Wilson, and the group was renamed "Star Park (Mark II)". Other members would frequently join and leave the group. Local popularity, rise of punk and label signing After Star Park opened for Thin Lizzy in May 1973, the band renamed themselves the Helium Kidz. Partridge's musical conceptions were "blown away" upon hearing the New York Dolls: "I suddenly just wanted to play three chords again and get out my mum's makeup and stuff." He subsequently wrote hundreds of songs for the Helium Kidz, and some demo tapes were sent to Decca Records. NME ran a small profile on the "up and coming" band, which consisted of Partridge, Moulding, Chambers and guitarist Dave Cartner: "They aspire to attain the impossible dream of being able to throw a TV or two out of the window of an American hotel and have no one complain." This version of the group lasted until 1975, when the Helium Kidz decided to rebrand themselves and change their music to "three-minute pop songs that were fast and inventive." Gregory auditioned for the band at this juncture, but did not end up joining. His musicianship was determined to be "too good". It was decided that the band have another name change. "The Dukes of Stratosphear" was considered, but Partridge thought it was too "flowery" and "psychedelic". He derived "XTC" from Jimmy Durante's exclamation upon discovering the lost chord: "That's it! I'm in ecstasy!". The name was chosen mainly for its emphatic appearance in print. Meanwhile, owing to creative differences with Partridge, synthesizer player Jonathan Perkins quit the band. In search of his replacement, Partridge found Barry Andrews through a "keyboard player seeks band" advertisement. Instead of a formal audition, the two went out drinking together. Andrews was immediately hired. During the first band rehearsal, Partridge recalled, "He sounded like Jon Lord from Deep Purple; fuzz box, wah wah pedal, bluesy runs. I said, You don't have to play like that, you can play like us if you want. The next rehearsal, he was like a maniac, like if Miró had played electric organ. Fantastic." December 1976 officially marked the beginning of the Partridge–Moulding–Chambers–Andrews line-up. The members cut their long hair and, for a time, wore "kung-fu mechanic" outfits on stage. Ian Reid, owner of a Swindon club named The Affair, was their third manager and brokered deals for the group to perform at more popular venues such as