Rescheduled event after the first attempt earlier in the year was postponed due to illness. The possibility of there ever again being a Mugabe Government finally became an impossibility that morning, so did a rainbow appear? Over to you.
Rescheduled event after the first attempt earlier in the year was postponed due to illness. The possibility of there ever again being a Mugabe Government finally became an impossibility that morning, so did a rainbow appear? Over to you.
Chris The Siteowner
Fabulous gig. Band really seemed to be enjoying themselves. Cover version of a song by the group who grew up within a few hundred metres of the venue. Nine of the top ten Lux Familiar Cup songs (by Two Fat Feet’s rankings). Almost as if the show hadn’t been thrown together by accident! (And as if it couldn’t get any better for me, “Fix It” and “Terminus”). A fittingly brilliant 50th gig for Dr D., I’m guessing.
6 September 2019
Transit full of keith
Superb cover of Syd Barrett’s ‘Bike’, with a thousand yard stare, in the encore.
6 September 2019
I, problem chimp
I did wonder beforehand if the cover might be a Floyd number… My first HMHB gig, and although a combination of childcare issues and the A14 meant I missed any pre-gig activity, a thoroughly brilliant and enjoyable evening… Thought the songs off Creative Hub sounded particularly strong live, but, although it was probably the one I was most looking forward to hearing, Harsh Times didn’t quite have the power I hoped it would…
More than made up for though by Fix It, Look Dad and especially Floreat Inertia, which was a hugely pleasant surprise and reinforced my disbelief that it didn’t make the top 100 in the LFC…
6 September 2019
O2 Joyce
Walk on music was that hilariously terrible trumpeting that greeted Donald Trump at an event this week. Inspired. ‘Bike’ was brilliant.
Long standing fan but first gig. Excellent. They’ve got some weird fans.
7 September 2019
EXXO
Ha, nice one, it was 8½ years ago in Leicester when Nigel spontaneously broke into an adapted chorus of in response to an audience shout, at a gig more full of such spontaneity than almost any other I can remember:
7 September 2019
hendrix-tattoo
A simply superb evening in the company of superb people.
God bless you all….
7 September 2019
Clown in a yaris
Fantastic evening and lovely to meet some of the people behind some of the comments. Come on Sheffield can’t wait….
7 September 2019
BOBBY SVARC
@Exxo. I was banned from the shit hole in Leicester for that gig. No disabled facilities at the Auditorium, thank god that things have improved ever so slightly since then.
7 September 2019
Andyroo
Does anyone have the set list (typed or otherwise)?
7 September 2019
Chris The Siteowner
O2 Joyce: I’m pretty sure the walk on music was the Portsmouth Sinfonia. I thought for a moment it was the Temple City Kazoo Orchestra, but no…
Andyroo: Watch this space.
7 September 2019
dr desperate
Indeed it was a brilliant gig, @CtSO (as was the curry beforehand, thanks). I’d whiled away a couple of hours earlier in the afternoon trying to source a ‘50’ badge from Cambridge’s disappointing card shops, rejecting one that said ‘Fifty and Fabulous’: perhaps I should have gone with it.
After a few gigs without walk-on music we were treated to ‘Also Sprach Zarathustra Op 31’, a Portsmouth Sinfonia collaboration with Eno on both production and clarinet. It was also a pleasure to see Nigel strapping on his guitar, doubly so as he initially forgot to plug it in.
The band were all in black tee-shirts, Karl’s one from his Krankschaft collection and Carl’s an ‘M’ logo (anyone?). My own ‘arshall Amplification’ shirt matched theirs, but the prize for the evening must go to Brumbiscuit for his Eamonn Holmes ‘Primark FM’ number with a picture of a sanderling on the back.
Nigel spotted an imaginary acquaintance at the back of the hall and asked them if they were all right for Disney tokens, and later identified Pam Ferris (“Have you had your wheelie bin jet-washed?”) and ex-Cambridge United centre forward, now Home-Hammerer Dion Dublin. Wizard Tony’s Interesting Fact for the day, that Dublin had invented a percussion instrument (the ‘Dube’) unfortunately went unheard.
