Sheffield gigs now seem to come as regularly as, er, something else that comes every two years. And it’s now three in a row at The Leadmill too. Sometimes it’s nice to have a bit of familiarity. How was the gig for you?
Sheffield gigs now seem to come as regularly as, er, something else that comes every two years. And it’s now three in a row at The Leadmill too. Sometimes it’s nice to have a bit of familiarity. How was the gig for you?
Toby Farrand
If you’d have told me years ago that one day I’d be moshing to
Half Man Half Biscuit doing a cover version of Electricity by OMD I’d have never believed you. But strangely, that’s what happened tonight.
12 October 2019
twistedkitemike
Good morning, devotees. I will open proceedings with the set-list from the performance last eve before I retire to my bed.
There was quite a lot of chatter and entertaining repartee from Mr. B. I don’t doubt that Roger and his team of scribes have recorded it all and will be turning it into a comprehensive review over the weekend.
As a kind of literary amuse-bouche, there was a lovely return of A Country Practice (Do you know what I mean, Guys…. Guys?), some speculation about the current WAG-spat (which he hopes runs for a bit longer), the great “Road to Damascus” moment about the tuna fish, and for those with a geographical leaning, a re-run of the route from Wirral to Sheffield.
Anyway, I need sleep and you need information. Here’s the hymn sheet: –
Bob W
Bad Losers
Batwalk
Bob Todd
Colombia
Hornbeam
Wrong Grave
Squabblefest
Terminus
Enschede
Umberstone
Fred T
Bane
Look Dad
Evening of Swing
Vatican
JDOG
NSD
Trad Arr
Shit Arm
AOR
DPAK
Trumpton
Light Tunnel
…………………………
Country Practice
Electricity (OMD)
Bell Rings
On a personal note, it was delightful to see Ordinary to Enschede re-appear. Also Hornbeam and a little tickler in preparation for the 40th Anniversary OMD Greatest Hits tour coming to a venue near you soon.
The man who invented the crossword is buried in Sheffield.
Roll on to Bilston. A genuine home banker.
Mike…………………
12 October 2019
GORDON BURNS
Tchoo tchoo Dom
Tchoo tchoo Dum
That sounds like Electricity. Surely not. Blinking flip, it is!! Wow. And pulled off “with aplomb” too.
12 October 2019
Nigel Waller
Top night. OMG when OMD was played. Great crowd and a great setlist.
12 October 2019
BAD LOSER
Great set list and enjoyed The Crapsons too.
Have just tweeted ‘Electricity’ search under #hmhb
12 October 2019
kennyp
Brilliant gig with the boys on top form, though (I’m pleased to say) that’s pretty a given these days. Loved hearing Enschede again in particular. First time I’ve heard it live since Newcastle a good few years ago.
Also huge credit to the Crapsons, best support band I’ve seen in years, who seemed to be having a great time on stage. Would definitely go see them again.
12 October 2019
Bloke out walking the dog
Wonderful gig ( as usual ). Highlight for me – A Country Practice. Just bloody brilliant!!!
13 October 2019
cream cheese and chives
Another memorable night on the Biscuit odyssey. Nice to meet a few Biscuiteers in The Tap . A man in a Burberry fez and another singing the Welsh national anthem; a perfect pairing.
Enjoyed the Crapsons and can see ‘She’s got forty two wheelie bins’ as a stadium anthem of the future. The venue was good,the sound was good and the headline act were excellent. I never really got OMD so was non plussed by the cover version but enjoyed everything else-especially the tuna anecdote. I think I was into my 20s before I realised.
I would like to apologise to the bloke behind me for the stranger who suddenly collared me and started chattering incessantly during A Country Practice. He spoiled it for me too.
I hope the Half Mandolin Half Biscuit thing was good.My train home on Saturday passed through Hope, within sight of the back of Mam Tor and then through New Mills. This set me to thinking about the highest number of places in the HMHB gazetteer served by a single train line. Ideas?
Likely to be unavailable for selection for a few shows due to holidays and house moves but will look forward to the next time.
13 October 2019
dr desperate
Halfway through the gig someone came over to me and shouted, “They’re on good form tonight!” and I have to admit, I couldn’t disagree.
The omens had been good as, walking through Sheffield earlier in the day, I’d chanced upon a busker playing ‘Irk The Purists’ on the saxophone (now I come to think of it, it might have been ‘Give Me Joy In My Heart’). Numanoids were gathering outside the O2 Academy and Richard fans outside the Octagon Centre, ready for an evening of Hawley Sausage Ballads, but all right-thinking people were heading for T’Leadmill, as their neon sign described it.
Support band The Crapsons were tremendous with, as promised, songs about death, biscuits and sheds. I do know who the walk-on music was by, but it’s under embargo until Roger’s exemplary review has been posted. They’re from Sheffield.
First things first: Carl’s tee shirt was The Comsat Angels, Neil’s a black Fred Perry. Karl’s featured a mugshot of someone with the name of an English town above it, but I’ve forgotten both (anyone)? Nigel was sporting a long-sleeved white number which went well with the eventual appearance of the Airstream guitar (see below).
The setlist was brilliant, including all three winners of the Lux Familiar Cup and the welcome return of ‘Ordinary to Enschede’. Similarly welcome returnees were Lee (his Gulls shirt leading to a kerfuffle at the door), the Rotherham Postie (leading Nigel to propose a Postie-off between him and Tony) and the Irish contingent on their annual pilgrimage across the Muir Éireann. (Q. How do you worry The Bachelors? A. Shout “Oi, Yew T’ree!”)
Lyrical cock-ups in ‘JDOGs’ and ‘ACP’ were recovered with aplomb, and in the latter we heard Adrian/Sophie say “You know what I mean?” repeatedly, the first three words being the title of Andrew Flintoff’s autobiography. We discovered that the inventor of the crossword was buried in the nearby cemetery (“12 across, 20 down”) and the breed of dog most likely to attack posties (Labrador?). Nigel retold his anecdote about arriving four hours early for an away match at Scarborough and his subsequent surprise at learning how big tuna were (“I thought they were tin-sized”). He’d missed the latest instalment of WAG-gate through listening to Alternative TV all the way over, but suspected Jamie rather than Rebekah as the Instagram-sharing culprit. The route to Sheffield was much like you’d expect it to be.
In guitar news, the Airstream worked better than usual, and Neil’s Rickenback-up bass cost £605 in 1980 – quite a lot in those days. Nigel pooh-poohed Karl’s prog-rock noodlings in the Meadow of Consolation during ‘Wrong Grave’, muttering “I didn’t know we were going to be playing Popol Vuh songs” then later regained his bonhomie, leaping offstage to allow the crowd to sing the chorus of ‘FH,IFT!’ into his mike and handing out bottles of water. A Pathetic Sharks cry of “Got any crisps?” proved unsuccessful, but apropos of nothing he quoted John Shuttleworth’s line “I can’t go back to savoury now”.
The cover of ‘Electricity’ was storming, prompting one to wonder if OMD might return the favour and play ‘Architecture and Morality Ted and Alice’ at the City Hall next month.
After-match lagers The Rutland Arms, coaches 12.30.
