Biography
Emerging amid the early-'80s surge of Southern power pop, the X-Teens captured the eccentric humor and nervous edge associated with new wave acts including Elvis Costello, XTC, and Talking Heads. Formed in Durham, North Carolina, the quartet consisted of guitarist/vocalist Robert Bittle, keyboardist/vocalist Todd Jones, bassist/vocalist Kitty Moses, and drummer Ned Robie. Their first recording, the Don Dixon-produced EP Big Boy's Dream, appeared on the regional Moonlight label in 1980. Local notables Dixon and Mitch Easter both contributed to the self-titled debut album, which Dolphin finally issued in 1983 long after its completion. The follow-up, Love and Politic in 1984, became the band's strongest commercial performer and earned limited MTV exposure via the single "Change Gotta Come." That modest breakthrough, however, fueled internal friction, prompting the X-Teens to disband in 1986. Jones and Robie subsequently launched 4 Who Dared, while Bittle and Moses launched a separate project.
Albums