The setlist was excellent (see below eventually, no doubt) with the regular shout for ‘Old Tige’ being met with a snippet from a C & W song I didn’t recognise, about ringing someone long distance and not caring how much it cost. Before the gig I’d texted Jitsu_G Graham, languishing in Portugal to tell him I suspected the official cover might be one that Nick Mason knows, and sure enough we got the Blackwell-friendly ‘Bike’ by Floyd (q v).
There was some discussion on the subject of the strange oblong water cartons laid on by the management, which Nigel thought looked more like containers for milk. I suggested soup, and he trumped this with “Minestrone, without the minestrone”. He went along with Martin’s comment that their strapline ‘One Less Bottle’ should have said ‘Fewer’.
An excellent joke about Carl’s dad being offered the post of the Mayor of Wirral (“He lives at Number 22, the Mayor lives at 27”) almost airshipped me, but I did better with one about the bloke covering himself in chocolate sauce and hundreds and thousands in an effort to top himself.
Nigel hugged himself with delight at his ingenious route to the gig, avoiding the disaster-zone A14 (can the A11 be right?) which brings you straight out onto Hills Road. This was apparently the location of an excellent chippy, though the woman there incurred his disapproval by not changing her gloves to serve the vegetarian option.
The only disadvantage to his increased axe-wielding was that it curtailed his more extravagant sporting gestures, but it did allow the return of the plectrum-on-the-forehead trick, and didn’t prevent him from leaping into the moat at the end of ‘DPAK’ for a punter to shout “Aaaaaaaaa” into the mike (she missed her chance).
After-match lagers were taken in The Earl of Derby, where I was astounded to find that in addition to Thorsten aus Hamburg we were also graced with the presence of a lovely Norwegian couple, Kjell and Kristin.
Velkommen til Kjeksene, and on to Sheffield!
7 September 2019
dr desperate
I ought to mention that Nigel also asked us to clear up once and for all whether The Great Wall of China can be seen from space. My answer, rightly or wrongly (wrongly) was that everything can be seen from space.
7 September 2019
twistedkitemike
A little belatedly, I would like to confirm the order of service for the evening.
The official set-lists are not an accurate record, because some extra tracks were wedged in.
The Junction is a solid venue. Good sound, decent beer, a bit of a through breeze and ample facilities. Plus, for me, a relatively easy journey.
Anyway, other people have and will fill in the gaps in the history. Here are the songs: –
Bob Wilson
Batwalk
Evening Sun
Joyce
Lark
Colombia
Left Lyrics
Bad Wools
Vatican
Umberstone
Look Dad
Checkatrade
Fix It
JDOG
Terminus
Restless
Floreat
Light \tunnel
AOR
NSD
Mountain Bikes
Trad Arr Tune
DPAK
Fred
Trumpton
………………………….
Bike (Floyd)
Chatteris
Time Flies By
Bell Rings
A fine evening out for all. TOFFS must be delighted, I saw more new DPAKs than I had seen for a long time.
Roll on Sheffield……..
Mike…………………
7 September 2019
Zig
Excellent gig – one of my best friends Dave & myself always see them when they’re in the area, even going to 2 consecutive nights when they played the John Peel Centre & the Junction a few years ago. This year I had a holiday booked for when the original gig was scheduled. How happy was I when I returned to be told by Dave the gig had been postponed until last night.
So it meant we could go together again like we have for decades & as our sons are older & the Junction lets in under 14’s, it meant we could take them with us. I did pre warn mine that he wouldn’t be able to see much, but he was just happy seeing a band his Dad had talked about & played for his entire life. I’ve even heard him playing hmhb through his own smart speaker. He’s only 9 but a budding guitarist himself, I thought it’d be rude to leave the missus at home so I took her to her 2nd hmhb gig. All 5 of us had a fantastic time as always. It’s a shame Ken Hancock wasn’t there, but his replacement was spot on.
A big shout goes out to the lady on the merchandise stall who gave my son a stool so he could stand on it and see the band, thank you very much for doing that.
