Tramshed, Cardiff gig – 7 March 2025
After what must have been one of the longest gaps between gigs (excluding COVID) for years, the band reassemble in Cardiff for the first time since 2022. What was it like?
After what must have been one of the longest gaps between gigs (excluding COVID) for years, the band reassemble in Cardiff for the first time since 2022. What was it like?
✉ Letters Sent (45)
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(1 year ago by Injured Buzzard)
Chris The Siteowner
13 Eurogoths. Seriously.
13 Eurogoths!
7 March 2025
He of the oblong
I was at the front, slight left. Was it really Joanna Scanlan I saw? A mirage or did anyone else spot her!?
7 March 2025
Rob Harper
Yeah… that was something very special tonight.
8 March 2025
Chris The Siteowner
Currently in the City Arms, Cardiff. 12:35am. Hundreds of people here, but the juke box has been taken over by HMHB. Doesn’t get better than this.
8 March 2025
Patrick w
Jukebox commandeered at the Queens Vaults also
8 March 2025
Johnny Kwango
Here’s a link to 13 Eurogoths:
https://youtube.com/shorts/OeqV24zstwU?si=JePsKWiYl3jFJ28F
Float, float on.
Missed the first bit of the song unfortunately as it completely took me by surprise; I might have uttered a very rare shrieking noise.
Not sure why it went up as a short so might try that again at some point when not so tired (17 mile walk round Cardiff today, taking in the not so delightful Splott).
8 March 2025
Sloppy
Was hoping someone would have a decent Eurogoths, thanks Mr Kwango.
Support was, erm, different, but another cracking night and only four weeks till the next one 😃
8 March 2025
D list paul ross
GRMMA to Niall for his previous wisdom on why certain songs make good openers, allowing me to snaffle 10 points for Broadstairs, shame about the rest! Was trying to educate my 16 year old with CUA only yesterday, tant pis.
8 March 2025
dr DEsperate
Crispin is apparently now on his way home to East Sussex from last night’s gig, garnering a shout out for HMHB on this morning’s RadMac.
I used to know a bloke called Crispin, and his brother’s name was Tarquin.
OK, carry on.
8 March 2025
Awkward dave
CUA was immense
8 March 2025
craftyairport
A great show – great banter – cracking sound – a set list for all with something for al.
8 March 2025
Borough surveyor
My own personal headlines.
1. Turned up late. Missed Broadstairs. Next time clock off earlier. Had to stand at back.
2. Neil’s technician glitch was a great moment. Would have been greater had I been Welsh. I had to hold my self back from the standard go-to anti-Welsh football chants (you wish you were Ennngggeeerrrrlish, always shit on the Welsh side of the bridge, sheepshaggers, wank, wank, wank, does your Texel know you’re here etc.). Unfortunately as a Bristol Rovers fan I have nothing to sing about.
3. Varied set list. Joy in Leewarden a personal highlight. First lines of 24HGP etc.
4. Some great lyric changes (batwalk, GGUL).
5. Nothing new. No complaints from me on that front.
8 March 2025
Johnny KWANGO
CUA full video here:
https://youtu.be/R8GnRW_-vYI?si=ZPynu-4Z9mGQryJW
Audible cheer for Fantastic Day by Haircut 100 courtesy of Ms. Kwango, “I was looking forward to that!” – maybe next time, eh lads?
8 March 2025
Johnny kwaNgo
Last but not least Everything’s AOR:
https://youtu.be/dJu5gVwwHVU?si=G-IXXHubm4kdNF6i
Please excuse the “Just keep moving it about” filming guidance given to Ms. Kwango prior to heading off to the mosh pit.
8 March 2025
Cream CHEESE AND chives
Getting Mackenzie Crook to resurrect his role as the chief druid in Britannia was an interesting choice for support act.
The usual top night with the Welsh choral contributions an added bonus . My song predictions were noticeable by their absence but the band’s selections never disappoint.
Met a great couple who were seeing the band for the first time. A Scouse woman and a Welsh bloke, they were amazed when I told them about the distances people travel to attend.Met them at the end on the way out and unfortunately she was channelling very strong Bladderwrack Allowance vibes. He’d loved it.
Peaceful train journey back north looking out on fields spotted with egrets and lambs. Showtime!
8 March 2025
Fullpelt
That could be the best gig I’ve ever been to. Band were on great form, crowd were really up for the venue is amazing ( really clear sound ) and a blinding setlist. Didn’t recognise the cover, embarrassing, as lots of people clearly loved it and the band really gave it some welly. Honestly loved every minute. Neil’s bass sound is extraordinary and we were not far from him. Would have loved to have got closer to the front but as I’m 6’4”” I didn’t want to ruin someone’s night by turning up and blocking their view. Can’t wait for the next one
8 March 2025
Littering council worker
First time seeing the band since their last visit to Cardiff. A cracking set and a cracking night all round. Must try and venture past Offa’s Dyke to see them again soon.
