HMHB News Archive
January - December 2003
A couple of entries for HMHB in this year's chart:
1. Cinerama - 'Don't Touch That Dial'
2. The Fall - 'Theme From Sparta FC'
3. Mogwai - 'Hunted By A Freak'
4. Undertones - 'Thrill Me'
5. Bearsuit - 'Itsuko Got Married'
6. Mogwai - 'Ratts Of The Capital'
7. Half Man Half Biscuit - 'Tending The Wrong Grave For 23 Years'
8. The Crimea - 'Baby Boom'
9. CLSM - 'John Peel Is Not Enough'
10. White Stripes - '7 Nation Army'
11. Belle & Sebastian - 'Step Into My Office, Baby'
12. Melt Banana - 'Shield You're Eyes'
13. Nina Nastasia - 'You, Her & Me'
14. Ballboy - 'The Sash My Father Wore'
15. Vive La Fete - 'Noir Desir'
16. Sluts Of Trust - 'Piece O' You'
17. White Stripes - 'Black Math'
18. Yeah Yeah Yeah's - 'Maps'
19. Broken Family Band - 'At The Back Of The Chapel'
20. The Darkness Vs S.F.B - 'I Believe In A Thing Called Love'
21. Million Dead - 'I Am The Party'
22. Undertones - 'Oh Please'
23. Ballboy - 'I Gave Up My Eyes'
24. Party Of One - 'Shotgun Funeral'
25. Futureheads - 'First Day'
26. The Fall - 'Green Eyed Loco Man'
27. The French - 'Porn Shoes'
28. Half Man Half Biscuit - 'It Makes The Room Look Bigger'
29. Architecture In Helsinki - 'The Owls Go'
30. Camera Obscura - 'Suspended From Class'
31. Amsterdam - 'Does This Train Stop On Merseyside'
32. Maher Shalal Hash Baz - 'Open Field'
33. Neulander - 'Sex, God, Money'
34. Black Keys - 'Have Love Will Travel'
35. Mass - 'Live A Little'
36. The French - 'Gabriel In The Airport'
37. Radiohead - 'There, There'
38. Ballboy - 'Born In The USA'
39. Cat Power - 'Werewolf'
40. Broadcast - 'Pendulum'
41. Keys - 'Strength Of Strings'
42. Golden Virgins
43. Belle & Sebastian - 'Stay Loose'
44. Hyper Kinako - 'Tokyo Invention Registration Office'
45. Grandmaster Gareth - 'The Minute Melodys (Any Of)'
46. Super Furry Animals - 'Slow Life'
47. Camera Obscura - 'Keep It Clean'
48. Blizzard Boys - 'Ain't No Stoppin' This'
49. Freddy Fresh - 'You Can See The Paint'
50. The Vaults - 'I'm Going'
For those who missed Nigel on Liz Kershaw's 6music show last week, here's the interview (15 mins, 6.89Mb) - ta to Steven Bending for recording it.
I don't seem to have a link to this on the website, so here's one now - an article from thisiswirral.co.uk, including an interview with Nigel - click here.
1990's McIntyre, Treadmore & Davitt has been reissued. I guess Geoff has sold out of the original pressing. Nothing new about this release - same as the original.
Nigel will be appearing on Liz Kershaw's 6music show on Tuesday 16th September, at around 2.30pm (telephone interview).
Phil from the mailing list decided to do a new Top 10 Biscuit poll, so for a change I've decided to publish it:
Read all about it here...
It has been brought to the attention of Probe Plus that the latest batch of the Back In The DHSS video has two tracks missing, the Dickie Davies Eyes and No Regrets promos. If anyone has recently bought a copy of these, you can send it back to Geoff at Probe Plus and he will replace it (address on the Mail Order page).
Stuart McHugh:
"Here's my wee preview of the show which was in The List. Dunno what photo they used yet, will try and get a copy this weekend. And the full interview will show up, somewhere, sometime..."
TWENTY FOUR HOUR GARAGE
HALF MAN HALF BISCUIT
Edinburgh Liquid Room, Fri 8 Aug
"You'd think your hatred of her would have worn off by now!"
Happily for Nigel Blackwell, Davina McCall is still relentlessly in-yer-face and UK television is still arse-numbingly bland. In the 1980's, and writing songs influenced by the mundanity of life on the dole, Half Man Half Biscuit were anti-heroes of the UK music scene, their Back in The DHSS the top-selling indie album of 1986. Recently lauded by John Peel as " national treasures", they also have a new EP. Saucy Haulage Ballads ' lead track 'Jarg Armani' is a Sex Pistols-tinged slab of guitar rock, but the record also revisits what was once their signature tune - 'Trumpton Riots'. The band have no qualms about revisiting their past - "If I see the Beach Boys I want them to do 'Good Vibrations'" says Nigel.