7 September 2019
GORDON BURNS
I wonder if anyone caught (and understood) who was name-checked as the punchline of Lock up Your Mountain Bikes.
7 September 2019
dr desperate
Lark and Colombia were transposed from the hand-written running order; Mountain Bikes, Fred Titmus and Time Flies By were late additions.
Another crowd spottee was Alan Biley, U’s striker and later manager of Ely and Diss, among others.
7 September 2019
Carrie Anne
@DrD. Re “she missed her chance”
It was actually a bewildered young(ish) man who fluffed up his lines when confronted with Nigel’s microphone.
8 September 2019
Lux inferior
Another memorable Junction appearance – the sound, as is always the case at this venue, was spot on. Needless to say, the performance was exemplary.
To address a couple of the points above: I believe it was Richard Dawson who was namechecked during Lock Up Your Mountain Bikes – I’m sure other contributors will be better placed to speculate why. And I believe Alan Biley was actually said to have written one of the songs (can’t recall which), rather than being spotted in the audience.
Useless fact: Cambridge Junction five-timers racked up for TLATEOTT, Trumpton, Bob Wilson, Vatican Broadside, JDOG and, of course, Chatteris.
Great to have the opportunity to chat to a few regulars in the Flying Pig, both before and after. To the two Ipswich lads, the Pink Floyd album with Ely Cathedral on the cover is The DIvision Bell. @ Clown In A Yaris – I missed my intended train, but it was a small price to pay for an absorbing post gig yap.
Only quibble on the night was the sparse attendance in the moshpit. Managed to get something going with a tall lad named Ian around Colombia/Left Lyrics (and then keep it going), but very disappointing that there were probably never more than 10-12 moshers max. I guess age is catching up with much of the fan base!
8 September 2019
I, problem chimp
@GB (post 15)
I think it was highly acclaimed singer-songwriter Richard Dawson…
@Zig (post 14)
I think I must have been stood right next to you, if so big shout out to your son for his response to being told he was too heavy to be picked up for any length of time: “You should go to the gym more often then…”
8 September 2019
CARRIE ANNE
Roger’s review from Gez’s website.https://cobweb.businesscollaborator.com/hmhb/index.htm
Junction, Cambridge, Fri 6th Sept 2019
Roger Green:
These strange things happen every now and then. Karen and I were ligging around, catching a video that a fellow punter had shot at the Castleton gig. The band were playing Joy Division Oven Gloves, featuring Nigel’s wicket-keeping pose, and the “Dance! Dance! Dance! Dance!” line. After that, we switched 6 Music on. Tom Robinson was playing Joy Division’s Transmission, with the original “Dance! Dance! Dance! Dance!” line. Inconsequential of course, but as Peelie would have said, “Some greater force is at work.” On the subject, Happy Belated Birthday to the greatest DJ, who would have been 80 the week before this show.
Word went round my locality that a cat had gone missing. It happens all the time, I suppose, but I paid particular attention when Karen told me that this one goes by the name of Nigel. And life did its old trick of imitating art when we were asked to “Check your sheds.”
When browsing the TV channels on the Sunday afternoon of the Bank Holiday weekend, we came across an old (very old) episode of Bullseye on the Challenge channel. Ted Moult was the guest thrower for charity. His was a very sad exit for a man immortalised by HMHB. We did some enquiries about him, and found a second link to a song by the band. He was, after all, credited with the concept of Pick Your Own Strawberries.
I noticed a match in the Europa League between two cities mentioned by HMHB. FC Quite Disappointing Statue saw off the venue for the Heavy Drinking Rugby Pals. 3-2 on aggregate.
We often struggle for fillers between Biscuit gigs. We took a chance on The Wurzels when they played at The Brudenell in Leeds. The sceptical me was expecting something akin to an episode to the BBC’s Summertime Special. Not a bit of it. These guys, in their late seventies and early eighties, put on an evening of wholesome entertainment to put smiles on faces. I Am A Cider Drinker, Combine Harvester and Drink Up Thy Zider were all in their set. As was a fine version of The Kaiser Chiefs’ Ruby. We were encouraged to raise a glass to the band’s founder, Adge Cutler (“now on the great cider cart in the sky”). This prompted me to dig out HMHB’s Footprints, where Adge gets a mention. John Morgan, the band’s drummer is worth a mention. A fine performer, but also I’ll have to go a long way to see a closer lookalike of Barney Mcgrew, driver of the Trumpton fire engine and, aptly, cymbal player in the brigade band.