8 March 2025
dic aberdaron
boss gig.. really needed it
and that moment when the crowd joined nige in the welsh national anthem was a truely wonderful experience to be amongst.. south wales surely knows how to sing
diolch yn fawr iawn
8 March 2025
dr DEsperate
I’m always glad when the opportunity arises to sing my phonetically-learnt version of ‘Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau’ (“My hen-lad Vern had eye on an oily me…”)
Ditto ‘Sosban Fach’ (it was me who shouted for it).
8 March 2025
dr DEsperate
Sorry, I should have said gwlad.
8 March 2025
Pirx The Purist
Why? You were right the first time; ‘gwlad’ mutates to ‘wlad’ after ‘hen’.
Or have I missed your point?
8 March 2025
dr DEsperate
I meant I should have said “I’m always gwlad”, for comic effect (or otherwise).
8 March 2025
WILLSHED
How good was that then? A geographic musical journey around the world in 2hrs. From Broadstairs to California via my home town Llanelli (Sosban Fach), Leeuwarden, Tryweryn (cheers!l), Wirral…the list goes on. Not forgetting Nige’s word perfect Hen Wlad fy Nhadau. Rhys Mwyn must be so proud.
Terminus gets more relevant every time I enter a walking football pitch.
Glasgow is certainly being considered.
9 March 2025
Peter Butterworth
Fabulous 3 days..homecoming Doves gig in Manc on Thursday,Tramshed on Friday..home via Burton for a superb Wanderers win on Saturday.
CUA..about the implications of messing with the President..it’ll never happen …..
9 March 2025
Strictly no dogs
Great gig, superb set list and one of the best covers I have ever seen (though I was looking forward to Fantastic Day). My one gripe is the amount people filming with their camera above their Heads. My view was constantly blocked and the young girl near me just gave up. You will get the same pic from eye-line vids if you must record, which you don’t.
9 March 2025
MATTL
One day I’ll make it to a gig. I was just talking to a friend who lives in Norwich about it.
Maybe a new album will give them a few dates closer together again. It would be nice to see a couple of gigs but I’d be happy with one.
International travel isn’t fun right now.
9 March 2025
CARRIE ANNE
Roger Green’s review from Gez’s website, with thanks https://www.hmhb.co.uk/guest/index.htm
HMHB, THE TRAMSHED,CARDIFF – FRIDAY 7 MARCH 2025
First off, apologies carried over from the Sheffield gig last October. I didn’t mention Mike, as well as Graham Le Taxi who, as usual, took a photo of the set list at the end of the night. With that gig being well before Christmas, we had to do without the “Cliched” song. And with this one being early March, we made do with playing the video at the appropriate time.
Some notes taken from Chris’s site after the Sheffield gig… The support band that night was a Devo covers band and I had said that I couldn’t remember a covers band doing this job previously. Thanks to Worried Man who pointed out that The Sisters Of Murphy had provided the support when HMHB played at Holmfirth in 2006. That was one that I missed. I was flying out to Australia that day. On the subject of flying, that was a good effort from Mike’s girlfriend, flying in from Minsk (1,394 miles), but it’s short of Lorna’s journey from New Hampshire (3,161 miles). And Scoff’s time gap between gigs (12,355 days) will take some beating.
The Searchers are back in business. I read that they were claiming to be Britain’s oldest working rock and roll band. Maybe so. I reckon HMHB need to carry on for another twenty years if they are going to get close to that record. The band (and me) in their early eighties will be something to behold.
In the literary world, I read A Continual Farewell by Lindsay Reade. She was married to Tony Wilson (or Anthony H Wilson as some would know him). He was an all-round good egg. Well, Lindsay might not always agree with you. The chap behind Factory Records, The Hacienda and various Mancunian bits and pieces. The book documents Lindsay and Tony’s life together and apart. Seek it out. At the same time, have a look for Triggers by Glen Matlock, giving his view of events in The Sex Pistols.
We only had a few gigs to light up the darkness between Sheffield and Cardiff. We caught up with John Otway and Wild Willy Barrett at Selby Town Hall. Still as crackers as ever. Then there was Indignation Meeting, launching their second album at the back of the Jumbo Records shop in Leeds. And live, original music returned to Pontefract with Desperate Measures headlining on a chilly Saturday afternoon (supported by Filthy Filthy and Sin City Rockers). A trip to Wakefield Theatre meant that we saw the always entertaining Mark Thomas. One of his sketches concerned football crowds going to church. We were close to breaking out with Midnight Mass Murder.
