20 Jul 2009
Searching for the ten pence off Lenor
On the day when England actually beat the bloody Aussies at Lords for once, it seemed appropriate to add a cricket-related song, of which there are surprisingly few in the Half Man Half Biscuit songbook. Fuckin’ ‘Ell It’s Fred Titmus refers to the former Middlesex and England off spinner who would have plied much of his trade at Lords (not a fiery Yorkshire pace legend, take note Kevin Sampson) and I guess is probably one of those early songs which permeated more widely into the public consciousness (as in “Half Man Half Biscuit? Aren’t they the ones who did…?”). Thanks to Nigel, Tony and Martin
See lyrics to Fuckin’ ‘Ell It’s Fred Titmus
32 Letters Sent:
Ricardo
I think it’s
As she disembarked BUT I didn’t seem to care
‘Cos someone passed THAT made me stop and stare.
Jul 20th, 2009
Keir Hardie
small N in nicks, I’d say, despite the obvious worldplay. Unless you think it’s referring primarily to books she posseses/created, then it needs an apostrophe on the end.
Jul 20th, 2009
Chris The Siteowner
Thanks guys. I’d never, ever thought about the “small n” concept before, but it makes so much sense. Well, well.
Jul 20th, 2009
Charles Exford
Exford [off stage, harping on, but not ranting]: Similar concept as to why “lost” shouldn’t be capitalised in t’other jobbie methinks.
Good work on this one chaps.
Jul 20th, 2009
Steve Malkmoose
Hmmm… now I have spent over 20 years thinking that the lyric was “Stevie Nicks plucks about kleptomania” (being a guitarist and all). Do my ears deceive me?
Jul 21st, 2009
Paul F
They do Steve – they do. And to my knowledge Ms Nicks can play nothing more technical than a tambourine.
Jul 22nd, 2009
Mr Larrington
Apparently Ms Nicks can also play guitar and keyboards. And she’s *not* a witch – Mick Fleetwood put that nose on her.
For a long time I thought the line was “Stevie Nicks talks about kleptomania”, but then I got some new headphones.
Jul 22nd, 2009
Paul F
Well you learn something new every day.
Jul 22nd, 2009
a_p
If Stevie nicks does Talvin sing?
Jul 22nd, 2009
Charles Exford
“To book about” isn’t a verb, so ‘nicks’ has to have a small n.
“To sing” is a verb, so that one may perhaps not be a small letter, or not, but surely it conveys the joke better if we write Talvin Singh.
On the other hand ‘the reason why Paradise Lost’ makes no sense at all. It’s like writing ‘you’re the reason why Oxford United’, if you were making a pun about say, big Ron Atkinson, as opposed to you’re ‘the reason why Oxford united’, which works.
[Sometimes I only write these comments 'cos I'm working overseas, and wishing there were 50 posts a day on here to entertain us. There should be.]
Jul 22nd, 2009
Ian in Colorado
Oh, surely it’s “N’? It’s not using “books about” as a verb, CE.
I’ve always assumed it referred to some Californian drippy thing where she wrote the books about kleptomania, like the way they write books about self-improvement. The small “n” is the secondary play, not the “N”?
Jul 25th, 2009
Chris The Siteowner
Well, I assume we’re now discussing whether it’s:
Stevie nicks books about kleptomania
or
Stevie Nicks’ books about kleptomania
…correct? And although it would be impossible to discern which was right from listening to them, the former “fits in” with the lines before and after, which both (also) start with a proper noun and then a verb.
What does the old “lyrics book” say, those of you who have a copy? Not that it’s always proved that accurate in the past!
Jul 25th, 2009
Dave F.
Both the CD booklet & the lyric book have it with a capitalized N but no apostrophe.
And in the booklet kleptomania is, for some unknown reason, capitalized.
Both show a hyphen for, And shouted to his mum – “Fred Titmus!”
Jul 25th, 2009
Dave
Might it not be ‘Stevie Nicks books about kleptomania’ without the apostrophe as in ‘John Motson books about football’.
Jul 28th, 2009
Ben
I do love this site, but when something gets over-analysed to the nth degree, it starts to extract all the joy out of the thing in the first place.