Same city, same venue. We were back at The Brudenell to see Edwyn Collins. No particular HMHB references, but Edwyn is always worth a plug. His cameo appearance on Springwatch was the kind of quality television that doesn’t happen too often. His show was a mix of old Orange Juice songs and ones from his new album. A highlight was the grand version of Simply Thrilled Honey. This was the night before HMHB hit Cambridge. So, in a fashion, this was not a bad support band to have.
A flick through the morning papers, and their total silence on the HMHB show, would not have surprised many. With The Yorkshire Post, well yes it was slightly out of their area. And they were busy with Boris Johnson’s visit to the county. But, considering the departure of his brother from his role in the government, at the very least we might have expected a Compare And Contrast article with the time when Simon Blackwell left HMHB. I could have a go at that myself, but ought to leave it for those who are/were closer to the action in both instances.
We also drew a blank with other papers. Metro (both the Yorkshire and Cambridge versions) and “i” were also drawn to other news, mainly Steve Smith’s double century in the cricket for Australia against England. We held out hope for The Cambridge News, but that, too, was silent.
Our journey took us from Leeds to Stevenage, where we changed trains and got a connection to Cambridge. The display on board the second part gave updates on the running of the London Underground. A Good Service was reported on all lines except for the Metropolitan where travellers had to put up with “service delays”. However, things were a lot worse on the return journey on the Saturday morning. There were part closures on the District, Hammersmith, Metropolitan and Piccadilly lines.
Like one or two other attendees, we were staying at the Travelodge in the same leisure park as The Junction. Close as that is, we reckon it still only gets third place in the Accommodation Proximity To Venue stakes. The silver medal goes to The Old Bridge at Holmfirth which involves going out of the front door, turning a corner and walking down a ginnel. Even that is beaten by The Robin 2 at Bilston, whose location is merely at the bottom of a set of stairs.
The Cambridge Travelodge is also convenient for a late lunch at Nando’s. Not everyone likes the chain restaurants, but this always does for us. The new spinach side dish was impressive, and will be given another go some other time. We also thought we would try Frankie And Benny’s for breakfast before they start hacking through their list of restaurants.
As you do, we pondered the implications of Robert Mugabe’s demise on the lyrics of National Shite Day. And also, would the recent changes in the Association Football rules have any effect on the H for Handball section of The Referee’s Alphabet? Not that that is a big favourite in the band’s live performances, but Nigel may need to address this if/when the song ever appears in front of an audience.
Our afternoon also involved an episode of Countdown. Well, you’ve got to. A nice cup of tea, a bit of kip and we were ready to go in the evening.
No excuses for not being at the front of the queue. We did a bit of people-watching, in particular looking out for fellow fans. It wasn’t long before Tony joined us. We also got talking to Mo, who was at her first ever HMHB show. Jay and Andy also passed by, on their way for pre-show food. Jay had missed a few, so it was good to see him back in the fold. Brian also said Hello. As did Mike, who was in work garb (I noticed he had later changed into the more familiar Ipswich Town shirt). Normally we would have expected to see Andrew there. But he had passed on his apologies earlier. Had to work. Eek!
The first thing I wrote in my notebook when we were inside the venue was “Big New Prinz”. This being The Fall song played over the PA. It was around this time when Matt, Phil from Portsmouth, and Postman Tony appeared. Postman Tony had also picked up on the Mugabe news. Great as always to see international traveller Thorsten who had called in from a corporate training session in London.
