New sculpture celebrating XTC unveiled in Swindon

Mayor of Swindon Cllr Neil Hopkins unveiled the steel work of art in a ceremony also attended by local MP Heidi Alexander, figures from the Swindon arts scene and fans of the band.
Local historians and XTC enthusiasts Graham Carter and Mike Smith were the driving forces behind the crowd-funded sculpture, created by artist Dr Mike Pringle and placed near the former site of the Queens Park glass house.
There were many local donations and others from across the world including the USA, Japan, Australia and Spain. 
Mike Smith said: "It's an amalgamation of a couple of XTC albums, and it was made for us by a firm in Purton. It's two sheets of steel with a central core of stainless steel - and I notice it's become known as the XTC sandwich!
"It's here today and it's going to be here for 25 or 30 years as a lasting recognition and a celebration of XTC and their music."
Cllr Hopkins said: "It's brilliant to be able to celebrate an iconic Swindon band - part of Swindon's culture, really.
"When Graham Carter approached us about the sculpture, we were initially talking to them about Town Gardens, but I brought them down here [Queens Park] and said this might be the place because I've always had the hope that we might build a sculpture trail around Queens Park Lake and I'd still like to think we can do that."
Swindon South MP Heidi Alexander said: "It's just such a beautiful day! The sun's shining, we've got this fantastic new sculpture which is a tribute to XTC, a local musical institution! I'm really hopeful for the future of Queens Park.
"We've started as we mean to go on here, with a new piece of high-quality sculpture, and I just think it's fantastic that people have funded this themselves, that they wanted to recognise the contribution that XTC has made not only to the music scene nationally, but also the fact that it's a local band, and that we can come together to recognise that.
"In some respects, if you think of the economic history of Swindon, the railways are quite pivotal in it, and if you think about the musical history of Swindon, a lot of people would say XTC are quite pivotal as well. 
"I think XTC are the equivalent of the railways in Swindon's musical history."
 

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