Independent on Sunday 1720 Hippogryph

Thank you to Hippogryph. Definitions are underlined in the clues.

Across

8/9. So, these tenors transformed Madchester band (3,5,5)

THE STONE ROSES : Anagram of(… transformed) SO, THESE TENORS.

10. Fundamentally, rock and roll comprises nothing but loud noise (4)

ROAR : 1st letters, respectively, of(Fundamentally) “rock and roll” containing(comprises) O(letter signifying 0/nothing).

11. Ring road in pleasant surroundings is within budget (10)

AFFORDABLE : [ O(letter representing a circle/a ring) + RD(abbrev. for “road”) ] contained in(in … surroundings) AFFABLE(pleasant/friendly).

12. Vivid railway worker’s uniform (6)

LIVERY : LIVE(vivid/intensely bright) + RY(abbrev. for “railway”).

Unisex livery:

14. One out to deeply impress uninhibited Penge party-goer (8)

ENGRAVER : 1st and last letters deleted from(uninhibited) “Penge” + RAVER(one who attends/goes to a rave/a lively drinking and dancing party).

Defn: …/to cut words or designs into stone, metal, wood, etc.

15. Criminal serves sandwiches quietly for evening gathering at church (7)

VESPERS : Anagram of(Criminal) SERVES containing(sandwiches) P(abbrev. for “piano”, direction to play music softly/quietly).

17. Changes statement claiming success of divinity course? (7)

REWORKS : [RE(abbrev. for “religious education”/a divinity course) WORKS(is successful/achieves the desired effect)](a statement claiming success of divinity course).

20. Sicilian perhaps admitting to defamation (8)

ISLANDER : [I SLANDER](I am admitting to definition).

Defn: An example of which/perhaps is one from the island of Sicily.

22. Treat former-PM with contempt and consternation (6)

DISMAY : DIS(to treat with contempt/to speak of disrespectfully) MAY(Theresa, former UK Prime Minister).

23. Unclear VAR arrangement results in facetious swearing (10)

VERNACULAR : Anagram of(… arrangement) UNCLEAR VAR.

Defn:  Facetiously excusing swearing as common language, as in “what the f***, to use the vernacular”.

24. You heard expression of disapproval about short skirt (4)

TUTU : Reversal of(… about) [homophone of(… heard expression) “you” + TUT(an expression of disapproval) ].

From the sublime:

… to the ridiculous: 

25. Nude dancing clubs entertained one popularly sitting in the corner (5)

DUNCE : Anagram of(… dancing) NUDE containing(… entertained) C(abbrev. for “clubs”, the suit in a deck of p laying cards).

Defn: Formerly, one considered disruptive or slow in learning and who was therefore punished by having to stand in a corner of the classroom.

And the eponymous headwear that goes with it:

26. Delivery from trend-setting crew – street clothes? (8)

SHIPMENT : [ HIP(fashionable/trend-setting) + MEN(crew/a group of people who work closely together) ] contained in(… clothes) ST(abbrev. for “street”).

Down

1. An element of Spooner’s naked wash? (8)

CHLORINE : Spoonerism of [ “raw”(naked/undisguised) + “clean”(to wash/to rid of dirt, marks or stains) ].

2. Requests a reserved section for VIP (4)

TSAR : Hidden in(… section) “Requests a reserved“.

Defn: …, an emperor of Russia, formerly.

3. Rovers’ hero tackling player of Wanderers (6)

ROMANY : ROY(hero in the British comic strip, Roy of the Rovers) containing(tackling) MAN(a player/a member of, say, a football team).

Defn: …/describing things related to the Romany, a people originating in South Asia, having an itinerant/wandering way of life.

And “Rovers” and “Wanderers” are found in the names of some football clubs.

4. Busy person, with twist of fate, produces energy drink (4,3)

BEEF TEA : BEE(a busy person, from “as busy as a bee”) plus(with) anagram of(twist of) FATE.

5. Temporarily pause Parliament in favour of unprincipled character (8)

PROROGUE : PRO(in favour of, as opposed to “con”) + ROGUE(an unprincipled character/a villain).

Defn: …/to discontinue Parliamentary meetings without dissolving it.

6. The ups and downs of many a London commuter? (10)

ESCALATORS : Cryptic defn: The mechanical stairs going up and down used by the many London commuters in the Tube/underground rail system.

7. Operatic lead is getting on with performance finally (6)

ISOLDE : IS + OLD(getting on in years/aged) plus(with) last letter of(… finally) “performance“.

Defn: Leading character in the opera “Tristan and Isolde” by Richard Wagner.

13. Making sense of cutback taking place in gin supply (10)

EXPLAINING : Reversal of(…back) AXE(to cut/to chop off, literally or figuratively) containing(taking) PL(abbrev. for “place”, a short street) + anagram of(… supply/with suppleness/flexibility) IN GIN.

16. Blanked out as wine took effect (8)

REDACTED : RED(short for a red wine) + ACTED(took effect/worked, as in “the medicine took effect immediately”).

18. King leads fight with tense English ex-Chancellor (8)

KWARTENG : K(symbol for “king” in chess notation) plus(leads) WAR(a fight/a conflict) plus(with) T(abbrev. for “tense” in grammar) + ENG(abbrev. for “English”).

Answer: Kwasi, most recent ex-UK Chancellor.

19. Lacking guile and disastrously two down hosting the French (7)

ARTLESS : Anagram of(disastrously) TSAR(solution to 2 down in this crossword) containing(hosting) LES(article “the” in French grammar).

21. NASA’s Deep Space Center boosted careers (6)

SPEEDS : Reversal of(… boosted, in a down clue) 6 middle letters of(“centre”/Center, in NASA’s language) “NASA’s Deep Space“.

22. Upset as a result of cover-up over a long period (6)

DERAIL : Reversal of(…-up) LID(a cover/a cap) containing(over) ERA(a long period of time).

24. The fourth Doctor W’s memorial? (4)

TOMB : [TOM B](name, a la “Doctor W”, of the actor who played the fourth Doctor Who, Tom Baker).