Half Man Half Biscuit were eccentric cult heroes of the British indie scene in the 1980s and '90s, considered national treasures by their biggest fan, BBC radio DJ John Peel. At a time when many of their peers were campaigning about social and political issues, front man Nigel Blackwell wrote barbed satirical songs about snooker referees, yuppie culture and daytime soap operas, with their debut album 'Back in the DHSS' going on to top the UK Indie Charts in 1985. Tracks like 'Dickie Davis Eyes', 'The Trumpton Riots' and 'All I Want for Christmas Is a Dukla Prague Away Kit' won the Liverpool band a reputation as apathetic, sarcastic, working class storytellers and they teamed up with scouse actress Margi Clarke for a typically spiky, Buzzcocks-style rendition of the Edith Piaf classic 'Non, Je ne Regrette Rien' in 1991. A reluctance to tour and their cynical view of the show business world, meant that they remained on the local independent label Probe Plus Records and regularly released albums full of songs that aired their gripes with the modern world, maligned pompous celebrities and celebrated everyday, low-brow culture, yet in 2013 their track 'Joy Division Oven Gloves' was voted by listeners as the greatest song in the history of radio station 6Music. 'This Leaden Pill' in 1993, 'Trouble Over Bridgewater' in 2000 and 'Achtung Bono' in 2005 stand out among the band's most successful albums, but they have continued to consistently provide lyrical gems and funny, sharp-tongued takedowns over the years and they returned in 2018 with their 14th studio album 'Nobody Cares About Your Creative Hub So Get Your Effing Hedge Cut'.
Please enable Javascript to view this page competely.