With Edinburgh awash with more celebrities than you could shake an AK-47 at, it's perhaps timely they should visit the capital for what's a rare and long-awaited gig. "We're not natural performers so the excitement'll give us butterflies," he confesses. Their legendary love of Tranmere Rovers once prevented them from appearing on The Tube, but the reasons for the scarcity of away fixtures for the band are now more mundane. "I just love my own bed so much - plus I've got a dog now." After that it's back down the M6 to his seat in front of the telly. "I should say I watch BBC3 too!" he laughs. And hints for the next Big Brother? "Fist fights - that would liven it up!"
Davina: if you're in Edinburgh this week, take note.
(Stuart McHugh)
Dave Gorman previews the Edinburgh gig here...
Details of the new 6-track EP Saucy Haulage Ballads, out on 4 August (you can pre-order from Geoff via the Mail Order page.
Biffo was keen to have this on the website...a press cutting from the Daily Mail announcing the Peel Session (104Kb). Good to see they got an up-to-date photo....
Probably HMHB's first NME interview: click here to open (it's quite big - 360Kb). Ta to Alan Hogg.
HMHB are appearing on 'Whistle Test Years' on BBC2, Thursday night (19/6/03) at 11.50pm. It'll probably be 'Trumpton Riots'. Marvel at the hair and the jumper once again...
Tommy Mackay's been busy yet again: another couple of Flash animations, this time for You're Hard and Vatican Broadside.
HMHB made a surprise appearance in the programme for the Champions League 2nd leg match between Man Utd and Real Madrid at Old Trafford at the start of April...thanks to Stephan Work for sending it in...click here to open (it's quite big - 246Kb).
HMHB's 1998 Meltdown gig (previously broadcast on John Peel) was given an airing on Thu 22 May on Dream Ticket on 6Music. The gig will remain available from the Dream Ticket page for about a week after the programme.
Go to icliverpool.co.ukand see the 100 Greatest Merseysiders of all time, as voted for by Radio Merseyside listeners and Liverpool Echo readers. You'll see Nigel is no. 57, just pipping Andy McLuskey of OMD and (ahem) Stan Boardman. He gets a mention in the Liverpool Echo article on the list, written by regular contributor to these news pages, Paddy Shennan.
The 2nd edition of the new 'Word' magazine has a few mentions of HMHB - and they've got a mini-book stuck to the front cover where they list out 'Best' this-and-thats - HMHB get best album sleeve for "Cammell Laird" - or more correctly, for the inner sleeve and its fake albums...
http://www.wordmagazine.co.uk but it doesn't say much here...
Tommy Mackay's been busy again: another Flash animation, this time for Breaking News
to go with the earlier one for The Referee's Alphabet.
An interview with Nigel from 1985. Spot the mistake(s)...
The Peel Session broadcast last September is now not being aired on Peel's show on Thu 13th February - due to a cock-up or something on Tuesday, when the Mountain Goats session didn't appear, HMHB have now made way for the Goats on the aforementioned date. Oh well...
There's been a fair few of mentions of HMHB on the Guardian letters page in the last two weeks, which started off on a thread about snooker music:
Tuesday January 28 2003
Re: snooker music (letters January 28[sic]): the first album by Tranmere's Half Man Half Biscuit includes Everybody's Doing the Len Ganley Stance.
Ron Gould
Brighton
Wednesday January 29 2003
Another classic on that Half Man Half Biscuit Album (letters, January 28) was I Hate Nerys Hughes.
Allan Crosbie
Edinburgh
Friday January 31 2003
A letter listed: All I Want for Christmas a Dukla Prague Away Kit; Fuckin' 'ell. it's Fred Titmus; I Was a Teenage Armchair Honved Fan, Outbreak of Vitus Gerulaitas; Dickie Davis Eyes; Bob Wilson - Anchorman.
Thursday February 6 2003
Yet more, another letter publicising Referee's Alphabet, Paradise Lost (Your the Reason Why) and also
mentioning Dead Men Don't Need Season Tickets from a few years ago.
Peter Dorey
Nothing earth-shattering, but there you go (thanks Tom and Peter).
The Peel Session broadcast last September is being aired again on Peel's show on Thu 13th February.
Well, sort of. Tommy Mackay at The Daily Reckless has been busy with Flash: Click here.
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