On to Bilston!
13 October 2019
EXXO
Afternoon Acoustic Session: The Songs of HMHB at The Rutland Arms, Sheffield, Saturday 12th October 2019
Part One:
There may be a number of HMHB fans, some of them reading this even, who like things amplified and shouty and who might think they would feel slightly uncomfortable at an intimate, acoustic folk session of the type that happens in upstairs rooms like this. Nevertheless, the impulse to insert that quote by Andy Kershaw at this stage of my report, in order to position HMHB as a true folk act, should be avoided. Instead I’ll waffle up my own rough definition of folk music: any song that comes from real, shared experience and is disseminated live by non-professional musicians, with their own readily accessible instruments or voices, wherever people gather, and where other people are able to join in, is a folk song. Folk songs evolve away from their original creators; folk songs are influenced by earlier generations of music and influence later ones. It’s the way HMHB seem to treat other people’s music, and to me it’s surprising that not more HMHB songs are treated as such by other professional musicians. Why has there yet been no cover of Adam Boyle or, say, The Corner’s Footnote by any award-winning professional or semi-pro folk artist? Come on, Eliza!
Amateur musicians have been barely less backward in coming forward with their versions of HMHB classics. A few years back, there were regular Youtube clips of solo HMHB cover efforts on mandolin, bass, etc by an Aus-based chap styling himself ‘Drunken Madman.’ Like the brilliant Irish cover band Half Arsed Half Biscuit, he approached the songs with just the right degree of reverence – not too much – blended with the rough-and-ready “give it some welly” attitude that these tunes deserve. Only couple of other odd clips of folk doing likewise have appeared on Youtube over the years. I must mention Mrs Exford’s eccentrically-tuned efforts in the privacy of our own living room of course, but I’m surprised that I’ve never encountered much playing of HMHB tunes around the camp fire anywhere else.
However, it turns out that where it’s been happening for years is at the open-mic night at Fagan’s pub and other venues in Sheffield. That’s where a couple of HMHB fans who left the Wirral over 30 years ago to study in Sheffield have been propagating their songs almost ever since. And one of them uncoincidentally even happens to be Ken Hancock’s cousin! These two have gradually gathered a band of like-minded accomplices, including a chap called Ed, who as well as having his own unique concertina-accompanied versions of HMHB, is a bit of an organiser, and the idea of this charity fundraising event, the day after HMHB played Sheffield, was born and was spread forth upon the blissed-out land of peace, harmony and shared values that is called Facebook. I don’t go on there, but thanks to Ed I heard about it on here.
The Rutland is an outstanding little boozer which serves as a meeting point and watering hole prior to Leadmill gigs, serving a really impressive range of well-selected real ales for a pub of its size. So I’ve been in this pub several times before, but not for a while. I’m hoping to follow the crowds, but when I enter, five minutes after the advertised kick-off for this event, there are no DPAKS or HMHB t-shirts to be seen, the one barman is busy with a small queue of punters, and no, I can’t see any stairs. Just this room, and doors for the ladies and the gents. Is there another entrance to a back bar perhaps?
I exit and circumnavigate the building – nope – no other entrance. In again, and I’ll squint at the signage this time – ah yes small “beer garden” sign on the side of the “ladies” sign. Maybe it’s that way I look through – no, it seems to be just ladies and a beer garden. I ask someone in the main bar – they don’t know, but then I finally spot someone else going through the ‘ladies’ door and turning sharp left, and that’s where I hear my first note of music.
Upstairs, I was greeted by the friendly faces of several lovely HMHB gig regulars: Tony (AKA Hendrix Tattoo, still in postman’s jacket, straight from work on Friday, as ever), Roger, Karen (AKA Carrie Anne), and John (the King of Hi-Vis, AKA Dr. Desperate). All taking their places at the back this time, in contrast to their usual front-row positions where they hang on Mr. Blackwell’s every word.
It’s one of those small triangular upstairs rooms that you only find in small, triangular street corner city-centre pubs, and which can’t have changed much in a century. There’s a tiny bar which looks like it doesn’t often get used – the functions it catered for would need to be for less than 40 people. That’s almost exactly the number that we have here, but 8 or 9 of them are the performers, so they form a horseshoe at the narrow end, three of them with their backs to the bar. During the performance, the audience would later swell to around 35, with two or there crowded into the doorway and out onto the small landing area beyond.
The performers were later listed for me, from left-to-right. I meant to take a photo or film a clip, which is why the l-to-r order made sense at the time, but I was busy taking notes and I forgot. Anyway:
Ian – banjo & guitar ( lead vocals on DPAK)
Katie – fiddle & occasional lead vocals
Ed – concertina (& many lead vocals on his solo songs)
Smiley Dave – fiddle & saw
Teg – many lead vocals & occasional tin whistle
Trev – mandola, theremin (& some lead vocals)
Will – small guitar (& many lead vocals)
Helen – squeeze box & lead vocals on 2 or 3 solo songs
Mark – guitar I think, and lead vocals on a few songs
Adam sending on his rhymes deep in injury time we had Adam, with his cittern – a renaissance folk version of the lute, I seem to recall – perhaps he had been busy playing some Dowland at a wedding? I didn’t get a chance to ask.
Perhaps nervous of the row of ‘HMHB Ultras’ at the back, nobody quite seemed to want to go first, but after the briefest of introductions, Ed, in his burberry hat – almost but not quite a fez – kicked off with a solo version of 27 Yards of Dental Floss accompanying himself on concertina. It’s amazing how sometimes hearing something played on a ‘non-guitar’ can remind you how good a guitar riff is, and that was one of the effects of Ed’s versions this afternoon. From the start, his recollection of lyrics was pretty faultless and his precise, clipped diction indicated great reverence for the Bard’s words – but at the same time he wasn’t afraid to re-appropriate and re-own the song. We particularly enjoyed the way he almost acted out parts of the song as a dialogue, pausing slightly for replies: “been, yesterday” and “yes, but not with you.”
Next up was 1966 and all that led by Katie on fiddle, with Ian I think it was on main guitar, and the vocals delivered as a post-break-up dialogue, alternating between them, which worked incredibly well, Katie sounding like Nico, backing vocals from a soviet-sounding choir mimicking the Russian folk keyboards from the original, and the whole arrangement evoking the song’s main inspiration, somewhere deep in an album with a banana on the front. Looking back, this one summed up the whole afternoon’s session for me: re-imagining, re-working, revering, reminding us of stuff in the songs we’d perhaps not thought of for a while, but rough and raucous – folk at its finest.
Fiddles from Katie and/or Dave again worked brilliantly on Irk the Purists. It certainly wasn’t a gang of irked purists who slipped out the back at this point, but the Irish contingent who slipped in – Neville, Stephen, Tom, Dan & Paul, over for their annual jaunt from Limerick – and very un-irked indeed to have Friday’s HMHB festivities extended into Saturday.
Ed certainly did not underplay his humility. “Most of the songs I guess you’ll all know, but with some of the songs – when it’s me – you might not quite know what it is,” he warned us before launching – no more like lilting – into Fix It, again his concertina working really well as accompaniment to the crisp vocals.
