Barry Andrews

• Genres: Rock

Biography

Barry Andrews was the keyboardist for XTC on their first two albums, 1978's White Music and Go2. Frustrated with the band having too many cooks in the kitchen, Andrews left the group in January of 1979 to go solo and pursue other outlets. Anxious to get his own songs released, he had his debut EP, Town and Country, released within four months of his departure from the group. Some of the songs had been rehearsed but not fully realized by his former band -- somewhat bizarrely, Andrews snared XTC bassist Colin Moulding to play on the release. A second single (Rossmore Road) in 1980 predated Restaurant for Dogs, an LP named after a short-lived band that Andrews assembled. Around this time, Andrews also began playing with guitarist Robert Fripp in the League of Gentlemen. By the end of 1981, Restaurant for Dogs was no more and Andrews found himself in a new band called Shriekback. A post-punk supergroup of sorts, the original Shriekback lineup featured former members of Gang of Four, the Pop Group, and Out on Blue Six. While they went inactive in the late '80s, Andrews played briefly with a group called Illuminati, which included some members of Restaurant for Dogs. Shriekback was resurrected in the early '90s and recorded sporadically throughout the decade. Meanwhile, the keyboardist busied himself with records by the Refugees (another Restaurant for Dogs-related outing) and 7even. ~ Andy Kellman, Rovi