The Lux Familiar Cup – in which readers of The Half Man Half Biscuit Lyrics Project choose their favourite songs of all time. Voting on this album closed on Sat 12 February 2011, and the results from this qualifying group are below. 502 votes were cast. Two songs go through to the knockout stage, and two sprinted well ahead of the rest of the pack, which is neat.
Qualified for last 32
1. All I Want For Christmas Is A Dukla Prague Away Kit (14.7%)
2. The Trumpton Riots (14.1%)
In the race for the fastest losers:
3. Fuckin’ ‘Ell It’s Fred Titmus (9.4%)
4= Albert Hammond Bootleg
Sealclubbing (7.2%)
…and with the prospect of a penalty shootout a distinct possibility, that’s all for now. If you missed the vote and wish to hurl abuse at the ignorance of the masses, there’s a nice space to do it in below.
Malc Adlington
An almost impossible task to restrict to only the one song from any album or ep, but if I’m to be so pushed then it has to be Trumpton Riots from this one for me…
29 January 2011
Malc Adlington
…dark in here; isn’t it..?
29 January 2011
spoonunit
Impossible job matey, it’s all…love this one, ..this one’s great,….gotta vote for this one,….etc.
29 January 2011
Chris The Siteowner
Just a reminder, all, that you can vote for more than one song!
29 January 2011
incrediblestringbiscuitman
I hear there’s a Czech HMHB tribute band who sing “Hibs away kit” though I bet they didn’t need one so the joke’s on them.
“Take them to Merseyside, Matt”….
29 January 2011
s.g.d A Shropshire Lad
I couldn’t decide so I went with the track played most on my ipod(jog-proof, naturally).
29 January 2011
Vendor of Quack Nostrums
This is probably the album I play least these days, but the songs are, I realise, still players that have their exits and their entrances on my world’s stage. Consequently as we find ourselves on a road too wide for the shrunk shank of ageing HMHB songs, casting some of them towards mere oblivion, sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything, is not easy.
However in the interests of progressing beyond the foothills of the Lux Familiar Cup, I propose you consider casting your votes for;
The infant – God Gave Us Life
The whining school-boy – All I Want For Christmas Is A Dukla Prague Away Kit.
The lover – 1966 and All That.
A soldier – The Trumpton Riots
The justice – Albert Hammond Bootleg
The lean and slipper’d pantaloon – Fuckin’ ‘Ell It’s Fred Titmus
Second childishness – The Len Ganley Stance
29 January 2011
Ricardo
Applause to Gregg Z for the idea, and to Chris for implementing it. There were a few of my waking hours yet to be dedicated to trivial internet tomfoolery, but now I think my life is complete.
So, how many tracks to choose per album? I’m thinking three from each at the moment, but that is completely arbitrary, and likely to change as soon as I find that number too low. More broadly, I’m already trying to guess which songs will be fighting it out in the final stages – although my personal favourites are not my tournament favourites. In a way, it would be great if Busy Little Market Town won the whole thing :-).
A good excuse too – as if one were needed – to revisit each album, in full and with a more critical ear. My first thought regarding the debut was that its songs are unlikely to last too far into the knockout stages. But then, there is a curiosity with HMHB, already discussed by others on here, that for a band with 25 years and a further nine excellent albums behind them, it’s still only that first flurry of songs that are familiar to a lot of people, the band does seem unique in this respect. As an example, a football forum I post on has a weekly Top 5 thread on a nominated band. A few months ago it was HMHB’s turn, and of the 80 or so votes cast, almost half were for tracks from DHSS.
Also any mention of the band in the real world (a horrible place in general I find) usually draws either a complete blank, or some enthusiasm about Trumpton Riots and/or All I Want for Xmas… (occasionally even for the whole first album), followed by surprise that they even recorded anything at all after that, never mind that they’re still recording and gigging. Nigel Blackwell’s decision to eschew the fame game would appear to have been a huge success, given that he has managed to fly the band under the radar not only of the wider public, but even most of those ’indie’ enough to have picked up on them in 1986. So maybe the progress of these songs will give an indication of how many of the site’s visitors are longer-term fans, as opposed to nostalgists. I am aware of beginning to sound like a purist ready to be irked here.
After much deliberation, then, my choices from Back In The DHSS are:
1966 And All That
All I Want For Christmas Is A Dukla Prague Away Kit
Sealclubbing
Difficult to leave out Trumpton Riots, but there are no easy games at this level. I’m off now to try and identify which song will be this tournament’s France and crash out at the album stage despite being hotly tipped, and which plucky underdog will make it to the semi-finals. In particular, I am hoping for at least one fully-blown controversy to erupt, which will make the FIFA corruption scandal look like a scout hut debate.
30 January 2011
Alex Nolan
I’ve accidentally voted twice…I voted for Architecture… but cos Dukla Prague Away kit came up in bold I thought I’d mistakenly voted for that, and went back to vote again, and had a change of heart and voted for Albert Hammond Bootleg, and only after that did I realise the song in bold was the current leader.
So, in short, if it’s at all close, which looks unlikely, disregard one vote for Architecture…
31 January 2011
Poolio
Impossible… simply far too tricky… there’s the odd track I liked slightly less so tick everything else… or just pick a fave, or 2..3…4… argh!!!
Can’t do it… oh go on then… voted, can’t believe I went for them!
3 February 2011
Ben Woodcock
Ridiculously difficult task to choose the best from the first era albums. It made me listen to them yet again though – he he he
7 February 2011
Vendor of Quack Nostrums
No surprises from this qualifying group, the form tracks got through. Some half decent competition it’s true but the fact is that Dukla Prague and Trumpton are just too strong to be rattled at this stage. Class will out in the qualifiers. The challenges will come later of course but for now both songs will feel a job well done and be quietly optimistic. They hardly had to break sweat, and no serious injuries have been picked up. Through to the next round it’s true, but they’ll both spend the next couple of months guarding against complacency. The break will do them good but it’s all to come later for these trailblazing tracks. For now sit back, take it easy, it’ll be nice to watch other songs struggle for a while.
12 February 2011
s j redmond
Surely, with 9% of the vote, “..Fred Titmus” is the fastest loser!
4 March 2011
Chris The Siteowner
I can’t believe how long it took you all to spot my deliberate error. 😉
6 March 2011