Hi all,

First gig confirmed for this year - Matlock Bath on Friday 26th January.
Details on the website http://hmhb.oxphoto.co.uk

Gez.

Hi all,

A quick reminder that HMHB are playing Fibbers in York tomorrow (Friday) night.

Tickets are £6.50 adv, available from the Fibbers website
(http://www.fibbers.co.uk/) or from the ticket hotline (01423 521176) which
has a £1 booking fee for the first three tickets. Otherwise, it's £7.50 on
the door, if there's any left. Support from The Surf Sluts.

Directions as of three years ago, courtesy of Andy Sandall:

"It is sort of near the tourist trap, the Shambles. Look for the big new
Marks and Spencers and the big Lloyds Bank in the city centre. The road
that runs between them is called Pavement, then Peasholme Green, then
Stonebow (in the space of about 50 yards). Go down this, past the Golden
Fleece, and you'll see a big concrete building on your left. Fibbers is at
the bottom of this, past several little bus-stops, and only about 100 yards
out of the city centre. There is a big car-park nearby, but it's dead hard
to find the way into. In fact, it's really hard to find anywhere to park in
York, especially on a Saturday in the summer. My advice is to use the park
and ride early in the day, have a scout around, then go back to the car and
bring it in later (ideally after 7.00 when the pedestrianised roads re-open)."


The following Friday, it's Manchester:

The return gig at the Hop & Grape, Manchester University Students Union,
Oxford Road, Manchester (capacity 400). Tickets are £7 in advance or £8 at
the door. Advance tickets are available from Piccadilly Box Office, Virgin
Megastore, Market Street, Manchester; phone 0161 832 1111 or go to
www.ticketline.co.uk. If you're paying in cash, you're advised to go to the
University of Manchester Students Union on Oxford Road to buy tickets and
avoid the booking fee that Piccadilly Box Office will charge.

Directions (c/o Gus Woodhead, which he claims may not be the most accurate!):

Head out of the city centre on OXFORD ROAD. Keep going under Mancunion Way.
Up Oxford Road you will hit the university area - you will come to a
browny-red covered walkover. There is a car park here (for the Dental
Hospital) - 60p - entrance is just on your right on CAVENDISH STREET. The
HOP AND GRAPE is just past there on your right, up some steps, there are no
signs advertising the presence of this.

A map is here; the arrow is roughly the location of the venue.

http://www.streetmap.co.uk/streetmap.dll?G2M?X=384453&Y=396735&A=Y&Z=1


No further gigs have been confirmed yet.

Gez.

Hi folks,

I've done a deal for you all. If you purchase your CDs and records online, use

    http://www.action-records.co.uk

If you state that you arrived at Action via the Half Man Half Biscuit
website, you can request a 10% discount on your order. Note that this
applies to ALL purchases, not just HMHB releases.

I'll put a link on the website in due course.

Happy shopping!

Gez.
http://surf.to/hmhb

Hi all,

The HMHB gig in Leeds has now reverted back to the Irish Centre, still on
Wednesday 18th October.

Doors 8pm. Tickets £7 adv. Support from Zane.

Address: York Road, Leeds.
Phone: 0113 248 0887.

Location: About one mile out of the city centre on the York Road (A64), on
the left if you're approaching from the North, or on your right as you come
from town (drivers must double-back under the dual carriageway).



The rescheduled Sheffield gig is the week before, on Wednesday 11th
October. Existing tickets are valid. Otherwise, tickets are £6 adv.
available by post from The Boardwalk, Snig Hill, Sheffield, S3 8NA (please
send a SAE). If you want to phone them first, the number's 0114
2799090.  Tickets can also be purchased from Jacks Records, Devonshire St.,
Sheffield (opposite the Forum) or Forever Changes, Ecclesall Rd.,
Sheffield. They'll have to be collected from these places though because
they won't mail out. Otherwise, it's £7 on the door (providing there's some
left). The venue has a capacity of 450.

Getting there: it used to be The Old Black Swan, and is on a road called
Snig Hill, pretty much in the centre of town. Get a tram or bus to Castle
Square, go down Market Place - which becomes Angel Street - which becomes
Snig Hill. The Boardwalk is on the left.


Ashton revisited on Wed 25th Oct; Manchester Hop & Grape 24th November.

Gez.

Hi,

Apologies for the late announcement, but the combining of unforseen and
unfortunate circumstances together with me moving today has made this a bit
difficult.

