HMHB News Archive
January - June 2001
From TV Cream:
TOP OF THE FREEZE-POPS
Black tour jacket (with detachable sleeves) not required.
Wirral guitar-and-Cream-culture specialists HALF MAN HALF BISCUIT are
still going, which may be a surprise to ex-John Peel listeners over
25. Last week they played a successful gig at the Boardwalk in
Sheffield, and on Monday they released their new EP "Editor's
Recommendation", featuring five tracks of the usual idiosyncratic
diatribes against hapless sports presenters (Bob Wilson - Anchorman),
lo-fi indie wank, nu-rock wank and the universal phenomenon of
waterboard men parking in country lanes for no apparent reason, plus
a fine homage in skiffle to Warhol's New York ("Does your heroin lose
its glamour on the washboard overnight?"). Best line: "I could've
been like Lou Barlow, but I'm more like Ken Barlow." Their
celebration of pop culture throughout the last sixteen-odd years is
legendary, seamlessly mixing in topics like Subbuteo, Ted Moult,
egotistic indie bands and the Radio Times' "My Kind Of Day" section
with tales of boredom, good-old-'80s unemployment and even depictions
of everyday situations like the best observational comedy. Over the
years it's scored virtually no commercial success but gigs, a split,
a reformation and more gigs has helped the hard-working "Biccies" to
keep a loyal "underground" following ((c) Guardian Newspapers 2001).
They are quick to shun any potential limelight, and have only
appeared on TV once (er, not quite, you're forgetting the Whistle Test in '86 for a start - Gez), in 1998 on UNDER THE MOON (and "back in the day"
they famously rejected an offer of a slot on The Tube, on the grounds
that Tranmere Rovers were at home that evening). No matter, as
they're an excellent band to see live. And they are playing the all-
new MEAN FIDDLER in LONDON W1 on Friday 20 July, so you should really
go and check them out. It's only a tenner. And it's a good place to
pick up an album too.
One from Smash Hits in 1986 - thanks to Richard for digging this one up...
(242Kb image).
HMHB will be releasing a new single, which I believe goes under the name "Editor's Recommendation", on Monday 25 June. It features five 'proper' new tracks, plus a throwaway item at the end. You'll hear it first on John Peel, a short time before the release date.
Also - a London gig, at the Mean Fiddler (the old LA2) on July 20th.
HMHB are mentioned in an article about Len Ganley in BBC.CO.UK's 'Funny Old Game' column. You get a snippet of 'The Len Ganley Stance' (surprise) and our Len giving us his wisdom on Alex Higgins' cueing skills, plus a few pics of the man.
Click here to read the article. (Thanks to Dan Fox for spotting it).
Adam Smith picked up a cassette version of 'Back In The DHSS' a few weeks ago, and found some old press reviews from 10+ years ago inside. Here they are, reprinted:
ACD review in Q, around 1989
The second and final installment of the Half Man Half Biscuit, er, legacy turns out to be a real ragbag of odds and ends. There are 17 tracks, comprising the odd bits and Peel sessions that made up the second LP (except for the Peel version of 'Dukla Prague Away Kit' and the 7-inch remix of 'Trumpton Riots'), plus one previously unreleased track ('Carry On Cremating' - it's not very good) and eight songs from the first LP recorded live at the Sheffield Leadmill. Really though, it's pretty much reject and also-ran material. 'The Bastard Son of Dean Friedman' is the only song truly up to standard; most of the rest sounds forced of simply weak. The scathing Merseyside wit shines only in flashes, the ideas are less coherent and there are a couple of inescusably tasteless 'jokes'. Musically, there are some pretty nifty tunes but the more ambitious structures do not work, and while the live tracks give a better idea of the band's boisterously ramshackle performances, only 'Trumpton Riots' comes across better than it did on the first LP. True, it's difficult not to rsecommend any record which includes the incomparable 'Albert Hammond Bootleg', but this really is for loyal supporters only. **
Let's Not review in NME, 1990
The music, as ever, is Toytown Glam-folk; the words, as ever, fall from a higher plane. Seamlessly intergrated refs to Ian 'Sludge' Lees, Carla Lane, The Goombay Dance Band, Bunty James, Godzilla Eats Diss and upside-down cake makes this three-track comeback a veritable Big Night Out for the ears. Jammy Dodgers, the lot of em.
London Powerhaus gig review in NME, 1990
There are Molotovs in Trumpton and death cries for Nerys Hughes, Half Man
Half Biscuit are back from a long lie-in and Carter the Unstoppable Sex
Machine better polish up their act if they're to remain relevant until Autumn.
For the ill-informed here's the plot. A gang of unemployed Scousers, all
seemingly called Nigel, crafted biting songs out of acid wits and godawful
clanking tunes. "Puns not dead" cried their art and the media took these
jobless waifs to their hearts.
The singer - who never quite managed to grow a full moustache - became a
spokesman for a generation of kids'-TV-watching adults, wrote brilliant songs
about it, turned down TV appearances in favour of watching his fave third
division soccer team, and then just as he was about to become a pop star and
clock up more Radio 4 discussion caps than Prof Laurie Taylor he jacked it in
and presumably signed on again.
Last Thursday Nigel climbed out of his pyjamas and picked up his guitar once
more-looking like a mongrel dog with a Kirk Brandon stance-to rant through
his set like its been minutes notm years since he last lead a cynical assault
on life's second-rate celebrities.
Surprisingly, whilst the media and music industry noted the band's return
with nothing but a cocked leg and inquisitive eyebrow, the fans weren't so
lacklustre. Most went home with jaws aching from the constant sing-along,
their T-shorts wringing with sweat abd their minds marked with Grade A
memories.
I'd forgotten how grotesque the songs sounded and how gifted the lyrics and
titles were. No-one's written a kitchen sink comedy to match "Reflections in
a Flat" lately, and I can't remember anyone polishing up a literary hatchet
like"The Bastard Son of Dean Friedman". Both songs were welcomed like
returning heroes.
As for the future, their newly writted tribute to the man on the 'Starship
Enterprise Allowance Scheme' is more proof that true wit never dies, it just
changes channels now and then.
Half Man Half Biscuit are gawky, unconfortable, uncontrollable and
confrontational. They mix Shane MacGowan's vocals with a telly addict's
brain, and the audience love it. As cult terrorists they're irrepressible.
(James Brown)
This Leaden Pall has been voted the 93rd best LP cover of all time in this month's Q magazine...which has prompted the Liverpool Echo to write a piece on the event, and the sleeve designer (and soundman), Gareth Jones. Click here to read it.
I've updated the links and forms for the mailing lists...something I've been meaning to do for at least 18 months now. Still nothing new to report on the Biscuit front.