In early 1978, there was a fair bit of excitement in the music press around XTC with some journalists boldly claiming that they were the sort of band that would have a future beyond that of many of their peers thanks to their ability to knock out the sort of catchy, upbeat tunes that had been evidenced on their debut single and which were very much to the fore on the follow-up.
Only problem though, was that the BBC Radio 1 refused to play it for reasons that, 40 years on, seem ridiculously petty, especially given the lyrics that freely get aired nowadays.
As Andy Partridge later observed, “A certain radio station banned it for its ‘risqué’ line ‘I sailed beneath your skirt’, whilst they played ‘Walk on the Wild Side’ in which Lou Reed’s characters are busy shaving their legs, changing their sex and giving each other head.”
Indeed.
mp3 : XTC – Statue of Liberty (single edit)
mp3 : XTC – Hang On to the Night
The single is about 30 seconds shorter than the version later included on the debut LP White Music. The b-side is another very fine new-wave number that would have got any audience all hot and sweaty as they pogoed away down the front. The two tracks between them barely scrape four and a half minutes.
THE NEW VINYL VILLAIN 
Thank you! Had never heard the B=side.
Never heard the b-side either. The band sound like teenagers!
Not sure JC, but this just might be the 3rd time Statue Of Liberty has appeared on either of or the combination of your sites…but it’s also a song that deserves multiple mentions. There is some classic pop music here, teenage innuendo, catchy, simple chorus and a stutter-y vocal…you can’t ask for much more!
it’s at least its third appearance. And it won’t be its last….