You may have spotted that Oasis are giving it another go with a few gigs in the summer. At face value, tickets are about five or six times the cost of tonight’s gig. Who knows what they will be once the market is controlled by “dynamic pricing”. I’ll stick with HMHB, thank you very much.
Things have progressed from strawberries. A local farm was offering PYO Christmas trees. Worth looking out for, later in the year.
On their excellent show on 6 Music, Radcliffe And Maconie feature vintage session tracks from various bands. HMHB got their turn when Joy Division Oven Gloves was played. This was from a session for Marc Riley’s show way back when. “Marvellous,” commented Stuart afterwards. They had Sarah from St Etienne on talking about their new album which is, in her own words, “more song based”. Clearly an idea borrowed from HMHB’s Breaking News.
Ghost Of Kirkus in NZ said he heard Eno Collaboration on RNZ National. Radcliffe And Maconie (and Gideon Coe) notwithstanding, the band gets as much airplay on the other side of the world as it does here. At Christmas, for example, the only time we heard “Cliched” on air was courtesy of Gideon.
Tony told us that he was at a wake recently. They played Tending The Wrong Grave. How come I never get to funerals like that?
Helen!! For the fans of life imitating art, I lifted this from the BBC site… “Four people have been hurt after a double decker bus crashed into a railway bridge tearing its roof off in Kilmarnock.
Emergency services were called to the collision on MacPhail Drive, near Culzean Crescent, in Kilmarnock at about 14:00 and police sealed off the area. Footage of the scene posted on social media showed people standing on top of the roofless bus near the bridge, which is marked for vehicles below a certain height.”
Ronnie Boyce RIP. Cracking goal, warranting a mention in Ode To Joyce. Enough said.
At Christmas, Karen got me a handful of copies of the fanzine Lunchtime For The Wild Youth. As with other fanzines, it’s always interesting to get other views of the world. Issue 62 featured their favourite albums of 1991. McIntyre, Treadmore And Davitt gets a mention. “Good, but not a patch on the earlier stuff.” Well, we are all entitled to an opinion, especially when you can be bothered to put a fanzine together. They also did a detailed review of This Leaden Pall. Favourable.
“Eight shit bands you pretended to like because the NME told you to” was a feature I saw on some online forum. “THE NME has traditionally heaped praise on bands that were trendy rather than actually good. Here are some you slavishly pretended to like in the hope of being cool.
Lush
Birdland
Silverfish
The Seahorses
The Family Cat
Manic Street Preachers
Northside
Spacemen 3”
Gigs coming up… Bethesda Ulverston Castleton Glasgow Wolverhampton Manchester. People were once again chasing tickets in the run-up to the Cardiff show. Hopefully everyone can get sorted out in advance for all of the above.
We took the train from Wakefield to Cardiff. It was, as it were, a bit of a grind. We were the proverbial sardines in a tin for the first leg of the journey (to Bristol). That’s travelling on a Friday for you. When we got to Cardiff and found our hotel, we were ahead of checking-in time, so joined Lorna, Andrew, Phill and Andy, along with Brian saying a brief Hello, while we waited for the 3 o’clock check-in time.
Once checked in, it was time for the paper review. I couldn’t find a Western Mail. Does that still exist, or was it just a quick-selling day? So I was limited to Metro and The Guardian. Total silence regarding the HMHB gig. Why would that be a surprise? That said, The Guardian’s Q and A session with Edwyn Collins was an interesting read.
And so to the gig. We met Andrew, Phill, Lorna, Gilly and Daisy at the head of the queue. Karen headed to the bar for cans of Liquid Death (“Mountain Water from the Alps”). Lorna had a tale about indoctrinating her American husband into the works of HMHB, by playing him their entire works while driving from New Hampshire to Ontario. I spoke with Miles who had a fresh supply of t-shirts being a pastiche of a Magritte painting. That one is now added to my collection.
Tonight’s support was a Dutch guy performing as The Weak And The Strong. Not always the most listenable of stuff, he took my mind back to Lovecraft, who supported HMHB once or twice, a few years back. But it was a grower. I would give him another go, but I will know to not expect anything from the Top Twenty, or any mother-in-law jokes.. I heard someone shout “It’s a broad church.” Yes, we can’t all like everything. Of course, the acronym TWATS was not lost on us.