Tomorrow's gig at The Boardwalk, Sheffield has been postponed until
Wednesday 11th October - all existing tickets are valid.

This has been done for a couple of reasons - one being the petrol
"crisis" thing which, despite being practically over in some areas, will
still mean that many people who have tickets or would normally pay at
the door won't be able to make it to the gig. The band/Geoff were also
struggling to get a full tank of petrol as of this morning so it was
agreed that to postpone was the best decision all round.

The other reason, and the main one if I'm being honest, is the news
confirmed this morning that Alan Simmonds - who regular website readers
and gig-goers will know as "Alan from Barnsley" - died earlier this
week. The funeral will take place next Thursday or Friday and hopefully
the band will be there along with anyone who knew Alan from gigs in the
past.

http://cobweb.quantisci.co.uk/hmhb/alan.jpg

Gez.

At 12:18 31/08/00 , you wrote:

>Does anyone know how to find the Rock Cafe 2000?

Sorry, I never received any further info, so nowt got put up on the
website. Here's a bit more detail to add to Stuart's stuff:

It's on Mill Race Lane, off St John's Road, which is part of the one-way
system around the centre of Stourbridge.

Here's a big map showing the approach to the venue (indicated by a small
red cross in the centre):

http://www.mapblast.com/myblast/mAdv.mb?CT=52.4602:-2.14656:40000&W=1000&H=750

And here's a big map showing the street plan as you get closer:

http://www.mapblast.com/myblast/mAdv.mb?CT=52.4602:-2.14656:5000&W=1000&H=750


You can probably work out from the URLs above how to rescale the map...

BTW, note that spare tickets are running low. Tel. 01384 390918 to check on
availability.


Gez.

Hi all,

As mentioned previously, tickets are selling fast - the venue itself had
sold over 400 at this time last week. Capacity is 1000...

Note that HMHB will be on earlier than usual - expected to take to the
stage at around 9pm.  Support is from John Otway
(http://www.doremi.co.uk/otway/), who will be on at around 8pm, presumably.
The venue turns into a club at 11pm, and if my memory serves me correctly,
they like to turf gig-goers out around half an hour before.

To celebrate the first HMHB gig across the North-South divide in quite a
while, I'll probably be found languishing in The Tottenham pub beforehand.
And probably afterwards until closing time. Mine's a Guinness...

Gez.

Hi all,

I'm back from my various travels, hopefully to keep you a bit better
informed of HMHB goings-on. The info below has already been posted to the
general HMHB mailing list (ta Andy & Helen), so sorry if you're reading
this for a second time.

Geoff Davies would like everyone to know that tonight's (Friday 14th)
gig at Matlock Bath is completely sold out. There will be no room for
admission on the door either so if anyone was planning to turn up armed
with entrance money don't bother.

Sheffield, Leeds, Stourbridge and Manchester dates are all but confirmed
for later in the year so wait for one of them. And for anyone thinking
about going next week to LA2, you're advised to buy a ticket in advance
as they're selling very quickly too. I'm told that www.aloud.com do online
tickets and they are cheaper than Ticketmaster.

Gez.

Hi all,

The Nottingham gig is this Friday, 16th June. The venue is The Boat Club,
Middle of Three, Trentside, West Bridgford, Nottingham, and the gig is
promoted by The Night With No Name
(http://www.lockwood.vispa.co.uk/noname/realindex1.htm)

Advance tickets are £6, available from Selectadisc, and Way Ahead in
Nottingham, and also from TicketWeb (http://www.ticketweb.co.uk/).
Otherwise, it's £7 on the door.


Comments & directions from Bob Stevens:

"The Nottingham Boat Club is on the south bank of the Trent between Trent
Bridge and the Trent End Stand at Nottingham Forest. As you cross south
over Trent Bridge you can see the Blue and White Building to your left,
take the slip-road left directly over Trent Bridge as if to head down to
the Trent End. Car Parking is on the Tow Path. I went to see a local band
there recently, the sound was good but the (draught) beer is dodgy (lager
and fizzy Tiger Bitter) - the promoter says drink the bottled stuff! The
Venue holds 250-300 in a room to the rear of the Boat Club. To enter you
climb some external stairs to a glass fronted room which resembles a family
bar. If entering Nottingham from the South you must go over Trent Bridge,
keep in the left hand lane to take the Meadows turn, once you have taken
the Meadows turn stay in the Right Hand of the 3 lanes to turn back over
Trent Bridge and access via the slip road ."