Model Village were tonight’s support. You don’t see too many bands with an electric ukulele. They were good enough to clarify where they come from. “We’re from Cambridge, England.” It could, of course, have been Cambridge, New Zealand. I can’t claim to remember much about the last time they appeared with HMHB at this same place (makes note to refer to previous review), but this was high standard stuff. Having heard Big New Prinz a few minutes earlier, I was impressed by their song dedicated to Mark E Smith. “You are appreciated” went the chorus.” One of their others dealt with the perils of on-line dating. And they did “a song about bands from the nineties re-forming, and why they shouldn’t do it.” A polite set of folk, Model Village thanked HMHB for the use of the drum kit. Maybe it had not been properly re-calibrated, as Carl seemed to be having problems during the early part of HMHB’s set, including scrambling around on the floor. “It’s like watching The Grumbleweeds,” said Nigel at the time.
I caught up with a few more folk during the interval. John reminded me that we had not had chance to speak at Castleton as we had been on different decks in the “auditorium”. Graham was doing his usual there-and-back in one night routine, as he was scheduled to be back out in the taxi the following day. He had an interesting tale from a few weeks earlier when driving home from the Castleton show. At the limit of his headlight beam he said he saw a large animal with a tail jumping over a wall. Too big to be a cat or dog, and it wouldn’t have been a deer or a horse. Back to Cambridge, I said Hello to Ian and Mariana, exchanged waves with Chris, and noted the usual timely arrival of Howie and Daz.
There is often a very brief lull when the lights go down immediately before a band goes on stage. Tonight the lull was extended to the point where people were left wondering if there had been a power cut. Any worries were put to rest when the lights came back on, and HMHB entered to the sound of Portsmouth Sinfonia’s Also Sprach Zarathustra. It felt apt.
Nigel asked someone at the back of the hall, “Are you all right for bags? Are you collecting the Disney cards?” Then he spotted Dion Dublin. “Good to see you’ve settled in now. You were shite at first. But now you’re better than Martin.”
First song was Bob Wilson Anchorman, at the end of which there was a high kick from Nigel in the direction of Neil. A statement of intent? Like clattering the opposition winger in the first minute? After Renfield’s Afoot, Nigel said “We can all do that.” Bollocko? 2am? Oh, all right then.
John tapped me on the shoulder, wondering if this was the first time all four members of the band had appeared, all wearing black t-shirts. In the absence of any evidence to the contrary, let’s just say Yes It Was. Nigel was a walking Adidas advert. Karl’s was a Krankschaft number. It reminded me of the time when we were due to see Krankschaft in Wakefield. But the venue went bust a couple of weeks beforehand.
Nigel was going to take a swig of water. Plastic bottles are on the way out. Nigel said the vessel looked like a milk carton. Someone shouted out “It could be soup!” Nigel had a drink and said “Yes, minestrone.” The name of the product was One Less Bottle. This was challenged from the crowd. “Shouldn’t it be One Fewer Bottle?” That’s a grammatical argument for another day. Nigel observed though that it said on the carton “still mountain water”. “But it never says which mountain,” he added. Later on he was asked if there was a serving suggestion. “Just pour and enjoy,” Nigel replied.
Nigel told Tony that he had seen a story about a guy being found in a park near where Tony lives, covered in ice cream, sauce, sprinkles and a Flake. It seems he had tried to top himself.
Nigel repeated what he had heard someone say in the crowd. “Got you a beer, Terry.” And then he said to Neil “This one is for you,” before they began Lark Descending. Good to see that Nigel still sticks his plectrum to his forehead for the bit about working on the bins. And there was a fair cheer when he removed it.
Sorry but I totally lost the trail when Nigel was talking about the band’s route to Cambridge. He mentioned calling at the Subway shop across the Plaza that was marginally worse than the one on Hills Road. They asked if there was a veggie option. The woman behind the counter wouldn’t change her plastic gloves, so they walked out. The only thing I could be certain about, from the band’s journey, is that “we have fucked the A14 off”.
Tony spotted a bit of a Tom Waits song which formed a segway into Vatican Broadside. And Tony was addressed by Nigel before Look Dad No Tunes. “It’s a myth that you can see the Great Wall Of China from Outer Space. Otherwise, you’d also be able to see other things, like the Pyramids. They’ll be OK when they’re finished.” Another comment came ahead of Fix It So She Dreams Of Me. “You can tell I’ve been reading too much Philip K Dick.”