There were a few Hellos during the interval. Welsh John (who was pleased to see we were all still alive), Hi Vis John, Postman Tony, Steve, Niall and Sue. Actually, Hi Vis John was not Hi Vis John. Security had asked him to remove his jacket. They would have their own reasons for that. Security? Health And Safety?
Neil took a bow when he walked on stage to switch on his amp, receiving a cheer from the floor in the process. A couple of minutes later, as the theme to Zulu sounded over the PA, the whole band took their places. “Are you OK for bags?” asked Nigel, before announcing “this is a new song”, being She’s In Broadstairs, which opened proceedings.
Nigel was asked where his glasses were. He said he gets sweaty and they slip off his face. His optician recommended some adhesive. However, he couldn’t find his glasses regardless. Nigel also noted our friend Tony’s absence. Tony has been to the Hip Op Shop. Hopefully this will be the only gig that he misses. I texted him the set list, and I’m sure he’ll be reading this.
“This is a song about Death Row,” Nigel announced, ahead of I’m Getting Buried In The Morning. And he said “True Story” afterwards.
A guy shouted to Nigel, “Last time I saw you, you had hair.” (He later revealed that his daughter calls him “The Fresh Prince of No ‘Air). Nigel replied “Yes, I recognise you by your shirt. And did you realise that Pam Ferris is stood behind you?” During the course of the evening, other celebrities were spotted, namely Sophie Raworth (“any time this year with that de-humidifier”) and Jason Koumas.
Nigel commented how it had been cold outside. So cold that he had seen a lawyer with his hands in his own pockets. I had a brief chat with Michael from Flux Capacitors, a support band from the recent past. In Outbreak Of Vitas Gerulaitis, it was Dick Kryzwicki all along.
Nigel said he was in the Canton area of Cardiff earlier. He saw a man in the street hitting a woman, and she was hitting him back with a stick. In front of the children too. A policeman arrived, and she started hitting him as well. And then a crocodile came along and stole the sausages. Punch And Judy still going strong.
As always, there were shouts for various songs – “Mod Diff” and “Turned Up Clocked On” for example. Nigel played the first part and then gave up.
Neil was having problems with his amp. While that was being looked at, Nigel led some community singing – Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau and Sosban Fach. He also wondered about being a stand-up comedian. He said about others, it’s easy to stand up, “but it’s my job to say whether or not you are a comedian.” Neil’s problem was fixed, and he started playing again halfway through Sealclubbing. “Well joined,” commented Nigel.
A few names were offered during God Gave Us Life. He also gave us Paddy McGuinness, Micah Richards, Nick Ferrari, Alan Carr, VAR, him over there (pointing into the crowd) and Lionel Blair.
“Anyone re-watching Breaking Bad?” asked Nigel. “I think Todd is the most evil person.”
Karl and Nigel did the Rossi/Parfitt manoeuvre during Time Flies By. Except better than the originals. Before the cover song was played, Nigel introduced it as Fantastic Day by Haircut 100. A metaphorical glass was raised to Brian James of The Damned, who had left the stage the day before this gig.
The following songs were played…
She’s In Broadstairs
Fuckin’ ‘Ell It’s Fred Titmus
I’m Getting Buried In The Morning
Renfield’s Afoot
Big Man Up Front
The Light At The End Of The Tunnel Is The Light Of An Oncoming Train
Outbreak Of Vitas Gerulaitis
Bob Wilson Anchorman
Terminus
Joy In Leeuwarden
A Lilac Harry Quinn
The Best Things In Life (end bit)
Old Age Killed My Teenage Bride
Surging Out Of Convalescence
Oblong Of Dreams
Persian Rug Sale At The URC
Sealclubbing
All I Want For Christmas Is A Dukla Prague Away Kit
We Built This Village On A Trad Arr Tune
National Shite Day
Vatican Broadside
God Gave Us Life
13 Eurogoths Floating In The Dead Sea
Every Time A Bell Rings
Time Flies By When You’re A Driver Of A Train
Midnight Mass Murder
The Trumpton Riots
And in the encore
Everything’s AOR
California Über Alles
Joy Division Oven Gloves
Apart from Sealclubbing, everything was as per Karl’s set list.
At the end of the gig, I exchanged Hellos with Mike, Chris, Drew and Graham Le Taxi, and then went back for beers and discussion of another excellent show with Karen, Lorna, Andy, Gilly, Daisy, Phill, Andrew and Rob. And we’re back in Wales for the next gig
9 March 2025
Rachel
Hey! My partners a massive HMHB fan. It’s his birthday coming up & I was hoping to get something signed (card/pic) for him- he’d be so happy with something personal to him 😊 Any ideas on how to go about doing this? I’m running out of ideas now 😩
10 March 2025
dr DEsperate
@Rachel You could always try taking a card with SAE to a gig and passing it to one of the band, then hoping that they could be arsed to sign it and post it. That worked for my brilliantly forward-thinking partner Elizabeth for my 60th (Nigel signed the card “from your showbiz pal”).