Bad Review was I think the first song of the afternoon to foreground the local Ken Hancock lookalike Will, on guitar& vocals. Children were present at this point, so the lyrics were duly edited to “your paper’s full of rubbish.” Will subsequently cajoled various soloists with “let’s rip the paper up.”
Teg took lead vocals for the first time on Bottleneck in Capel Curig and a jolly fine singer she is too. Smiley Dave took a bow here too, playing bow saw with his fiddle bow to evoke the “bottleneck guitar” aspect of the bottleneck pun. I had to stand up at this point to look over people’s heads and check it wasn’t a theremin – seriously.
Ed’s prediction that “you might not know what it is, when it’s me playing” was at it truest, tune-wise, when his concertina next began its next bout of amusing noodling … but the lyrics appeared soon enough and it was very much recognisable as Knobheads on Quiz Shows, one of two songs from the last album that Ed delivered with (of course) aplomb.
Helen had by now made her way towards the front and made her first contribution, playing a vivid solo version of CAMRA Man which suggested that the titular species was not unfamiliar to her. Never has the line “but I’m gonna sort it out” been delivered – nay acted – so evocatively of someone the performer obviously knows personally.
Next up, Light at the end of the Tunnel became turned quickly into the first real mass sing-along of the afternoon, with lovely mash-up solos from the whole ensemble. Following this, the straightforward charms of For what is Chatteris, with Teg on lead vocals, probably won the afternoon’s prize for the song most indistinguishable from its album version. By way of immediate contrast, Ed’s break-neck version of Baguette Dilemna won the prize for song most different from its album version as well as song most speeded up, almost as if he was trying to get through it as a challenge before anyone noticed any slip-ups on the lyrics – not that there were any!
Introducing It makes the room look bigger Helen told us that when she had recently performed at a local open-mic event, someone actually ran out of the room as soon as she announced a HMHB song. Again her acting skills as well as her musical abilities were to the fore, with lines like “all of sudden three thugs rob your pension” delivered with a lovely understated comedy value. That nice key change on (or near) the Benny Goodman line – it always catchs me out, anyway – was also delivered with (yes) aplomb.
There followed some debate about which key would be best for Look Dad No Tunes (it’s in D, apparently). Teg delivered lead vocals, with all the requisite changes of pace skilfully handled. Critics were just beginning to wonder if Smiley Dave had come in too early with the theremin-sounding bow saw for the first solo, rather than waiting till the “boy from mover the road” joined in, but then …. Trev produced an actual real theremin for the later stages of the song! Great moment, but almost inevitably, this encouraged the King of Hi-Vis at the back to produce his first proper heckle of the afternoon:
“I‘ve got a theremin … but I haven’t touched it for years.” Groans.
Correct me if I’m wrong here, but was Paintball played solo by Mark? Anyway, the performer did so most entertainingly, taking some of his cues from a live version from maybe a decade ago, the one where they made lasting friends on Henman Hill, go to boxercise together, think it’s clever to hire a stretch limo … but updated with “nothing but total respect for Boris Johnson.” Cue actual pantomime booing.
Ed’s Cutleresque version of Upon Westminster Bridge was once again basically acapella with concertina for moral support. Young people had been taken to the downstairs bar by this point, no trampling involved in the exodus I am glad to report, so normal swearing was resumed.
After a faithful and thoroughly well-received rendition of 24 HGP by Trev, much applause as Ed declared “a beer break”.
“Does that mean you’re going to stop drinking, then?” asked Smiley Dave, smiling.
Part Two to follow soon
13 October 2019
EXXO
With all due apologies of course as to my inevitable errors on who played what, when. But any mistakes I make now can only encourage more of the pedantry that this site specialises in – so corrections from the performers themselves are welcome – and who knows, some of yesterday’s wonderful virtuosos might actually join in discussions on this site from time to time, “going forward”, if I put in the right amount of flattery.
13 October 2019
Embrace the margin
To record a hitherto unremarked detail, Vatican Broadside was preceded by a snippet of True Love Will Find You In The End, by way of tribute to Daniel Johnston.
All was excellent.
13 October 2019
dr desperate
If I may interject to that Exxemplary review, Ed Wynn (star) also updated the opening lines of ’27 Yards’ slightly to “Theresa’s just phoned, Brexit’s postponed”.
13 October 2019
CARRIE ANNE
Report by Roger Green, taken from Gez’s website…
Leadmill, Sheffield, Fri 11th Oct 2019
I make no apologies for rattling on again about the first time that I saw HMHB. It was here at The Leadmill on my mate Mark’s twenty-second birthday, February 2nd 1986. I had familiarised myself with Back In The DHSS. And at the time it had become a regular location for us to see bands. It was, it must be said, a hotly anticipated evening. This was around the time when I was starting to go cool on The Fall, with The Nightingales, The Smiths and Bogshed all vying for my attention. But the debate was settled when HMHB opened up with Busy Little Market Town. A jaw-dropping, life-changing moment. This band would do for me.
I’ve been reading Nige Tassell’s collection of football stories, The Bottom Corner. One of the chapters deals with a game where Tranmere Rovers (when they were in The Conference, when it was still called The Conference) play a game at home to Kidderminster Harriers. Tranmere take an early two-goal lead and are cruising towards victory. But then Kidderminster get two late goals, to sneak a draw. On the way out of the ground, the author bumps into “arguably Tranmere’s most famous supporter.” That’s Nigel Blackwell. “Typical bloody Rovers,” he comments before adding (“with gallows humour”) that at least it livened up the last ten minutes. If you’re a HMHB completist, you’ll want to get hold of this book. (The author must be a fan of the band. Winding forward a couple of chapters, he is at a game between Lewes and Leiston. Lewes, having had a bad start to the season, are behind for much of the game, but claw back a late equaliser. In the middle of the rejoicing, he notes “for the Lewes faithful there could just be light at the end of the tunnel. And it may not be the light of an oncoming train.”) More news on reading matter. The word on the street is that Nigel is set to appear in Stuart Maconie’s next book. Whenever that might be. Nige Tassell also has a new one out soon.
Watching the World Athletics Championship, we both agreed with the line from Them’s The Vagaries. “Don’t say the light show’s excellent.” Neither of us were ever going to say that. First time round, when they did the fancy stuff with the lights before the final race, it was mildly interesting, but was decidedly cliched after a few days. More sports non-news came from football’s Championship. Luton Town played a game at home to Millwall. I wasn’t there, so couldn’t swear to it, but on this occasion, it sounds like there wasn’t any reason for the Sealed Knot Society to take notes.
I ought to note one of our excursions which took place since we saw HMHB in Cambridge. We went to see the last two shows of The Chesterfields tour. They had played a variety of venues in England, working their way back to their base in the south-west, finishing off in Bridport and Bristol. Like HMHB, they appeared on NME’s splendid C86 tape. But you might argue that they haven’t quite kept the momentum going. Their gig in Bristol, for example, was at The Louisiana. It was busy that night, but is a far smaller place than ones that HMHB have filled. All good stuff though, along with their support act, Dai-Nichi, all the way from Tokyo, whose version of Making Plans For Nigel is worth a trawl of the web. Desperate for HMHB reference points I have to note that our journey took us through Poundbury, as in Little Miss. All part of life’s rich tapestry. And I would guess that you have to be reasonably rich to live there. Or is that just my warped northern outlook?