Hi folks,

It seems that the proposed Nottingham gig on Friday 19 May has been
postponed - something about Carl going into hospital being the reason
cited. The promoter tells me that a new date should be arranged in the next
few days.

Cheers,

Gez.

A bit more info on Leicester (early, for a change) in case you want it.

The gig is at The Charlotte, 8 Oxford Street, Leicester, which these days
has a capacity of 390 people. Tickets are £6 adv/£7 on the door; doors are
open 8pm-2am (club afterwards). Phone number - 0116 255 3956.

Go to their website at http://www.thecharlotte.co.uk/ if you need more
venue/ticket info.

Support comes from the excellent (in my opinion, anyway!) MJ Hibbett and
the Validators, who have a website at
http://members.tripod.com/~MJHibbett/main.htm


I've still had no offers of a lift back yet...

Gez.

Hi folks,

Yes, late with the news as usual. Tonight's gig is at The Victoria Inn,
Midland Place, Derby (just over the road from the railway station). The
venue has a capacity of 200. Support comes from the excellent MJ Hibbett &
the Validators (a sort of cross between HMHB and lo-fi Billy Bragg, I guess).

For more info on the venue (including directions), go to their website:

http://www.derby65.freeserve.co.uk/v-home.htm

or phone Andy Sewell on 01332 740091.



Future gigs:

Leicester Charlotte,  Thu 11 May
Nottingham Boat Club, Fri 19 May


If anyone out there can give me a lift back from Leicester to Oxford (or
even better, Abingdon) after the gig, please get in touch
(gez@...).  Since I can't make Derby or Nottm (probably) due to
work committments, a certain website owner is getting a bit worried that he
won't get to see the band at all this year at this rate...

Cheers,

Gez.

New LP

As you're probably all aware, the new LP, Trouble Over Bridgwater (PROBE
48), will be out on Tuesday 25th April, the day after Easter Monday. The
tracklisting is:
Irk The Purists
Uffington Wassail
Third Track Main Camera Four Minutes
Nove On The Sly
Ballad Of Climie Fisher
Gubba Look-a-Likes
Mathematically Safe
With Goth On Our Side
Used To Be In Evil Gazebo
Slight Reprise
It's Clichéd To Be Cynical At Christmas
Visitor For Mr. Edmonds
Bottleneck At Capel Curig
Emerging From Gorse
Look Dad No Tunes
Twenty Four Hour Garage People

John Peel's already played the first few tracks on his show, with the first
airing a week last Thursday (6 April). More info on the website -
http://surf.to/hmhb



Gigs

A bit of a Midlands 'tour':

Thu 27th Apr  Victoria Inn, Derby (support MJ Hibbett & The Validators)
Thu 11th May  Charlotte, Leicester (support MJ Hibbett & The Validators)
Fri 19th May  Boat Club, Nottingham (support Johnny Domino)

Support bands (all supplied by Artists Against Success Records), are well
worth checking out. MJ Hibbett has just released a new LP, "Say It With
Words", and mighty fine it is too.

http://members.tripod.com/~MJHibbett/main.htm

is the place to go to check him out.



Gez.

Information gleaned from last night's Doncaster gig (sorry for the lack of
info beforehand) by Neil Woodhead:

"Geoff tells me that the new Album will be in the shops on April 25th
(coincidentally my birthday!) but send him a cheque before and you will get
a copy - as from next week."

Probe Plus
11 Sydenham Avenue,
Liverpool L17 3AU.
Tel/fax: 0151 733 1810.

I'd guess at 11 quid for the LP, + a pound for postage.


Gez.

c/o Andy Martin:

----

Hello all,

The Bath gig is off, so cancel any plans for travelling to the gig.

It's been cancelled for one reason - the promoters pulled out because
they hadn't sold all the tickets and despite us telling them that they'd
get more people paying at the door than pre-booking tickets, they
completely lost their bottle.

It may be re-arranged for later in the year.

Finally, thanks to the 250+ people who came to Leeds last night.
Especially the 175 of you who paid at the door.

Andy

Hi folks,

Sorry about the lack of mailouts - there hasn't been much to report in
recent weeks. A couple of gigs in Doncaster and Bath at the end of this
month are approximately sorted, but I haven't received confirmation about
either yet, so I won't give dates.
The last ever Duchess of York gig in Leeds is confirmed, though, for Monday
20th March - 71 Vicar Lane, Leeds, LS1 6QA. Phone number is 0113 245 3929.

The LP release is, as ever, moving backwards. I'd like to say 'sometime
next month', but Easter will no doubt get in the way.

