ...

. This was cancelled when Virgin aborted the song's single release, despite a number of copies already being pressed, reported to be between 2,000 and 5,000. Partridge considered the withdrawal "a big nail in the coffin of the relationship with Virgin", and on the suggestion of Dave Gregory, the group refused to work for Virgin until they left the label in 1998. Partridge later recognised "Wrapped in Grey" as among the songs from ''Nonsuch'' that pointed towards the orchestral textures and acoustic backbone of its follow-up ''

Apple Venus Volume 1 ''Apple Venus Volume 1'' is the thirteenth studio album by the English rock music, rock band XTC, released on February 17, 1999. It was the first on the band's own Idea Records label, distributed through Cooking Vinyl in the United Kingdom and ...

'' (1999).

Personnel

XTC * Dave Gregory – piano *

Colin Moulding 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 f ...

Additional musicians *

Dave Mattacks David James Mattacks (born 13 March 1948) is an English rock and folk drummer, best known for his work with British folk rock band Fairport Convention. Fairport Convention He replaced Martin Lamble, who had died on 12 May 1969 in a road ac ...

– drums

References

External links

* {{Authority control XTC songs Songs written by Andy Partridge Song recordings produced by Gus Dudgeon Songs about depression 1992 songs