On gig day, Karen and I met up at Sheffield train station and took coffee at The Showroom Cinema, giving us an opportunity to buy tickets for the forthcoming Ken Loach film. We also caught the afternoon’s edition of Countdown, where I got my first ever nine-letter word. Curtailed. After that success, we reviewed the papers. Metro, Sheffield Telegraph and Sheffield Star. All were full of wholesome news, but none mentioned that HMHB were in town. They could have done with the publicity, as Gary Numan and Richard Hawley were both doing shows just up the road. Although, later on, The Leadmill seemed pretty full to me, so maybe word of mouth and notes on relevant web sites work just as well.
At the start of the evening, we had met Tony, and walked to the venue, to form the head of the queue. Neil was there. We chatted briefly, before he left for tea with his showbiz mates. He reminded us that Ken’s final gig with the band was at this place (August 2017). Neil was hopeful that Tranmere would pull through this season, despite their current position just above the relegation places. Watch this space.
Other early arrivals were Mike, straight from work, and Brian who was in search of grub. And while outside the entrance, we were approached by at least five individuals or groups who were looking for a pub. My knowledge of Sheffield pubs is not what it ought to be. I recommended any combination of The Royal Standard, The Howard and/or The Tap at the railway station. Of course there is also The Rutland, which is a short walk away. I would be happy to be told if I have missed any others nearby. Back to the queue, right behind us were Jo and her mate, who were at their second ever HMHB gig, having seen them previously at Matlock Bath. Postman Tony also turned up, in full punk gear. Well, trousers at least. He reported that he had helped out with roadying duties. His hi vis coat would have come in useful there. Very Health And Safety conscious.
And it was good to catch up with Chris the promoter. It’s a fair while since I used to send him a cheque and a Stamped Addressed Envelope for tickets, when the band played at The Boardwalk.
The doors were opened at 7.30. Matt must have been not far behind us in the queue, having made his usual epic journey from the south coast. I had an epic trip to the bar. The fridges were locked, which was starting to cause some fretting among the thirsty punters. That wouldn’t have happened when David Blunkett was in charge, when The Leadmill was a council-run community arts facility. Or something like that.
There was some good music coming out over the PA. Is this the same DJ that used to do the gigs at The Boardwalk? It was splendid to hear Smoko by The Chats. Surely a candidate for a future HMHB cover version?
Soon after came the theme to Steptoe And Son. This was the cue for Crapsons (no definite article) to make their entrance. Named after a Pulled Apart By Horses song. Hence the tshirt being worn by the bassist, I would guess. There was just the two of them, one guy playing the bass and taking the lead with the vocals. The other had a very basic set of drums, standing up while playing, and contributed with vocals. This was the kind of ramshackle operation which meets with my approval. From the town of Birkenhead apparently. There is an element of other bands from that town in their content. “This is for anyone who has ever had problems with North Wales police.” The song was about being on a speed awareness course. 82 on the 55? Cripes.
Crapsons commented on the difficult negotiation of Snake Pass, and gave a useful tip to not leave your washing out when it’s forecast rain. They also announced “We’re all over the internet, but older people can just write us a letter.” That’s good to know. There was also a mantra of “She’s got forty-two wheelie bins!” during Shed Talk. Thanks to the drummer for handing over his set list. I hope we can catch Crapsons again some time soon. And I hope they have some luck with getting merch sorted out. It seems they were let down with t-shirts. They are what my mate in New Zealand would call “a hoot”. Their set went as follows.
You Don’t Know When You’re Going To Die
Checking In To A And E
82 On The 55
Kings Of The Council Estate
Scallies
Jee Wizz
Who’ll Babysit The Goths
Shed Talk
There were a few more Hellos during the Crapsons set, and during the interval before HMHB arrived. Howie, Daz, John, Ian and Mariana and Katherine and Karl all tapped me on the shoulder, or at least we exchanged nods. Lee was also there, his first gig for a while. I got Graham the taxi driver’s number (always useful for future reference), and Nigel and Jo dropped by, just before HMHB hit the stage.
The Walk On music had Tony’s app totally baffled. I found out later from Carl that it was Four Hours by Clock DVA. In the excitement, Nigel had to consult with his set list after confessing to forgetting which was the first song. Shirt news was that Nigel and Neil were both in plain colours. Karl was in a Whitstable t-shirt, with a picture of Peter Cushing on the front. Carl’s was a Comsat Angels number.
Nigel informed us that Renfield’s Afoot is a true story. He asked if there was anyone in from Sharrow. “It’s not that far. Do you want a medal?” He then asked if there was anyone in from Padstow, in answer to which there was a “Yay!” “Hello Rick,” replied Nigel, referring to Rick Stein. “You need to bring your prices down.”
There was a bottle of beer on the stage floor (possibly left by a Crapson). Nigel took a swig but it frothed over and spilled onto the floor. He gave it up as a bad job and re-located the bottle to the back of the stage.
Rotherham Postie called out “What did God give us, Neil?” Nigel said “You’ve got competition,” pointing at Postman Tony. “You could have some sort of Post Off.” And Nigel referred to a survey from a few years back, where postmen were asked which breed of dog they feared most. Various suggestions came from the floor, before Nigel confirmed that Border Collies came out at the top of the list.
As usual, a number of songs were requested. “You shout them out. We probably won’t play them,” replied Nigel. We were told that Tending The Wrong Grave was another true story. While in the meadow of consolation, Karl’s guitar work led Nigel respond with “I didn’t expect to be in a Popol Vuh gig.” During the same song, Nigel applauded Karl for a glebe cow impression on the guitar.
Nigel informed us that the man who invented crosswords is buried in a cemetery near to the venue. His grave is 11 across and 12 down. There was a shout of “Up The Foxes!” “You’re brave to say that here,” replied Nigel. He added that ordinarily he would be stopping in and watching Inspector George Gently. But he has been occupied by the recent Instagram spat between the wives of footballers Jamie Vardy and Wayne Rooney. Nigel’s theory was that Vardy himself was behind it all. Nevertheless he would be glad to see it all continue to drag on. “It’s the new Brexit!”
“Here’s a more sombre song,” he said, ahead of Terminus. After that, he went into great detail to describe the band’s route to the gig. M57, M56, M62, M1. Once they got into Sheffield, they went in front of the railway station. He said it is frustrating that you can’t turn right down Leadmill Street to the venue. I agree. Instead you have to go in a loop onto Matilda Street, and round that way. Nigel suggested that there must be method in all that madness. The band did all that without a Satnav. But he paid a compliment to Street View on Google.
There was a mystery surrounding a shout from the crowd. Neil thought they were calling out “Croutons”, while Nigel felt it was “Wu Tang” as in Wu Tang Clan. According to Lee, who was standing right behind Karen, they were actually shouting “Wootton”, being Lee’s surname. Glad to clear that one up. Nigel jumped into the moat and held his microphone out so that one of the punters could do the final shout of “Fuckin’ ‘Ell It’s Fred Titmus”. That song was yet another true story, “except it wasn’t Lenor.”