Finally, apologies to the people who keep getting unsubscribed - nothing to
do with me, I'm afraid. Unfortunately, not a lot I can do about it either.

Until news arrives,

Gez.

As usual, I've left this 'til the last minute.

HMHB are at The Boardwalk in Sheffield tonight.

The Boardwalk used to be The Old Black Swan, and is on a road called Snig
Hill, pretty much in the centre of town. Get a tram or bus to Castle
Square, go down Market Place - which becomes Angel Street - which becomes
Snig Hill. The Boardwalk is on the left. Tickets available on the door.

Next Thursday (10th), it's The Studio in Hartlepool. The venue's on Tower
Street, and it'll cost £4/£6 to get in.

The following Thursday (17th), they're returning to The Witchwood in
Ashton-Under-Lyne.

Finally - Mon 20th March is the date of HMHB's final appearance at The
Duchess of York, Leeds. The venue is closing down.


The LP is recorded, no release date yet, but save your pennies for the
Spring...

Gez.

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.

Sorry, mean to post this at the beginning of the week.

-----

Holywell, Thu 2nd December   (yes, tomorrow!)

The gig is at The Old Wine Vaults, Cross Street, Holywell CH8 7LP.
Telephone 01352 714801.

It's a very limited capacity - the gig itself is being put on by an
American bloke for a birthday (!) so if you were planning on going then I'd
arrange tickets/prices by phone.

-----

Chester, Mon 13th December

The gig is at Telford's Warehouse, in the Tower Wharf area of Chester only
a few mins from the centre.  Tickets are £7.00. Doors usually open at 7pm.
Phone number for tickets : 01244 390090.

They've got their own website which has further local details, including a
map of how to get to the venue : http://www.telfordswarehouse.com/

-----

Ashton-Under-Lyne, Thurs 17th February 2000

The gig is a return to The Witchwood. Details nearer the time.

-----

Sheffield, sometime in February 2000

The Boardwalk.

-----

A few others in the pipeline, including a concerted effort to get something
sorted out in Scotland.

Gez.

Not really HMHB news, but still relevant:

There will be two John Peel Festive 50 Charts this year:

1. The Best Of 1999
2. All Time Festive 50

To vote, send your top three in either/both categories to
john.peel@..., or post your entry to: John Peel Show, BBC Radio 1,
London W1N 4DJ.

Get your votes in now, closing date is 13th December 1999.

Gez.

Thanks to everyone who made it to the Mean Fiddler, it was a great success.


Directions:

From Piccadilly Rail Station: After arriving at Piccadilly, go to Platform
13/14 and find the Fairfield Street exit (down a flight of stairs). Once
you're out of the door the S&G is across the road on your left almost
opposite the station.

From Victoria Rail Station: Get on a Metrolink Tram heading for Piccadilly
and just wait until it reaches the terminus. Then it's just a case of
making your way along the platform to the Fairfield Street exit (it's
signposted) and then it's across the road on your left.

By Car: Anyone travelling by car should make their way onto the Mancunian
Way. From outside Manchester it's the M62, to the M602 until the
roundabout, then onto the A57(M) which then becomes the Mancunian Way.
Alternatively, you can take the M56, then onto Princess Parkway (a
continuation of the motorway) until you reach the A57(M). Either way - once
you're on the Mancunian Way, go straight over the flyover and it's just a
left at the first set of traffic lights. The S&G is 200 yards down the road
on your left.


Merchandise:

HMHB central have asked for a poll on what type(s) of HMHB merchandise the
gig-goer would be interested in purchasing at upcoming gigs. The choices:

Baseball Caps
Beanie Hats
Record Bags
Mouse Mats
Coasters
Key Rings

Mail Andy (andyplc@...) with your favourites - the most popular will
be on sale at the gig (hopefully).


Gez.

In case you've not been to the Mean Fiddler before...

Get the tube to Willesden Junction (Bakerloo line). Come out of the
station, and turn right onto the short Station Approach. Go 50yds along to
the end, where it becomes the larger Old Oak Road; turn right. Walk
straight on, across the traffic lights, where the road becomes Station
Road. The road goes up a slight incline; at the top there is an octagonal
church on the right. Follow the road round the right hand bend; in front of
you should be the Jubilee Clock. At this point, turn left onto Harlesden
High St. Walk up this road - the Mean Fiddler is about 100yds up on the
left hand side.

