The Half Man Half Biscuit Lyrics Project

Busking this at Embankment Tube tomorrow

179 pop songs picked over by pedants

We got ten out of ten in Jockey Slut

Nove On The Sly appears to refer to listening to newsreader, “voiceover artist” and easy-listening DJ called Charles Nove. On the sly, of course. The song is also a chance for the band to make a song in an electro-style, as it’s about all that sort of malarkey. Thanks to Petrovic and Neil G

See lyrics to Nove On The Sly

30 Letters Sent:
  1. 1

    Petrovic

    Thanks – the Moroder bit had eluded me for ages!

  2. 2

    Dave F.

    Hi Again

    To my cloth ears it’s Jump Upping instead of Job Hopping, sorry I can’t here any H sound.

    I agree with Freak-beat

    To be a pedant, Look & Learn should be capitalized as it’s a publication:
    http://www.lookandlearn.com

    Cheers

  3. It sounds like “Freak-beat affair” to these ears.

  4. 4

    RobJ

    I always thought it was Phil in Hay-on-Wye, rather than Bill…

  5. 5

    Neil G

    I thought it was Phil too.

  6. 6

    dirk the purist

    ‘mud and brass’ possibly some reference to Jim Brass – character on CSI?

  7. 7

    dj

    mud and brass? muck and brass surely! i haven’t listened to this track in donkeys mind but there was a british film featuring mel smith from the 80′s call muck & brass and of course the well known phrase “where there’s muck there’s brass”

  8. 8

    Carstairs

    Waxin’ Up, they wanna do features.
    that’s what it sounds like to me anyway

  9. 9

    Dave F.

    Wax & Update (were/are?) magazines.

    http://www.discogs.com/label/Wax+Magazine

    http://www.dmcupdate.com/

    I recommend a visit to the ‘official’ web site
    http://cobweb.businesscollaborator.com/hmhb/records/Bridgwater.htm

    I’m still sticking with Jump Uppin’ . Isn’t that what the youngsters do at these type of shindigs?

    Ta

  10. 10

    Carstairs

    Ok. It’s Wax and Update.
    Will take time to learn to sing that instead of Waxin up.

  11. 11

    Oisin

    It’s definitely jump uppin’
    I don’t think it’s “affair”, but I have no clue what it is
    After Muck and brass, is it God and brass? It’s what I hear, but it seems wrong.
    Another vote for Phil and not Bill.

  12. OK, the more I listen to it, the more I can understand the vote for “Phil”. But I need another vote for “jump uppin” because I can’t quite hear that yet.

  13. 13

    gary s

    freak be the firm that refuses to worship at the alter of detroit?

  14. 14

    gary s

    just had another listen and it probably is freak beat affair, also it could be junk uppin’.
    sounds like muck and brass, cod in grass to me as well.

  15. 15

    Charles Exford

    Before seeing the words written out, I never had even a smidgin of doubt about any of: “jump-uppin’ “, “freak beat affair” or “Bill”. And I still don’t.

    Besides this, do others hear as I do ‘My (pronounced ‘muh’) road out of here’s a trunk route’ – it’s sort of aplay on the sound of ‘Moroder’ (and incidentally if you didn’t know the A552, AKA the Woodchurch Road is pretty much Nigel’s road out of Prenton to anywhere really).

    And if spelling ‘phat’ then how about going with ‘old skool’ ?

    Keep up the great work Chris and friends.

    Exford.

  16. 16

    ROB

    I always thought they said ‘Oscar Rich’ in the middle part – but I suppose Leskavich makes more sense, given her Radio 2 connections (I had to rely on Google to actually know this).

  17. 17

    jonfin

    I think it’s “Muck and brass, cod and wrasse”.

    I’m not sure why, other than a tenuous link with “Plaice”.

    Love the site :)

  18. 18

    Bill Stow

    Line 2 – us followers of freakbeat never hyphenate the genre
    Line 4 – similarly Old School should read ‘Old Skool’
    Line 19 – dyslexia has set in – it should read ‘four out of five’

    I agree with whoever thinks the missing words are ”Cod and Wrasse’ – very fishy.

    regards

    Bill

  19. Thanks Bill! I can’t normally acknowledge everyone’s corrections (I just make the changes, where I agree), simply because there are so many. But three, in a song which has been up a few weeks, deserves recognition.

  20. 20

    Coops

    Just stumbled on your site, superb by the way.

    Always liked this song if only because I really have got a new house where the old school (okay, skool) used to be!

  21. I reckon it’s “Marauder”, as in old metal band, and is it “six milk” instead of cigs milk?

  22. 22

    Ben

    Reckon you’re on your own there Gareth.

    Giorgio Moroder is a dance music producer and the lyrics are jam packed with references to dance/house music.

  23. 23

    Gareth

    Fair cop – I can see the evidence is against me :) Now I know!

  24. 24

    CharlesExford

    First line confirmed as it stands.

    “Bill” confirmed.

    And it’s “Cod and bass”. I know, I know, but at lot of these muffled consonant sounds might be due to double tracking in the recording process. Apparently.

    Source

  25. 25

    Bobby String

    Never having been aware of the surname of Katrina (And The Waves), nor knowing she became a Radio 2 presenter, my initial listening of this song made me think Nigel was saying “Les Cabbage” rather than “Leskanich”. I still occasionally throw that in if I’m ‘singing’ along with this track, always makes me laugh to think what a Neil Morrisey I was for thinking that! :-)

    Ô¿Ô

  26. 26

    Colin

    A552 main road through Birkenhead a decent petrol bombs throw away from prenton Park i wonder who lives there

  27. 27

    numanair

    School should not be spelled “skool.” He’s referring to the old school as the place, not as a style or anything.

  28. 28

    numanair

    Oh, and also remind should have a ‘s’ on the end –>”RemindS our kid of Moroder”

  29. That last one’s a distinct possibility …anyone? I’ll leave a school/skool discussion to the Semantics Dept. Over to you.

  30. 30

    Ricardo

    I’m sure “remind” is correct.

    If the subject is “drops”, plural, which I think it is, then the verb must also take the plural, ie it’s the drops which remind our kid of Moroder.

    There is, admittedly, a hint of an “s” sound on the end of the first “remind”, but I think it’s just that funny Scouse lenition thing, eg “thairtseen” for thirteen etc.

    Although, now I think about it, it would be hard for “Drops like you’ve never heard before” to remind anyone of anything. Perhaps it’s collectively the Amen injections, the sex-beat electro and the drops which are doing the reminding.

    Anyway, I’m sticking with “remind”.

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