10 March 2025
dr DEsperate
Excellent Definitive Review as ever, Roger – Happy Birthday for the day after the gig!
I’ll just mention that I got two of my shouted requests sort-of-played: Nigel’s solo rendition of ‘Sosban Fach’ during the arshall amp malfunction, and Karl’s playing of the opening chords to ‘New Rose’ when I shouted for ‘Neat Neat Neat’ at the end.
10 March 2025
Transit full of keith
Vicariously enjoying the gig through the medium of Roger’s Journal of Record, and wondering, was it ‘Turned Up Clocked On’ Nigel played a bit of before giving up, and was it enough to count for FBL purposes?
10 March 2025
Scoff
Finally got back yesterday evening after making a weekend of it in Cardiff – making it 3 gigs on the trot after a gap of 30 odd years :). Great night Friday, although I could barely walk by the time I got back to the hotel in Cardiff Bay. Damn the plantar fasciitis!
Good to see some faces who are starting to become familiar although I barely spoke to anyone and don’t know their names. I was the bemused looking middle-aged Yorkshireman in a Interrobang Curmudgeon t shirt.
Ulverston next for me.
10 March 2025
Scoff
>Vicariously enjoying the gig through the medium of Roger’s Journal of Record, and wondering, was it ‘Turned Up Clocked On’ Nigel played a bit of before giving up, and was it enough to count for FBL purposes?
IIRC it was the first 2-3 lines of the Ballad of Climie Fisher that NB played before abandoning it during the technical intermission.
10 March 2025
dr DEsperate
I recall congratulating you on your Interrobang tee shirt, @Scoff. The last time I saw that punctuation mark used was at a Community Fun Day in Westward Ho!
10 March 2025
BiscuitGigs
Johnny Kwango has posted his links, there’s a few more as well courtesy of Automorph. Many thanks to both. I’ll keep an eye out and add any others that appear:
setlist with video links.
10 March 2025
PAUL F
What‽ Was the interrobang in the name Westward Ho‽
11 March 2025
dr DEsperate
It was on a poster for the Fun Day in the Park (face painting, bouncy castle, hot dogs, cakes) organised by the ‘Who’s Park‽’ group, who were campaigning to keep the area from development.
(W. Ho!, Who!, geddit?)
11 March 2025
The harbinger of nothing
31 years and 133 days after its release, 13 Eurogoths finally got its live debut. Can anything beat that?
(Assuming that was its live debut… I guess it might have been played in the 90s, before records – i.e. the Giant Setlist Chart – began.)
The above stat was brought to you by the numbers 1 and 3.
11 March 2025
Irish Niall
If I may be so brazen as to venture a small correction to Rogers meticulous record of a fabulous evening I think it was actually Fred Titmus righr after Broadstairs that was introduced as a new song.
Hopefully we’ll get to duke it out in Bethesda. 😀
12 March 2025
Scoff
> If I may be so brazen as to venture a small correction to Rogers meticulous record of a fabulous evening I think it was actually Fred Titmus righr after Broadstairs that was introduced as a new song.
It was. They played Broadstairs, then NB said “this is a new song”. The girls in front of me went wild, and the band played “Fred Titmus”.
12 March 2025
Cheryl
Scoff, re your Plantar Fascilitis, I suffered this a few months ago (was in agony) but a physiotherapist I was chatting to in a shoe shop told me to freeze a small bottle of water and gently roll my foot over it for around 20 minutes whilst sitting down so I did this over a couple of evenings and I swear it completely healed! Hope it works for you too….
17 March 2025
IRISH NIALL
+1 on Cheryls Plantar Fascilitis treatments. I was doing treatments for this for a while and as well as the bottle I have a golf ball kept in the freezer to roll under the foot.
18 March 2025
Quantocks checker outer
A frozen golf ball? So, good for a sore heel, but presumably shite on the back – nein?
18 March 2025
IRISH NIALL
Hurts like hell the first few times but you’re essentially relieving a stress build up. Once you get the hang of it it’s really very good. If you’ve timber floors like me I advise a small towel underneath so it doesn’t fly out from under there like a certain ladies Ping Pong Ball exploits in Priscilla Queen of the Desert.
18 March 2025
Injured buzzard
Posted in wrong gig. Almost the whole Tramshed set here…
https://youtu.be/Huhi55mBw3Q?si=8-dcjA1Kjj4Gp3wP
1 June 2025