XTC documentary ‘This Is Pop’ to receive U.S. premiere on Showtime in January

XTC’s Andy Partridge in a scene from “This Is Pop”

American fans clamoring to lay their eyes on the new XTC  documentary “This Is Pop” — which premiered on UK television in October — finally will get their chance in January when the 75-minute film has its U.S. premiere on the Showtime cable-television network.

XTC’s Andy Partridge tweeted the news this afternoon (“Hooray!”), and a quick search of Showtime’s program guide shows it will air 7 p.m. ET/PT Jan. 11, then be available on demand the following day.

Word of the XTC documentary, and its quickly deleted trailer, first appeared online in March. The film features new interviews with Partridge and bandmates Colin Moulding, Terry Chambers and Dave Gregory, along with fans such as Stewart Copeland of The Police and actor Harry Shearer.

A week later, an XTC fan in the U.K. launched a petition to convince the BBC to air “This Is Pop” following reports the British television broadcaster had passed on showing Special Treats Productions’ film. The Change.org petition collected more than 2,800 digital signatures.

The film ultimately aired on Sky Arts in the U.K.

PREVIOUSLY ON SLICING UP EYEBALLS

• XTC’s ‘Black Sea’ being prepped for reissue with new stereo, surround mixes
• Watch: Andy Partridge stars in trailer to upcoming XTC documentary ‘This Is Pop’
• Andy Partridge working to restore XTC’s ‘Oranges and Lemons’ for audiophile reissue
• XTC’s ‘Drums and Wires’ audiophile reissue to include new 5.1 mix, demos, rehearsal tracks
• Reissue of XTC’s ‘Skylarking’ with ‘corrected polarity’ finally coming to CD