Nigel said he has always wanted to swim with tuna. He has told his tale previously about them. Tonight it got another airing. Tranmere had an away game at Scarborough. It was scheduled as a 11am kick-off, which meant that he and Neil had to get away from Lime Street station at 6am. However, when they got to Scarborough, they discovered that kick-off had been put back to 3pm. This left them with time to kill. They headed for the Aquatic Museum. Nigel spotted a tuna. He had gone through life thinking that a tuna is the size of the tins that you buy in the supermarket. But now he was put right, and shouted out “Hey, Neil, have you seen how big a tuna is?”
Tonight’s big joke. “How many A and R men does it take to change a lightbulb? I’ll get back to you on that.” We were told that Evening Of Swing was based on an incident in the Mabinogion. (Tony knew what that one meant, but Karen and I had to look it up.) While adjusting the mike stand, Nigel said that after thirty-five years he had finally worked out how these things operate. Ahead of Vatican Broadside, there was a snippet of True Love Will Find You In The End by the late Daniel Johnston.
After Joy Division Oven Gloves, Nigel said “We haven’t got any. We’ve just got fridge magnets.” In National Shite Day, the note to Phil Cool was signed “Yours in sport, Stringy Bob.” There was a John Shuttleworth quote tonight. Between We Built This Village and Shit Arm Bad Tattoo, for some reason or other Nigel said “Can’t go back to savoury now.”
Nigel talked about Neil’s white bass. “You bought that in 1980 for £605 pounds.” On the subject of instruments, unlike at recent shows, Nigel played the guitar for the majority of this gig. And he even changed models, with the caravan unit coming out ahead of Dukla Prague. Later, when propping the guitar against the back of the stage, after saying it was a bit heavy, Nigel expressed worry that it might get a parking ticket there. He ran through the names of a load of Sheffield bands. This included Tony Currie. To appease the Wednesday fans, he added Jim McCalliog.
Geography. Not my strong point. But it felt wrong during The Light At The End Of The Tunnel. On the “New Mills” line, Nigel pointed in the direction of the railway station (and therefore vaguely towards the north). It might have been more accurate for him to point over his left shoulder?
A toy unicorn was thrown onto the stage. After an unsuccessful attempt to sit it on top of his amp, Karl found a home for it propped up against the speaker. Not a patch against Ron Seal though.
When the band came back for the encore, Nigel explained “If it was going well, we thought we’d do this one,” before they performed A Country Practice. The amended lyrics included “Let’s hear it for bitter ex-soap stars who are now in Peaky Blinders, and guests on The One Show” And there was a line about Andrew Flintoff. “Do you know what? Flintoff’s autobiography is called Do You Know What?” I think Nigel’s feelings came through there.
Another quality show. Thanks to Karl for the set list. Full audit follows. I reckon it went like this, including a cover of a song by Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark (as they were then known). Everything was played in exactly the same order as the set list. That doesn’t happen very often.
Bob Wilson – Anchorman
Bad Losers On Yahoo Chess
Renfield’s Afoot
Ninety-Nine Per Cent Of Gargoyles Look Like Bob Todd
What Made Colombia Famous
Stuck Up A Hornbeam
Tending The Wrong Game For Twenty-Three Years
Running Order Squabble Fest
Terminus
Ordinary To Enschede
Harsh Times In Umberstone Covert
Fuckin’ ‘Ell It’s Fred Titmus
The Bane Of Constance
Look Dad No Tunes
Evening Of Swing (Has Been Cancelled)
Vatican Broadside
Joy Division Oven Gloves
National Shite Day
We Built This Village On A Trad Arr Tune
Shit Arm Bad Tattoo
Everything’s AOR
All I Want For Christmas Is A Dukla Prague Away Kit
The Trumpton Riots
The Light At The End Of The Tunnel Is The Light Of An Oncoming Train
The encore was
A Country Practice
Electricity
Every Time A Bell Rings
Karen, Tony, Brian and I walked across town to the Wetherspoons for drinks and gig consultation before retiring.
But that wasn’t quite the end of it for the weekend. The day after this show, Ed had organised an afternoon show upstairs at The Rutland, just round the corner from The Leadmill. This involved “folky” covers of a variety of the band’s songs. A very interesting afternoon, which backed up a claim I once heard from Andy Kershaw when he said HMHB is one of the greatest folk bands. It also proved how well the songs stand up in a different format. There was a variety of singers. The instrumentation involved a concertina, a fiddle, a guitar, a tin whistle, an accordion, a cittern, a banjo and even a Theremin appeared (well it had to, as they performed Look Dad No Tunes). There was also a mandola, giving them their name for the afternoon, Half Mandola Half Biscuit. Karen, John, Steve, Nigel/Exxo, Brian, Postman Tony and I were all squeezed into our seats at the back, and proceedings began.
Their set went
Twenty-Seven Yards Of Dental Floss
1966 And All That
Irk The Purists
Fix It So She Dreams Of Me
Bad Review
Bottleneck At Capel Curig
Knobheads On Quiz Shows
CAMRA Man
The Light At The End Of The Tunnel Is The Light Of An Oncoming Train
For What Is Chatteris
Baguette Dilemma For The Booker Prize Guy
It Makes The Room Look Bigger
Look Dad No Tunes
Paintball’s Coming Home
Upon Westminster Bridge
Twenty-Four Hour Garage People
At which point there was a beer break. They came back with
Uffington Wassail
Keeping Two Chevrons Apart
Running Order Squabble Fest
RSVP
All I Want For Christmas Is A Dukla Prague Away Kit
Mate Of The Bloke
Ecclesiastical Perks
Gubba Lookalikes
Tending The Wrong Grave for Twenty-Three Years
When The Evening Sun Goes Down
Another beer break. Postman Tony and Brian had to leave. Brian was on his way to Old Trafford to see the Super League Grand Final between St Helens and Salford. Commiserations on the result. Half Mandola Half Biscuit finished off with
Bad Losers On Yahoo Chess
Depressed Beyond Tablets
San Antonio Foam Party
Mod Diff V Diff Hard Severe
Totnes Bickering Fair
L’Enfer C’Est Les Autres
Third Track Main Camera Four Minutes
They played two in the encore
Joy Division Oven Gloves
Vatican Broadside
And that was it. I congratulated the guy who played Dukla Prague, and then we were on our way. Great stuff. Something else that needs catching again.
(By the way, if anyone has a note of a support band at that 1986 gig, please let me know. Mark and I think the venue didn’t always have more than one act. Or perhaps our perceptions were affected by the high quality bar facilities on offer at the time.)
13 October 2019
Chris The Siteowner
Nige Tassell certainly is a fan, Roger. Apart from the mention in The Bottom Corner, the band are in the superb Mr Gig, which I quote at the top of this site’s ‘About’ page, and they also kick off his new book Boot Sale, with a quote alongside Dickens, no less. Buy this man’s writings on gigs and football. You won’t regret it.
13 October 2019
Son of crap
Hi All. Mike from Crapsons here
An absolute fantastic night in The Leadmill on Friday Night, Huge thank you for everyone’s kind comments on the night and on here over the weekend.
