Hi all,

Happy New Year and all that. Sorry about the lack of information
postings over December - I, er, forgot. I'm sure most of you got what
info there was from the main HMHB list. Anyway, a summary:


New LP
======
Due February-ish.


Gigs
====
The following are confirmed:

Fri 4th Feb The Boardwalk, Sheffield
Thu 10th Feb The Studio, Hartlepool
Thu 17th Feb The Witchwood, Ashton-Under-Lyne


Festive 50
==========
HMHB managed two entries in the 1999 Festive 50:
- Look Dad No Tunes at no.11,
- 24 Hour Garage People at no.30.

Ta to all that contributed. "Uffington Wassail" got my vote.


It's Cliched To Be Cynical At Christmas
=======================================
You may have heard a new HMHB track, "It's Cliched To Be Cynical
At Christmas", being played by Peel and Lamacq on Radio 1 over Xmas.
Here's the 'official' version of what's going on, from Andy Martin:

Before you start asking for release dates, it's a track off the new
album, of which ten copies were made and sent to Peel/Lamacq/Radcliffe
etc. It's not a Christmas single and it's not being released. The
inclusion of violins/bells/choir is a skit at the content of many (if
not all) bad Christmas singles of years gone by. "Do They Know It's
Christmas" being a good example (feel those bells, man). The title is,
in my opinion, a reference to the fact that it seems the norm for
everyone to say "ooh I hate Christmas me, it should be cancelled" at
any available opportunity. Ask a taxi driver about Christmas and see
what reply you get.

There was one violinist (she's in Adorno, support band at the Mean
Fiddler) and the 'choir' consisted of 4 or 5 kids aged between 9 and
11 years from a local school. And Ken dressed up as Father Christmas
when he played the bells.


On Tour With HMHB
=================
Read Andy Martin's HMHB 'Tour' diary: It's at http://www.andyplc.cwc.net/



Cheers,

Gez.