Half Man Half Biscuit

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 No-One Cares About Your Creative Hub So Get Your Fuckin' Hedge Cut, followed by the 15th studio album The Voltarol Years in 2022, and All Asimov and No Fresh Air in 2025.