It’s always slightly daunting playing in front of an audience that aren’t there to see you in particular but the reaction we received from the HMHB faithful made us feel really comfortable
Hopefully this won’t be our last show with Half Man Half Biscuit and we will see you all very soon
Like us on Facebook for all updates and on-going with us at http://www.facebook.com/crapsons
Our music can be found on all major streaming sites (Spotify/ITunes/Amazon) and we have a few videos on Youtube too.
Cheers. See you all again soon.
Mike – Crapsons
14 October 2019
dr desperate
Thanks for filling in the lacunae there, Roger. Can’t help you with the support band at T’ Leadmill on 2.2 86, but you’ll no doubt recall that the live tracks on ‘ACD’ were recorded that night. Also that Nige Tassell mentioned HMHB in his 2013 book ‘Mr Gig’ (see http://www.halfmanhalfbiscuit.uk/about/ ).
[Note to self re “not a patch on Ron Seal”: must get a patch for Ron Seal.]
14 October 2019
EXXO
Afternoon Acoustic Session: Part Two
During the break, the informal collective informally collected an impressive £115.51 for the wonderful http://www.bradburyfields.org.uk/ one of Merseyside’s very longest-running health charities. Hurrah!
Teg kicked off the second half (of three) with Uffington Wassail. “Accordion & pluck” is all that my notes on this one say, and I honestly don’t recall what was plucked or by whom. Or maybe they did it with considerable pluck. But the call & response effect of “A: late lunch audience – B: we’ve got all your addresses. A: Lazy greedy farmers: – B: pick your own strawberries” was very ‘folk club’ indeed, which was nice.
Next up, Keeping 2 Chevrons Apart was another in Ed’s inimitable style. Decent harmonies from the audience, key change handled with (yes) aplomb by one and all.
A general consensus gradually emerged that the next tune was to be played “in G.” It was Running Order Squabble Fest, with the Ultras’ out-of-time clapping for the “You’re going on after Crispy Ambulance!” bit at the end provoking general dismay amongst the musicians. At gigs this tune is played loud enough that we can just mime the clapping, and I honestly didn’t realise how bad we’d be at it.
It was now, surprisingly late in the gig, that we had the first (and only) appearance of one of HMHB’s own folk song spoofs, namely RSVP. Given the genre being parodied, you might expect a fairly straight reproduction in this context, exploiting the fiddles that were present here at The Rutland, but the lack of which, alas, may mean that HMHB themselves never get to play this one live. However, Ed again managed to warble around in entirely original fashion, and the piss-take of Mendelssohn’s Wedding March was on his squeeze-box, rather than strings. We noticed with interest the change to “as he violently started to choke,” removing the “as” from the father-of-the bride’s speech (in my reading) and placing it firmly in the narrative. Folk songs evolve, like I said. Ed also revealed afterwards that he could not bring himself to sing “catering reception” without inserting an article. He really should be a regular The Lyrics Project.
Ian’s chunky banjo chords then accompanied his storming version of Dukla Prague and Trev’s chirpy mandola similarly led the latter’s fine take on Mate of the Bloke, with Dave’s saw work again adding a certain air of the Appalachian mountain timber-yard to the proceedings. “Stop us if we get too Polish” my notes tell me that someone said at or near this point, so that’s probably what I must have heard.
Ed then introduced Ecclesiastical Perks, with some remarks about how surprisingly low this fine tune appeared in a recent online poll. Apparently it was “down in the bottom (see what he did there) 10% along with the really unpopular ones.” I was too busy making notes to point out that there was no reason to believe most people who voted had ever heard the song. Again Ed’s delivery soared above mere recital, showcasing real comedic acting abilities. He was, however, lucky to get away with asking us what certain bits of this clerical-abuse themed song are about, as we could have been there a long time indeed, had we responded in our accustomed Lyrics Project fashion. We just took a judicious sip of our pints, and the MC moved things on. I think at or around this point there was also some debate about a mystery moshing injury that Ed had sustained last night. Like all the best moshing injuries, its precise cause could not be accounted for, even by the medical expert to my left.
The wonderful poetry of Gubba Lookalikes was then given due diligence by Teg, with eyes closed in Blackwellian concentration in order to ensure no lyrics eluded her. Special respect for how she made the Langland “town pigs” section stand out like the poetry-quoted-within-poetry that it is.
In the least faithful-to-the-original moment, lyrically, of the afternoon, Mark announces in advance that he’s chopped out “the talky bit in the middle” of Tending the Wrong Grave. “Coward!” shouts one of his mates, stopping short of “Judas!” (which presumably would have been the folkies’ cry, if he’d edited the section out electronically). Somebody at the back whispers audibly and wistfully, as if it was the only thing they could have contributed all afternoon: “he could have asked me to do that bit.” Nevertheless, a thoroughly entertaining bash at it from Mark.
My notes then tell me that When the Evening Sun Goes Down had a fine solo on penny whistle from Teg. Wasn’t I just saying outside the sound-check in Holmfirth that this song needed a kazoo or something? Vindication came sooner than expected.
My notes don’t tell me anything about Bad Losers on Yahoo Chess, except that it was again sung and accompanied by someone on squeeze-box, so that would have been probably Ed. Sorry, the fine ales (thank you Tony) may have been kicking in by this point. Maybe Will was involved, and yes, the beer was definitely kicking in, because my notes do say that this when we cajoled the local Ken-lookalike, guitarist Will, with the “only one Ken Hancock!” chant at this point. That’s when we were told – by an amazing coincidence – that in fact Trev, sitting right next to him, was actually Ken’s cousin, although it is Will – no relation – who has been mistaken for Ken “at family events.” So there you go – it wasn’t just us- even Ken’s family agree. “How is Ken these days?” I asked Trev afterwards, but he honestly couldn’t tell me, as both their mums, who were sisters, have passed away in recent years and Ken apparently isn’t great at keeping in touch with anyone.
But that was later. So it was another pure coincidence that Depressed Beyond Tablets was the next track. After missing the main gig unexpectedly last night, I would probably have shouted for it anyway … if this session hadn’t brightened things up a lot for me personally! Excellent theremin twiddles from Trev, according to my notes. Around here there was another beer break, just when we needed it. By this stage most of the audience were singing along to most numbers, and needed to wet their windpipes.
New arrival Adam then gave us his version of San Antonio Foam Party on cittern, the mandolin-like sound giving it the sort of aura of a lost track off REM’s Out of Time, and the best track it would have been, too. Some of you may shudder, but I mean that in a good way, to help you visualise it. Or audialise it. Anyway, Adam is another very useful singer indeed.
Next – Ed’s take on Mod Diff (etc.) Once again the MC’s spoken word/ accordion dexterity brought the best in a perhaps-thus-far-under-appreciated song.
Adam’s second contribution was Totnes Bickering Fair. This time the positioning of the capo pushed us well back beyond the renaissance into the positively medieval. And, again, I mean that audiolisation in the nicest possible way – an excellent version.
