News Archive Jul - Dec 2000
John Peel's Festive 50 is off on its annual run again this week: Tuesday 26th (50-36), Wednesday 27th (35-21) and Thursday 28th (20-1) at 10pm on Radio 1. One entry on the first night - Irk The Purists at no.37; one entry on the second - 24 Hour Garage People at no.32. No others.
Tangents have published an article on Nigel Blackwell, titled Great Lyricists Of Our Time. It's written by Dickon Edwards of Fosca, and is well worth a read.
Toffs are giving away
a copy of the Trumpton Riots/Dukla Prague Away Kit
7' single to the first 150 people who buy a Dukla Prague shirt from them. So now you know...
Only joking. HMHB got what is probably their first play on Radio 2 on Saturday morning, courtesy of Jo Brand - Paintball's Coming Home. Mark Knopfler is quaking in his boots.
Thanks to Chris Burke for spotting a small feature in this week's Melody Maker Gig Guide, where Mansun's worrying gnome-like guitarist Chad waxed lyrical over his favouritist-ever-ever-gig-what-he'd-ever-been-to. Which was a HMHB gig in
1991. The badly-fringed little fella then went on to cite the Biscuits as a
definite influence on his music. Hmmmm. The piece is accompanied by a lovely pic of Nigel, circa 1986.
The title says it all; Nigel's original message is here.
Alan's funeral is tomorrow, Friday at 2pm, and will be attended by the band and a number of HMHB fans. Again, my deepest sympathies are with his family and friends.
Deepest condolences are sent to Alan's family and friends; I'm sure we'll all remember him as one of the true individual HMHB fans.
OK, it's old news, which anyone who subscribes to the mailing list will already know about, but I've just realised that there's no mention of it previously on the website.
Half Man Half Biscuit got a bizarre mention in the Daily Mail yesterday, on page 68, the "Answers to Correspondents" page. This is usually populated with the likes of, "I have a collection of 376 hotel shower caps from all around the world. Is that a record?" - or, "What happened to the man who drove around Britain in the Fifties dressed as a Cavalier?". Thus, you can imagine my surprise when I read that "Alan Sanders of Christchurch in Dorset" had asked the following question:
Q. Recalling the legendary B-side by punk group Half-Man-Half-Biscuit: All I Want For Christmas Is A Dukla Prague Away Kit. Do Dukla Prague exist and what is their away kit like?
Anyway, I made a sort-of official response to the paper (which was printed on 3/9/00), as follows:
"Dukla Prague were established by the Czechoslovak Ministry of Defence in 1948. The name Dukla recalls a World War Two battle at Dukla Pass in Slovakia, where Czechoslovak and Soviet troops defeated occupying Nazi forces in 1945."
"The team won the First Division championship on eleven occasions and finished runners-up a further seven times. Famous players include Josef Masopust, European Footballer of the Year in 1962, and Zdenek Nehoda, who won a record 90 caps for his country. Due to their Governmental links, they could ignore the transfer market when they needed new players by simply drafting them into the army, where they became the country's best-compensated athletes."
"However, their kingdom fell apart after 1989 when other teams, such as Sparta Prague and Slavia, picked up major sponsors while few would touch Dukla, tainted by its overtly communist past. By the end of the 1993-4 season, when they slipped to the third division and were forced to sell off players, the spectators were almost outnumbered by the stadium staff."
"Their saviour came in the form of local entrepreneur Bohumil Duricko, whose first move to restore the club to former glories was to buy second division club FC Pribram. He then merged the teams and then expropriated Pribram's spot in the higher league. They initially played under the name of Dukla Pribram, and with the new cash injection regained their spot in the First Division, finishing sixth last season. This year they have renamed to FC Marila Pribram, who Aston Villa beat in this year's InterToto Cup."
"As for the away kit, at the time of the song (1986), the away shirt was
gold, with maroon arms and trim and a large 'Dukla Praha' badge in the
middle. Incidentally, the home shirt was the reverse - maroon with gold
arms."
Chris Moyles was talking to Robbie Williams about his 'Secret Gig' which he is doing for Radio one on Fri 25.08.00. A caller who had just won tickets to the show was also on air and Robbie asked if there was a particular song she wanted him to perform at the concert. The caller asked for She's The One. Robbie's response was "I tell you what, I'll do Half Man Half Biscuit's, 99% Of Gargoyles Look Like Bob Todd especially for you". This was met with a confused giggle from the caller. I guess we can't all have Robbie's good taste in music!
Incidently, there's a track on his new LP called Knutsford City Limits...
A few months ago Q had listed the hundred best British albums of all time, Floyd, Beatles, Smiths you know the sort of thing. They then ran a competition, you had to submit a review for what your 101st best British album would be you got to win the 100 best listed. Jon Parry from Cardiff won with his review of Back in the DHSS as below.
Mid - '80s pop life - Jennifer Rush, Power Station. It was cold, comrade.
Enter HMHB - yoking daytime TV dis-satisfaction to tongue-in-cheek sonic
cathedralisms while striking a NatWest pinball wizard chord with the
disenfranchised and John Peel. A crie de coer from the front room: Nerys
Hughes made them scream and shout, Tranmere Rovers were always on their mind...
HMHB continue to infiltrate Q, two (sort of) items this week:
Firstly, a review of the new Crispy Ambulance CD is prefaced with: "We know a Half Man Half Buscuit song about them, don't we children?" (David Quantick).
Secondly, in the concert listings for the dates in Bath and London:
Half Man Half Buscuit
Proof that there is such a thing as indie nostalia. Who else would be
keeping the scouse jesters alive if not thirty-somethings hankering after
holey jumpers, Rough Trade singles and endless Peel sessions of their youth?
Chief biscuit Nigel Blackwell is now a Merseyside legend and curent album
Trouble Over Bridgewater has drawn their best reveiws in decades, despite
not bothering to change the satirical formula of old. And yes, people really
do show up in Dukla Prague's away kit.
There was a bad review of Trouble Over Bridgwater in Melody Maker two weeks ago, written by Everett True. I seem to have thrown it away though.
Meanwhile, how about a review from the August 2000 issue of HiFi News and Record Review. Fred Dellar writes:
"Somewhere up in Liverpoool, something continues to stir. Something that says rock 'n' roll can make a point yet still be fun. The opening track Irk the Purists, indicates that Nigel Crossley (sic), basically the whole biscuit, is in good form these days, as he slots a quick remake of 'Agadoo' that commences 'Husker Du Du Du, Captain Beefheart, ELO.' The name-checks, as ever with this lot, come thick and fast, amid the strums and thrashes, while Mathematically Safe gets as close to a touch of pop surf as HMHB will ever deliver; but it's surf that unmistakably washes onto Mersey shores. There's a brilliantly accurate self interview that ends with the now obligatory Nick Drake question. And Dylan comes clad in black via With Goth On Our Side, an anthem that pays due reverence to Cradle of Filth and Placebo. Eight albums on, HMHB are still funnier, and more relevant, than Vic and Bob will ever be."