Carl’s dad had been offered the post of the Mayor. That’s because he lives at Number 72, whereas the post should have gone to the Mayor at Number 75. Nigel noted that The Checkatrade is now known as The Leasing.Com. He accepts that he needs to do a bit of work on making the words scan in the song.
There was another celebrity spot. “Pam Ferris, ladies and gentlemen! Did you get your wheelie bin jet washed?” Nigel did a fitness test for the gig (a bit late in the day) by jumping off the drum riser during Joy Division Oven Gloves. I didn’t keep a tally, but his rate of songs with and without his guitar was very roughly half and half.
Nigel noted that a light to the right of the stage, which had been off all evening, had suddenly switched on. There was a similar light to the left, which had stayed off. “Good job,” he remarked, “because it would shine off Neil’s head and blind people.” There was a fairly clear introduction to the song in question when he said “This is a song about having Restless Leg Syndrome.”
More poor note-taking here. Floreat Inertia was introduced as a song written by Alan. Unfortunately I didn’t catch Alan’s surname. Maybe some connection with Cambridge United, or Cambridge University. Or both. Alan Biley? Likewise, I forgot to listen carefully during The Trumpton Riots. Quite often at this venue, Nigel will sing “There’s going to be a riot down in Trumpington tonight.”
The mosh pit got more and more lively as things went on, reaching a peak I would say around the point where The Light At The End Of The Tunnel and Everything’s AOR were played. As Tony observed, “It’s like The Last Night Of The Proms.” This was about when Ian was shoved
In between the two of us into the rail at the front.
The punchline at the end of Lock Up Your Mountain Bikes was “That’s when I got into Richard Dawson”. At the end of All I Want For Christmas Is A Dukla Prague Away Kit, Nigel stepped off the stage and held a microphone for a guy in the middle of the front row to provide the final “Errrrrr”. Possibly he didn’t know the words, so Nigel moved along to Karen who heartily rescued the situation.
There was a shout for Old Tige. “We’ve had an injunction,” said Nigel. “We can’t do that one. We can say the words (which he subsequently did) but we can’t play the music.”
Interesting to hear a Pink Floyd cover version. I didn’t know that they had such a connection with the city. I understand that Syd Barrett lived just down the road.
The show went like this
Bob Wilson Anchorman
Renfield’s Afoot
When The Evening Sun Goes Down
Ode To Joyce
Lark Descending
What Made Colombia Famous
Left Lyrics In Practice Room
Rock ‘N’ Roll Is Full Of Bad Wools
Vatican Broadside
Harsh Times In Umberstone Covert
Look Dad No Tunes
Swerving The Checkatrade
Fix It So She Dreams Of Me
Joy Division Oven Gloves
Terminus
Restless Legs
Floreat Inertia
The Light At The End Of The Tunnel Is The Light Of An Incoming Train
Everything’s AOR
National Shite Day
Lock Up Your Mountain Bikes
We Built This Village On A Trad Arr Tune
All I Want For Christmas Is A Dukla Prague Away Kit
Fuckin’ ‘Ell It’s Fred Titmus
The Trumpton Riots
And the encore was
Bike
For What Is Chatteris
Time Flies By When You’re A Driver Of A Train
Every Time A Bell Rings
Karl very kindly handed over his set list. From looking at that, it can be said that What Made Colombia Famous and Lark Descending swapped places. Fred Titmus and Lock Up Your Mountain Bikes were unplanned additions. And Time Flies By was also not on Karl’s list. Light/Tunnel seems to have been written in as an afterthought, after the rest of the list had been completed.
After the gig, we mingled, and said our farewells. Tony was having to make an early exit on the Saturday morning. And Mo was heading for the late train home, having loaded up with vinyl at the merch stall. It was tempting to join Ian and Mariana in the hotel bar (there was also a gathering at the Earl Of Derby), but an early night (everything is relative) was in order. On Saturday we headed back north, again going via Stevenage. Thumbs up to Puccino’s on Platform 3 at the station. Excellent Mocha and plenty of space for gig reviewers to sit and type.