There's a map of all this here:

http://uk.multimap.com/map/browse.cgi?db=london&scale=10000&width=500&height
=500&X=522000&Y=183000

Copy BOTH LINES of the above URL, and paste them into your browser location
box.


I don't think the venue opens 'til around 8pm, so don't turn up too early.
There's a bar next door with a glass front, where you'll probably find me
beforehand, if anyone's interested.

Support comes from Adorno.


Gez.

Words direct from Andy at Probe Plus:

"Birmingham has been cancelled due to Radio City (apparently) being sold.
Nobody
was informed of this until today (Monday) despite the promoter claiming to
have
left messages telling us. I spoke to the said promoter as well as the
manager of
Radio City last week and neither mentioned a sell-off. Apparently The
Buzzcocks
were due to play the place last week, but weren't informed either so a load of
people turned up to a no-show.

Sorry to anyone who was planning to go - we'll be trying to arrange another
date
at a different (and better run) venue. News of the cancellation should be
broadcast tomorrow on Peel with a bit of luck, along with more from the QEH
gig,
if rumours are true.

All other gigs are still going ahead - this is not a band problem, just an
inept
venue. As far as the band is concerned, they're in the studio today
recording an
anthem with some special guests. More details to follow..."

Tickets for the Mean Fiddler gig on Fri 12 Nov are now available. They cost
8 quid, and can be also purchased through TicketMaster at various outlets
(HMV, Tower Records etc) and online via their website (there's a 2 quid
booking fee per ticket). The following link takes you directly there:

http://events.ticketmaster.co.uk/cgi/events/byid.idc?event_id=18002F419DC169A3


Gez.

Hi folks,

Since there's nearly fifty people on the list now, I thought I'd better
send something.  All of the following has already appeared on the
day-to-day HMHB list, and should be hidden on the website somewhere.

Wycombe
=======
The gig is only a few hours away as I write. I'll probably be in the
vicinity of the door when you arrive; say hello (purple top, greenish
jeans, large ears). If you need directions:

White Horse, 95 West Wycombe Road, 01494 439782
Off M40 Junction, follow A404 Towards Town Centre then A40 towards
Oxford at Roundabouts. Follow for 1/4 of a mile and it's on your left
hand side. Looking at my sketch map, it looks fairly straightforward.

Look out for the odd other indie pop star in attendance...


QEH last week on Peel
=====================
The gig is being broadcast on John Peel's show TONIGHT, 10.10pm.


Birmingham, Thu 14th Oct
========================
The gig's at Radio City, which is on Horsefair. It's about 100 yards along
before it becomes Bristol Road.  Directions: it's practically across the
road from The Foundry on the other side of the "island" (traffic island I
presume).
Yes, it is a cafe bar type thing and yes they do a dance night once a
week, but it has put bands on before. The general consensu is that it
looks a bit "upmarket" to have "punk" bands on. Make of it what you
will, but at least it's sorted.

The number to phone for enquiries is 0121 622 3747.


Todmorden Community College, Fri 22nd Oct
=========================================
The gig in the annexe, just down the road from Hebden Bridge. Tickets are 6
quid advance, available from:

Jon Green, East Lyncroft, Stansfield Hall Road, Todmorden, Lancs OL14 5LR.

Cheques should be made payable to "Todmorden Greenpeace Support Group" -
please enclose an SAE. Alternatively, you can order by credit card from:

Hebden Bridge tourist Info Centre - 01422 843831 (£1 booking fee), or
Mid Pennine Arts - 01282 421986

The remaining tickets will be 7 quid on the door. The venue capacity is
approx 250. There will be one local support band (probably Floe).

How to get there: The venue is Todmorden Community College, approx 100yds
from Todmorden town centre on the Burnley Road. If you get lost ask for
Calder College (it was called this until recently).

Last trains from Todmorden: to Manchester 23.30; to Bradford / Leeds 23.25.

November gigs
=============
More info on these nearer the time:

Thu  4th Nov  Duchess of York, Leeds
Fri 12th Nov  Mean Fiddler, Harlesden, London  (yes, it's back on)
Fri 19th Nov  Star & Garter, Manchester


LP
==
Will appear. Sometime. Before Xmas.


That'll do for now, hope to see you at gigs soon...


Gez.

Info regarding current activities of Half Man Half Biscuit.

Group Manager: hmhb-info-owner@egroups.com

To subscribe, send a message to hmhb-info-subscribe@egroups.com or go to the e-groups's home page at http://www.egroups.com/group/hmhb-info/