were scheduled to headline a sold-out show at the Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles. Partridge woke up that morning, he said, and "couldn't get off the bed. My legs wouldn't function. Walked to Ben Frank's coffee shop, where we'd all agreed to meet, in slow motion like I had both legs in plaster, trying not to throw up. I got in there, they knew what I was going to say." The tour ceased. He continued his hypnotherapy treatment, fearing that he was turning into the archetypal rock burn-out (such as Syd Barrett). "It got to the point where if I touched the front door knob, I wanted to throw up." For a period afterward, it was rumoured among fans and industry insiders that the group stopped performing because Partridge had died, and some American bands put on XTC tribute shows in his remembrance. 1982–1992: Studio years Financial issues and start of managerial litigation The cancelled American tour incurred XTC with a £20,000 debt, and since it left them unable to record new material, they decided to reexamine their financial affairs. Confused as to where their earnings had gone, the group requested that manager Ian Reid help pay for the debts, but he refused, saying that they had owed him money. They tried distancing themselves from Reid by renegotiating their contract with Virgin. Six more albums were promised to the label in exchange for covering their debts, as well as a guarantee that subsequent royalty and advancement cheques be redirected into the band's own deposit account. Royalty rates were still kept relatively low, as the group's A&R man Paul Kinder explained, they had "appalling management for a number of years. Usually if a manager has got any kind of business acumen he will renegotiate the contract to get a better royalty. A record company expects this, which is why they keep royalties low initially. It's just business really. Nobody addressed the contract for XTC." Reid remained XTC's manager until January 1983 (according to the book Chalkhills and Children) or a couple years afterward (according to Partridge). He legally retained the title of XTC's manager until near the end of the decade. In April 1984, the group learned that he had incurred them an outstanding value-added taxes [VAT] bill and that he had significantly mishandled their revenue stream. A lawsuit was filed by the band, while he counter-sued for "unpaid commission on