8 September 2019
Mathematically safe
The Tom Waits song would, in all likelihood, have been Martha.
Sounds like a great gig – I’m looking forward to Sheffield, for which I have tickets.
8 September 2019
hendrix-tattoo
I should have just got a job on the bins
The pay’s better and I’d know some hard blokes
And I wouldn’t have to pretend
That I know what “rhetorical” means
Thanks Andy Wilkinson….
https://youtu.be/rsRsc_Jrxm0
8 September 2019
Transit full of keith
Great video marred only by what I think is a close-up of my ear.
8 September 2019
Smirthers
‘Tis I, the aforementioned ‘Ian’ by Lux Inferior. It’s good to get a mosh going but getting a bit creaky these days. Ho hum. Anyhoo, with the early finish and not wanting to queue up to pay for the car park, I ventured up to The Flying Pig for post gigs refreshment. And while I was walking up the road I was subjected to a drive by shouting! Must be a Fenland thing.
Roll on Oxford now.
Hurrah.
9 September 2019
EXXO
@ Roger/Karen. As ever, many thnks. Your report is a superb shot of serotonin for those in dejection at missing the gig, nowhere near Naples. Sounds like I almost bumped into you at the Brude on Wurzels night, as I’d been there for the footy and left at the end of Captain Hotknives’ miraculous* support set, some of which I heard from the other room, i.e. at a strange angle across the two bars. Mrs. Exford stayed and got ratted with her mates, hearing some of the Wurzels action from a similar angle whenever she went to the bar (i.e. often). Did they do the one about Z(u)ider Zee?
Let’s cut stright to the pedantry though: whereas JDOG goes
“Dance!Dance!Dance! Dance!,” (x4) Transmission goes “Dance!Dance!Dance! Dance! Dance!” (x5)
@Lux – my one crumb of comfort at missing the Junction gig is that the moshing is always shite. The earnest concentration is good, though.
@Lux again. In my observation, if it’s “I” at the end of Mountain Bikes, it’s a genuine “told you so.” Count Arthur Strong wouldn’t work on telly, the remake of The Wicker Man would be shite, and Richard Dawson is brilliant. Mr. B knew these things first. If it’s “you”, it’s a piss-take, e.g. the Manics line.
*Although he is about half the age of the Wurzels, Bradford’s Captain Hotknives’ continued survival is just as surprising, to those who are familiar with his lifestyle. Catch him while he lasts.
9 September 2019
dr desperate
A couple of late updates from 1973 albums:
The song snippet I failed to identify was indeed the first verse of Tom Waits’ ‘Martha’
(“Hello, hello there, is this Martha?
This is old Tom Frost
And I am calling long distance
Don’t worry ’bout the cost”).
I should really have recognised it, as I used to listen to ‘Closing Time’ a lot, and Nigel sang it at the Manchester gig last November.
Also, I have it on good authority that Carl’s tee-shirt logo came from the cover of Peter Hammill’s album ‘Chameleon In The Shadow Of The Night’, representing the letters in his surname and the Scorpio star sign.
9 September 2019
Zig
@I, PROBLEM CHIMP post 19
Yes that was us I do remember somebody commenting on his remark about me going to the gym more often so I could lift him up for longer lengths of time.
We have spoken about travelling to other gigs but they are always so far away & normally mid week.
Next time they play in East Anglia I’d like to meet up with some of you guys for a drink & a chat before the gig
9 September 2019
transit full of keith
Walking to work past Cambridge Junction this morning my eye was drawn to a bike tyre thrown round a lamppost, possibly as a tribute to youth, less than one minute from the venue. Own up, who was it?
12 September 2019
Lux inferior
Perhaps a little late, but a rare review of the Cambridge gig can be found here:
https://cambridgemusicreviews.net/
22 September 2019
transit full of keith
Flying Pig pre-gig loiterers, and those there on the night of the cancelled gig back in April, and especially anyone who signed the online petition, might be pleased to hear that it has been saved from demolition. Although it will probably be surrounded by skyscrapers by the time of the next Cambridge Biscuit gig.
20 November 2019