L’Enfer c’est les Autres was a very faithful version by Ken’s cousin Trev, the theremin man, with added virtuoso bow saw solos from Smiley Dave, competing, as I mentioned earlier, to produce an almost-as- theremin-like sound.
Was Third Track, Main Camera also performed by Trev? Sorry, this report is unravelling rapidly, but my notes seem to suggest that a capo was deployed mid-track with a casual folksiness that obviously impressed me at the time.
They thought it was all over. We shouted for more and they brought out Joy Division Oven Gloves ., with some fine guitar and fiddle solos, and then Adam (I think?) led us all, Pope-like, in a thoroughly irreligious acapella singalong of Vatican Broadside.
I think I make that thirty-five songs in around three hours, all performed with (yes) aplomb… only eight songs the same as last night’s gig …meaning that those who attended both of the weekend’s events were gloriously entertained with fifty-four different songs, and those who could only attend this one certainly didn’t pick the short straw!
In the loo afterwards, I overheard a bloke telling his mate that the session had inspired him to take up the challenge himself and that he was determined to learn guitar (from scratch?) in order to play some HMHB songs himself next time something like this happened. Fair play to him – surely the kind of inspiration that any decent acoustic session should give us all! We can’t all be Neil Crossley or Nigel Blackwell, but we could all – one day -be a part of Half Mandola Half Biscuit and that’s why folk music is folk music, and so is punk, and why both will always be at their best as DIY in upstairs rooms of half-decent pubs.
Because of their aversion to promotion and pop culture, it will always take longer for HMHB songs to embed in folk culture, but embed they gradually will. The songs will gradually take folky wings – all of them, even Ecclesiastical Perks – and Neil & Nigel should be very proud.
Many thanks for a great afternoon and well played everyone involved.
14 October 2019
dr desperate
Exxcellent!
Didn’t somebody suggest, when Ed was undecided whether they should play the last two songs back to back, that he concertina them together?
Oh yes, it was me.
14 October 2019
CARRIE ANNE
@DrD, re post 18
We have it on good authority (well, from Geoff) that the ACD tracks were actually recorded on their second visit to The Leadmill in 1986. 16th September to be precise. Probably.
14 October 2019
Trev
First of all a big thank you for coming along to our acoustic session of HMHB songs that Ed organised. And another big thank you to Ed for organising it.
We hoped there might still be some fans around the day after the gig, but we figured that even if only the five of us showed up, then it’d still be fun to do.
As it turned out, the room was full of what, 30 people? Some of whom are local (but some who’d travelled for the Friday Leadmill gig. I especially liked it when people joined in the words! It was great, but also rather nerve wracking to be doing these songs in front of people who know and love them like I do.
I had a lovely afternoon, and it was great to raise over £100 for the charity.
Since you openly invited a bit of pedantry, I’ve got a couple of points to make. Although I too had had beer during the afternoon which doesn’t tend to improve my powers of recollection, as a rule!
1) I was playing a mandolin, not a mandola. I’ve seen it described as a mandola in a couple of places, and I’m not sure where this has come from, but it’s deffo a mandolin.
2) I played guitar as well as mandolin. I had the black guitar – you might not have seen it at the back, because I was sitting down.
3) I was actually playing ‘bottleneck guitar’ on ‘Bottleneck at Capel Curig’. It was Dave’s idea. I’d never even thought of it until Dave pointed out it’s actually got Bottleneck in the title, so I could play some on the song. He was playing Saw as well, though, on that one I seem to remember.
4) I think it was Katy who sang Chatteris, not Teg
5) I actually said ‘stop us if we’re getting too ‘polished’ not too ‘Polish’!
6) It was Teg who sang Third Track Main Camera –
7) The event was called Half Mandolin Half Biscuit – not mandola (see point 1)
8) Dave’s saw playing sounds more like a theremin than my theremin playing does, because he’s an excellent musician. I only brought the theremin to bring out for the one song, (Look Dad No Tunes) for a laugh, and didn’t ‘play’ it’ – just got it to make some ‘woooo’ noises. All the stuff that sounded ‘proper’ was Dave on the saw.
There are some more HMHB songs that some of us play that we didn’t get round to doing. If we do another session one day (and I don’t see why we shouldn’t), we can do them. I can think of ‘Goth On Our Side’ ‘Restless Legs’ ‘Man of Constant Sorrow’ ‘We Built This Village’ ‘Even Men With Steel Hearts’ or ‘Left Lyrics in the Practice Room’
Funny you should mention Adam Boyle – I agree, it would be an ideal one to do for that sort of ‘folk context’ – concertinas, fiddles, whistles, citterns etc. I do know it, but I wanted everyone else to join in. It was on my list, but we didn’t get round to practising it. I think we could certainly do it next time – unless the others aren’t arsed either way……
Thanks again for coming and special thanks for taking the time to write about it!
14 October 2019
hendrix-tattoo
Great Weekend
Great Crapsons
Great Half man half biscuit
Great Half mandolin half biscuit
Great reviews
Great People
God bless you all.
Except the Rotherham Postie….
14 October 2019
transit full of keith
Escaping into the world of Biscuit on a wet Monday lunchtime, it was a joy to read these dispatches from Sheffield, especially Exxo’s lovingly crafted account of Saturday’s proceedings. Surely foundation reading matter for any future degree course in Biscuitology, I can almost hear exactly how certain songs were reinvented. I’m not much of a folkie but would travel some distance to see a show like that, if it happens again.
I will hope against hope that the wandering minstrels might choose to wander to Northampton (the next one I have tickets for) …
And was any recording made?
14 October 2019
EXXO
Thanks Trev, and again all due apologies for my errors of fact and of emphasis. In a way, the whole who-played-what is a bit counter to the spirit of just the collective enjoyment of it all, I suppose? I’ll try another edit, hopefully not trying the Siteowner’s patience, in which the fact that the whole ensemble played on most things is more to the fore. And next time I’ll just enjoy it without taking too many notes!
Facebake does have its uses sometimes, and by exploring this thread
https://www.facebook.com/events/463634270858100/?active_tab=discussion
Biscuiteers will be able to find one or two clips from Natasha showing most of the ensemble in action. Most of all they will want to judge the degree of Hancocksimilitude that has been alleged, for which the still photograph of Helen with her squeezebox is maybe the one that shows Will most clearly in the background.
14 October 2019
dr desperate
A lucky punter came home with one of those fake setlists that Nigel occasionally leaves around to irk the completists, so in an alternate universe we might have been treated to:
Sister Ray (The Velvets)
Ramada Inn (Neil Young with Crazy Horse)
Goin’ South (possibly The Beach Boys, less likely Van Dyke Parks’ film theme)
?
Mars Ultras
Multitude
Soft Verges.
(On another sheet of paper bundled with it was a Welsh-language ‘Cities of the UK’ picture quiz. Question 2 mentioned ITMA, but it turned out to be the Tommy Handley one.)
14 October 2019
John
What a great gig. I have seen many good concerts by HMHB but I really enjoyed the set list, the performance, the banter and the venue. It was special going back to the leadmill as I first saw them there back in the 80s. The top cover of Electricity got me thinking that it would be an interesting idea to have a HMHB covers album. They have played so many fantastic cover versions at gigs over the years, surely it would work as an album. Just a thought.
