Gig Review: Half Man Half Biscuit

Holmfirth Picturedrome, 21st September 2006

As British as Fish and Chips and Fawlty Towers with a sense of the absurd, Half Man Half Biscuit’s Holmfirth gig saw a tight performance from the Birkenhead Indie band.

Established in 1984, splitting in 1987, only to reform in 1990, Messrs Nigel and Neil Blackwell continue to write great songs with references ranging from ITV Wrestling contenders to hills and nondescript East Anglian towns. Last night, they didn’t disappoint.

Kicking off proceedings with ‘S*** Arm, Bad Tattoo’, their set lasted a full 90 minutes with 10 minutes added time for an encore. Applause and cheers were reserved for the old favourites like ‘F***** ‘Ell It’s Fred Titmuss’ and ‘Everything’s AOR’. Of the more recent material, ‘Joy Division Oven Gloves’ was greeted with a lively reception.

The highlights of the gig included an extended version of ‘24 Hour Garage People’, updated to include references to portable digital music players - complete with excerpts of songs which would appear on Sean Rowley’s ‘Guilty Pleasures’ album. The other one was ‘Disabled Blue Badge Abuser’, which used the bass line of one of their older pieces ‘Yipps’.

They opened the encore with a cover of ‘Caroline’ by Status Quo, before playing ‘Them’s The Vagaries’ and two classics from ‘Back Again in the DHSS’ (’The Bastard Son of Dean Friedman’ and ‘The Best Things in Life’). Suprisingly, there was no ‘Trumpton Riots’, which was seen a mild letdown by some.

Apart from that, this was a tight performance by Half Man Half Biscuit, and their 100 minute set was well worth the £15.00.

Key songs:

• Restless Legs
• Dead Men Don’t Need Season Tickets
• Joy Division Oven Gloves
• Vatican Broadside
• Everything’s AOR
• CORGI Registered Friends
• 24 Hour Garage People (extended version)

All in all, a great night.

• Presentation: 89% (Good stage effects and special mention for the caravan shaped guitar);
• Sound quality: 80% (Good acoustics, no distortion, not too loud);
• Value for Money: 93% (A long set plus a generous 40 minutes for the support band);
• Content:91% (A good mix of recent and classic material, though ‘Trumpton Riots’ was missed).

Overall rating: 90% (Half Man Half Biscuit can never be equalled with their powers of observation on the minutae of life most of us take for granted and knowledge of all things obscure. Long may they continue.)

• Half Man Half Biscuit will be playing the Manchester Academy on the 17th February 2007.  Tickets are £16.75, including booking fee and the gig will include a support act. Log on to http://www.hmhb.co.uk for further details.

20 Years of Hurt? Bus Deregulation in Greater Manchester

It was supposed to have improved services through competition. There was even talk of drivers owning their own buses. Even fare levels were supposed to have fallen, as power moved from the monolithic PTEs and the National Bus Company to the little.

How wrong they were, and how right were Greater Manchester PTE nearly 20 years ago.

Between 1986 - 1993, there was plenty of competition between GM Buses (then a publicly owned Limited company) and the likes of Citibus, Bee Line Buzz Company and other PTE companies. Thirteen years later, we have now seen bus ownership in the UK concentrated between three major companies. As for drivers being owner occupiers of their own vehicles, this never happened. So much for competition and added choice.

Of course, there were some improvements to services, with some operators running minibus services via streets that tested the bigger buses. However, most of these improvements have been undone by rationalisation of evening and Sunday services or withdrawal. Most of the investment in new buses have been designated to profitable routes like the 135, 216 and the 192. It has also become commonplace for other routes to receive older buses, with many being step entrance rather than low floor.

Fare levels have actually increased rather than fell since 1986, except in some cases. The exceptions to this rule are Stagecoach’s ‘Magic Bus’ and ‘Megabus’ service. A shift towards bought on the bus season tickets has seen increased boarding times and longer journeys. One example of this increase is a nine stage fare on the 346 (Ashton - Hyde - Gee Cross), which has increased from 30p under Greater Manchester Transport to £1.50 under Stagecoach Manchester (or £1.30 on First Pioneer).

Rather than increased services, bus deregulation has seen strategically important routes withdrawn. Examples of these are the 400 (Trans-Lancs Express), 562 (Oldham - Halifax) and the 153 (Manchester - Mossley). Only the Wilmslow Road and A6 corridors have seen an increase, with a staggering 30 buses an hour. In the Tameside area, there are few services with 30 buses a day each way.

Over the last two weeks, the Wilmslow Road corridor has become the subject of controversy over competition on the 85/86 routes to Chorlton. This has resulted in Metrolink trams being blocked in Mosley Street, people cutting their journeys short and walking the rest of the journey. There has been some good news over a leaked memo, stating that the buses will be reregulated within two years.  This was revealed in the Manchester Evening News (13/09/2006 edition):

http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/s/223/223028_bus_wars_get_it_sorted.html

The article is also an indictment of how the then Conservative government forced Greater Manchester, other PTEs and local councils to disintegrate in several weeks an integrated and affordable transport system which has served Britain for the best part of fifty years.

Though there has been improvements in information, through ticketing and integration in the last five years, these have come too late to avert a 45% drop in patronage since Sunday 26th October 1986.

Franchising should involve: participation in timetable compilation between councils and bus users; a long term goal towards a standardised bus design; minimum passenger service requirements (including full Bank Holiday services) and a standard livery.

This should be the case in Greater Manchester and the other PTE areas, notably South Yorkshire, where fares have gone from being the cheapest to being more expensive than Greater Manchester’s.

In Greater Manchester, the future was, is, and remains white, orange and brown.

2006 Trans-Lancs Vehicle Rally: Like Glastonbury with buses

Dogged by rain, the Trans-Lancs Vehicle Rally in Heaton Park did not fail to disappoint.

In the sort of weather which sailors wouldn’t have dreamed of sailing on, there was a good turnout of modern and classic buses. As usual, there was representation from the GM Buses Group, the SELNEC Preservation Society and the Yelloway Museum (an AEC Reliance coach). As usual were the exhibits and the volunteers of the Greater Manchester Transport Society, who like myself braved the treacherous weather conditions.

Also present was the last Dennis Dominator to be ran by First South Yorkshire, in FirstGroup Barbie livery, and Stagecoach Manchester’s latest Alexander Dennis double decker. The latter example is one of a handful designated for the Hazel Grove - Manchester 192 service.

Due to the inclement weather, only half the memorabilia stalls were open. The handful of which were open included Glossop’s very own Venture Publications. As well as the stallholders, few people took up the option to use the fairground rides, which were playing better music than some local radio stations.

Despite the weather, there was a good turnout of buses, cars, motorcycles and commercial vehicles.

Next year, I shall bring my wellies, or hope the sun will be present in 2007.