It’s a clever little pun, can’t we leave it at that?
Jul 29th, 2009
Paul F
Ben – Are you suggesting pedantry isn’t fun?!
Jul 30th, 2009
Dave F.
Ben, from the header to this page:
“pop songs picked over by pedants!”
Half the purpose of this site is to “not leave it at that”!!
Jul 30th, 2009
Ben
@ Paul F, far from it (segues into 3rd track main camera)
@ Dave F, I know, I know – it just seemed this one was in danger of veering from harmless biccies related stuff into something Comic Book Guy from The Simpsons would take pleasure in.
Consider me told anyway.
Jul 30th, 2009
Fred Titmus
Surely the line is ” Stevie Nicks talks about kleptomania”
or am I just being as OCD as the rest? lol
May 9th, 2010
dagenham dave
I’m going with ‘Stevie nicks books about kleptomania’.
Ben – no we cant ‘leave it at that’, this is important stuff.
May 9th, 2010
Chris Comic Book Guy Wheelie
Yus, Messers Titmus and Dave are right. Of course, Stevie “Nicks” etc., etc. As in, Stevie (could be anyone.. called Stevie) nicks (steals, pilfers, kleptos) books about kleptomania (oh, the irony). Dagenham has a point, as do you, Ben. But, c’mon, this is haven for us.
May 9th, 2010
Ben
Chris, D Dave, I realise this now – All I can say in my defence is I must have been having a bad day err 8 and half months ago
May 10th, 2010
steve_nicholls
I have no idea where to post this… so it will have to be here.
I have noticed – and it’s only taken me 25 years since buying Back In The DHSS from Chester’s Penny Lane Records – that there is a typo on the LP sleeve.
Guitar and vocals are credited to “N. Blacwell”
I haven’t got the CD so I don’t know if it’s still there.
Is it?
Jul 9th, 2010
Nigel E
I know this is a bit late but if it’s ‘Nicks’ with a small ‘n’ why does it mention Stevie Nicks on the HMHB website reference section? Or am I just being a tw*t?
Jul 9th, 2010
Attila the Brit
@ steve_nicholls
On the CD sleeve, after the track list, both Blackwells are correctly spelt.
I shall have to do the reverse and check my vinyl sleeve at me Ma’s now.
Jul 10th, 2010
Horst Radisch
Another one bites Half Man Half Biscuit’s dust.
At future gigs, will we all have to change the tense of the entire song and at the chorus find ourselves singing “Fuckin’ ‘Ell, it was Fred Titmus”?
Mar 24th, 2011
John Burscough
Gus Fraser seems to have a rather literal view of the songwriting process here (scroll down to para 9). I’d have been more inclined to believe his theory if Fred had been running a post office in Birkenhead rather than Berkhamsted.
Mar 24th, 2011
Vendor of Quack Nostrums
@ John Burscough
Thanks John, that’s a great tribute by Gus there. Paragraph 9 is absolutely priceless and will be copied and pasted into my file of wonderful things!
Now if NB57 actually has this form of song-writing Asperger’s Syndrome whereby only literal events can be included in lyrics then he must have led an incredible life to be sure. No wonder he has so little time to actually get out there and play gigs, if he is busy poisoning love rivals, disposing of charmless associates, trellising the yard etc. etc. etc. This form of Method song-writing must be very time consuming.
Mar 24th, 2011
John Anderson
I do hope Nigel hasn’t literally dug up Logie Baird, killed Don McLean, jumped off the roof of Dignitas or murdered someone’s family because they like The Rocky Horror Picture Show.
Mar 24th, 2011
TWO FAT FEET
or indeed completed an epic worldwide journey in his y-fronts.
Mar 24th, 2011
John Burscough
Looking forward to Angus Fraser’s obituary of Stevie Nicks, should the old harridan ever die (as are her lawyers, no doubt).
Mar 25th, 2011
TWO FAT FEET
I always did enjoy Danny Baker’s fake advert for The Best Of Stevie Nicks : What The Hell Is She Singing? (“digitally remumbled”).
Mar 25th, 2011
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