Comments on: Who’s Afraid of Virginia Wade?

By: dagenham Dave

dagenham Dave — Sat, 22 Oct 2011 14:35:24 +0000

Just had a look at my 25 most played , ten of the songs are by Northern Portrait ( who I can’t recommend highly enough), the rest is a collection of what my brother describes as ‘Indie rubbish’, Belly, Morrissey, The Wedding Present etc.

The three HMHB entries are all from 90B(C), ‘Something’s Rotten…’, ‘Tommy Walsh’s Eco House’ and ‘Joy in Leeuwarden…’

As I’m still playing it every day this is likely to change.

By: Gregg Z

Gregg Z — Sat, 22 Oct 2011 12:57:41 +0000

I was looking at the “Top 25 Most Played” list on my I-Pod, and, obnoxiously, HMHB represented 22 of the 25. (It appears I need to “widen the motorway”, musically speaking). The three other songs on the top 25 are, of course: “Isla de Encanta” (The Pixies), “Outdoor Miner” (Wire) and “Container Drivers” (The Fall).

I mention this in the hope that some of you fine folks might share a hypothetical list of your own. Assuming you’ve got a similar ratio of HMHB tunes on the I-Pod (real or imagined), which three songs would round out the list?

Just trying to get a sense of what else is going on in our otherwise cloistered lives…

By: Gregg Z

Gregg Z — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 13:36:50 +0000

Overheard my 3-year-old daughter today singing “Who’s afraid of Virginia Wade?”. I think the kids were first drawn to this tune by the Scooby Doo reference, but it seems the numerous other cultural references in the song have stuck.

Not a PBR, so I put it here.

By: Gibbo

Gibbo — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 09:59:53 +0000

I always thought it was “What, Mr Kowalski?”
too, and for that matter isn’t it “What a motto!” rather than “was our motto”?

Another busy day at the coalface of capitalism, plainly…

By: Neil G

Neil G — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 16:02:30 +0000

Chrisso,
Go and wash your ears out.

By: Chrisso

Chrisso — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 13:38:31 +0000

It’s not Kowalski, it’s Kominsky:

“Why, it’s Nancy Kominsky!” Remember “Paint Along with Nancy”?
(http://www.nancykominsky.com/) Seem to recall that she always started off with a grid, and that the way her paint knife scraped on the canvas was irksome.

By: Tumshie

Tumshie — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 02:43:11 +0000

Sorry to drop in so late in the game, but I’ve always heard the start of the second verse as;
‘What- Mr Kowalski?
It was you all along!’
-in the style of the kids from Scooby Doo who stop him getting his hands on the ski lodge due to their meddling.

By: Jem

Jem — Wed, 27 May 2009 08:42:22 +0000

Hello All,

Asbo Derek hope very much to see some of you at Glastonwick.

We’ve caused quite a stir – or at least gently nestled a teaspoon in the mug – haven’t we?

Sorry to say that we don’t currently do any HMHB covers but we are big fans… and you never know.

Attila has said to me that we have a touch of the Biscuit about us, which we take as a big compliment.

Come along, see what you think and say hello!

Asbo Derek

By: Charles Exford

Charles Exford — Mon, 25 May 2009 18:41:27 +0000

Little did I know when I wrote the above that Mrs. Exford & I would be having another HMHB-related conversation with Attila the Stockbroker within a week, bumping into him in the Cains Brewery Tap, Liverpool, on Friday night before a nearby gig he was doing with Billy Bragg & David Rovics. Let’s face it, he’s a CAMRA man. Anyway he told us that the ‘Half Ban Half Biscuit’ tag for the act called ‘Asbo Derek’ at his festival in Sussex next month doesn’t mean they do any HMHB covers. It’s just a joke.

Talking of covers, he led his audience that evening in a rousing chorus of “Vatican Broadside” after again doing his “I’d like to pay tribute to 4 Lads from round here who have done so much for music…” routine.

By: Charles Exford

Charles Exford — Fri, 15 May 2009 15:25:23 +0000

Just reading back to see some of the posts on here before I was aware of your site, and it’s great to see that your first ever intro’ on here mentions Attila the Stockbroker, someone who often cites HMHB as an inspiration. I notice (from Attila’s murdochspace page) that he even went on a HMHB-inspired pilgrimage up Lord Hereford’s Knob a few weeks ago, naturally timed to coincide with Hereford United playing his beloved Brighton & HoveAlbion !

When we saw Attila opening for another of his heroes John Cooper Clarke in Liverpool, last May I think it was, he started his set in mockery of all those American bands who always pay homage to some other old 4-piece when they play Liverpool, by announcing right away that it was always great to be gigging near the home of the 4 lads who have done more to (insert whatever cliché it was, i don’t remember) than anyone else … HMHB ! and then gave NB himself a good name-check too.

We saw him in Leeds last year too (yes you guessed it – the night before Leeds played Brighton – how I wish the Bickies would gig on that basis) and he mentioned that he’s often tried to promote a HMHB gig in Brighton but they won’t go South of London, he said. So imagine how excited I got the other day when I saw the following line-up for the Sunday at Attila’s own little annual festival called “Glastonwick”, which I’ll be attending in sunny Sussex next month:

Friday 5th June: (6pm-midnight) Too Many Crooks, Chris T-T, Lovely Brothers, Drookit Dogs, and Alun Party.

Saturday 6th June: Goldblade, The Go Set, Sates, Hobo Jones & The Junkyard Dogs, Dizzy Heights, Spoz, Anal Beard, Garden Gang, Paul Carter, Charred Hearts, Gary Kaye, and Amateur Ninja Club.

Sunday 7th June: Asbo Derek (HALF BAN HALF BISCUIT), Leon Rosselson, Richard Durrant, Fitsroy, Phil Jeays, plus storyteller John Row wandering free.

Then I realised I’d mis-read it. It says ‘ban’ not ‘man’, and I’ve no idea why that’s even there cos the act just appears to be called Asbo Derek, and according to interweb research they play “ASBO Derek play kazoo-driven garage cabaret”. I can’t wait to find out what on earth they have to do with HMHB and if they do any covers ? Ah well maybe one day you’ll be on the same bill as the real HMHB again, Attila.

By the way, a propos of nowt much, yesterday’s Guardian footy blog just happened to quote Attila in quite a sensible article really if you’re into yer footy politics (and which just happend to have the top of my ugly old head in the photo at the top) :

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/blog/2009/may/14/nationalise-premier-league-steven-wells