I think the subject says it all; HMHB will be recording a live session in
Manchester for Andy Kershaw's Radio 3 programme at 10pm on August 2nd, which
(probably) has some tie-in with the Commonwealth Games.

Peel session was still in the offing last I heard, no confirmation. LP out
later in the year. No gigs planned as yet.

Any further news will appear on the website as usual: www.hmhb.co.uk

Gez.

Nigel was interviewed by 'Eddie Wicker' on Radio Crosby, a Liverpool (well,
Crosby)-based internet radio station last week - it's now available here:

http://www.radiocrosby.co.uk

or more directly, here:

http://www.radiocrosby.co.uk/ew.htm

An hour's worth of it...

Gez.

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

A few words from the promoter....

-------

Hello,

On account of the November 30th gig nearly selling out over three weeks
in advance, it's now been moved a massive ONE FLOOR to the main
debating hall at Manchester University Students Union.

Same building, same time, same price, but it's one flight of stairs
less to climb for the gig. If you still haven't got a ticket, the same
places sell them, including the Students Union itself. Details can be
found on the website.

The capacity has only increased by roughly 150 so it's wise to score
tickets early, or tell anyone who's thinking of going to get theirs in.
There will no doubt be tickets available on the door, but the charge is
£12 so I'd get them in early.

And if you've already got a ticket, please buy another for someone.
This is now officially the biggest gig I've put on. Not a bad record
from the 150 capacity Star&Garter four years ago, but it doesn't make
it any less daunting. Thanks for the support, mind. Remember to get
your face on the video if asked, and be aware that, at the moment, it
could well be the last time the band play for quite some time.

See you on the 30th.

Andy

A word of warning - the Manchester gig on the 30th November is selling
out fast - tickets left now in double figures, still with 3+ weeks to
go. Don't expect to be able to pay on the door on the night, get
tickets in advance - go to the website (www.hmhb.co.uk) for a mountain
of info on how to get them (and loads more besides).

Gez.

Hello all again,

Forgot to give the date of the Manchester gig - it's Fri 30th November.

Gez.

Quoted verbatim from Andy Martin:

The Manchester gig is now confirmed. Friday November 30th at the Hop&Grape,
Manchester University Students Union, Oxford Road, Manchester.

Tickets will be available online within a week or two at
www.ticketline.co.uk

Tickets are, unfortunately, £10 plus booking fee. Such is the cost of hiring
big venues and having to persuade them to bump some lesser known band to a
midweek date.

News of support, new lighters (or other stuff) and cameras will be made up
and passed on later.

Andy

Hi folks,

First of all, apologies to those of you who receive this message twice,
I've sent it to both mailing lists.

You are probably aware of the Guardian 'interview' with Nigel in last
Saturday's Weekend section (if not, sorry I didn't let you know, I was on
holiday). There are one or two inaccuracies in the article, and Nigel would
like to set the record straight - his response is on the website.

http://hmhb.oxphoto.co.uk/

Thanks,

Gez.

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.