14 October 2019
The bastard in the hat
Hello, this is Ed, and it bloody is a fez 😉
Thanks to Exxo and Roger (via Carrie Anne) for their encouraging reviews of Saturday’s event. Thanks to everyone who attended, and especially to everyone who played.
There was enthusiasm to have a similar event after a hiatus — if we do, most likely in Sheffield, we’ll advertise it here on CtSO’s splendid site.
I agree with Exxo that everyone can and perhaps should imitate their heroes, so new performers will be welcome at a future session. (It’s sometimes harder than it looks, though! I have been rightly told, by people who know, that a fair bit of practice and rehearsal is a good plan.) At the Leadmill on Friday, during the spoken interlude in Tending the wrong grave, even NB57 got a bit distracted by Karl’s antics: “obviously this was written before they invented guitar pedals”.
I’m not aware of any competent recordings from Saturday, beyond the snippets posted on the Facebook page. I tried starting an audio recorder, mostly to get the setlist retrospectively, but it didn’t last the full three hours and I haven’t listened to it. For live reenactments, you could try lucky dip at Fagan’s in Sheffield: Mondays; Wednesdays (especially 3rd Wed each month); other days (except Thu and Sun), 9pm-ish start. Also, Trev and Will seem to have scored a possible support slot for Ian Dury and the Blackheads — watch that space.
15 October 2019
TEARS & LAUGHTER Tony
The Leadmill gig was a joy.
Nigel had obviously been listening to John Shuttleworth recently, as I picked up at least 3 – albeit rather mumbled quotes: ‘Get the Volvo, Val’ – and ‘2 Margarines on the go’ – along with, ‘I Cant Go Back To Savoury Now’.
I went along with my pal of 45 years (another Nigel – there’s not many about these days. The name needs a renaissance on birth certificates everywhere. Discuss. Or maybe not).
My pal Nigel remains a very silly fu**er – even though he’s now deficient of a kidney. As long as we shuffle on in this life old boy, we’ll hold a heartfelt appreciation for nights like last Friday.
I’m also grateful to all those on here who take the trouble to contribute such fond, comprehensive, and daft posts.
15 October 2019
dr desperate
Karl’s tee shirt update: the ‘Spoons in Whitstable (the converted Oxford Picture Hall cinema) is called The Peter Cushing. He lived in the town after retiring, and the local museum has a Cushing Corner.
15 October 2019
transit full of keith
Not only that, but local band the Jellybottys once put out a completely brilliant, and very slightly Biscuity, song ‘Peter Cushing Lives in Whitstable‘.
15 October 2019
Alice van der meer
Whale Oil Beef Hooked!
I took a quick peak at something else and came back to see Daleks gathered round the pub I once called the Bomb Squad from!
There’s a Cushing’s View car park on Island Wall as well, which used to have a seat from his garden in it. Used to love Whitstable – haven’t been back since it gentrified, so who knows now?
15 October 2019
professor abelazar woozle
Thank you for organising the acoustic covers session Ed, thank you for your kind words Exxo and yes, guilty as charged for leading the final singalong of “Vatican Broadside”. Bit of a PBR on that, I got the bus back from the city centre to mine and Will’s workplace yesterday lunchtime and what should I see but a poster advertising an upcoming Slipknot gig in Sheffield – I spent the afternoon suppressing the urge to sing it in the office!
I’m currently working on a cittern arrangement of “Every Time a Bell Rings” for a future acoustic session, as well as contemplating trying something completely daft…
15 October 2019
BAD LOSER
An interesting idea about the covers album (John no. 26) but a studio album would have nowhere near the same effect as the live performances.
There is great anticipation and they rarely disappoint. I’m not sure they will ever beat ‘The Trail of the Lonesome Pine’ from around 1986. Nigel gave every line the big build up. ‘Innnnnnn thhheeeeee Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia’. Worth a repeat after all this time.
15 October 2019
EXXO
Even if you could imagine someone involved doing the paperwork to apply for the permissions, estimate prrojected sales etc (which you have to do when you request permission to record a cover), I just don’t think I could imagine such a hand-to-mouth operation as HMHB giving up a % of earnings against the costs of recording. Not going to happen.
15 October 2019
Drab olive
Usually biscuit brilliance ….and postie wars made me proper giggle ..I’m from Rotherham and I know the Roth postie…bit of a pancake ..and he’s gett8ng tiresome ( too much Persil up his beak …) and need to know the story with the teddybear …wtf is that all about … .
Highlight for sure was the opening Bad losers and Bob Wilson ..and the encore …never thought I would hear Country practice and Electricity in the same decade ..never mind the same gig …
15 October 2019
dr desperate
@Bad Loser 1986 indeed, Tropic Club Bristol (see Peel’s review in ‘More HMHB in the Media’, post 44).
http://www.halfmanhalfbiscuit.uk/more-hmhb-in-the-media/
15 October 2019
Gipton Teenager
Sorry Nigel, I can’t let it go. I don’t think it was a bow saw. I use a bow saw a lot professionally and the only way I’ve ever got a tune out of one is by bashing it with secateurs.
16 October 2019
hendrix-tattoo
Can’t stop humming this since the Ulverston gig was announced.
Maybe they will play it then….
https://youtu.be/IyYZvO8S398
16 October 2019
Alice van der meer
It’ll be a wood saw – not sure the correct term, but see the video. You need to get an S-curve on the saw, so the longer the saw the better – your modern Screwfix saw is fairly hard to get anything out of as it’s so short.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZ8J-0sFhLw
16 October 2019
EXXO
Oh yeah, thanks Tony. I use three of them meself. Unprofessionally though, and – you’re right – never in-sessionally. And never with a bow. Or a bow. Or a bow.
16 October 2019
GORDON BURNS
Re: the saw…
I asked Dave about the saw and have me a full guided tour. Purely built for music. Teeth mostly ornamental. A rounded edge for better bow contact. The sweet spot moves as the bend increases, so you need to chase it around as you raise the pitch. More pleasing to this nerd than the theremin.
16 October 2019
GORDON BURNS
*he gave me a full guided
16 October 2019
Gipton Teenager
@Exxo. Three-saws? Hmm that would be playground equipment I would like to see.
16 October 2019
dr desperate
The artist previously known as Charles “Two Watersheds” Exford.
16 October 2019
gipton teenager
Would you need an equilateral chainsaw to create a Three-Saw?
17 October 2019
professor abelazar woozle
I wonder if it would be possible to play a pit saw (one of those big two-man jobs), and if so, would it be in the bass register?
17 October 2019
professor abelazar woozle
@Alice van der meer – that looks like a rip saw on the video, if the size is anything to go by – crosscut saws tend to be a bit smaller and with more teeth per inch.
17 October 2019
dr desperate
I believe you can go quite low (and high) on a C saw.
18 October 2019
Cream cheese and chives
And a lot of dance bands swear by a jig saw.
18 October 2019
dr desperate
And there are lots who swear they’ve danced a jig to a bandsaw.
18 October 2019
professor abelazar woozle
However, the less said about a cold saw or an eye saw the better….
19 October 2019