Achtung Bono
2005 studio album by Half Man Half Biscuit
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Achtung Bono is the tenth album by UK indie rock band Half Man Half Biscuit, released in 2005.[4]
| Achtung Bono | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 12 September 2005 | |||
| Recorded | Frog Studios, Warrington [1] | |||
| Genre | Post-punk | |||
| Length | 40:34 | |||
| Label | Probe Plus Probe 57 | |||
| Producer | Carl Wark | |||
| Half Man Half Biscuit chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Dedicated to the memory of John Peel | ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [2] |
| Stylus Magazine | A− [3] |
In 2010, a Facebook campaign was mounted with the aim of saving BBC 6 Music from threatened closure and, as a sign of protest, to get "Joy Division Oven Gloves" from Achtung Bono to No. 6 in the UK Singles Chart on 12 April 2010.[5][6] In the event, it entered the Singles Chart that week at No. 56 and the Independent Singles Chart at No. 3.[7][8] Whether or not the campaign was influential, BBC 6 Music was saved.
Critical reception
Reviews were generally favourable:
- Stewart Mason, Allmusic: "One of their finest albums".[2]
- Roger Holland, PopMatters: "Achtung Bono is a worthy addition to the HMHB canon".[9]
- Ben Granger, Spike Magazine: "This is probably not one of Half Man Half Biscuit’s best albums. And yet its [sic] still fantastic".[10]
- Dom Passantino, Stylus Magazine: "UK album of the year, by a landslide".[3]
Track listing
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Restless Legs" | 1:53 |
| 2. | "Corgi Registered Friends" | 3:39 |
| 3. | "For What Is Chatteris..." | 2:05 |
| 4. | "Shit Arm, Bad Tattoo" | 2:41 |
| 5. | "Surging Out of Convalescence" | 3:38 |
| 6. | "Upon Westminster Bridge" | 2:45 |
| 7. | "Joy Division Oven Gloves" | 3:10 |
| 8. | "Mate of the Bloke" | 3:37 |
| 9. | "Asparagus Next Left" | 2:55 |
| 10. | "Depressed Beyond Tablets" | 3:00 |
| 11. | "Bogus Official" | 1:22 |
| 12. | "Letters Sent" | 2:38 |
| 13. | "Twydale's Lament" | 3:31 |
| 14. | "We Built This Village on a Trad. Arr. Tune" | 3:48 |
Notes
- The album title is a satirical reference to the title of the 1991 album Achtung Baby by Irish rock band U2 and to its singer Bono.
- Restless legs syndrome is a poorly understood neurological disorder.
- Until 1 April 2009, gas fitters in the UK had to be "Corgi registered" to practise their trade. Corgi stands for the Council for Registered Gas Installers; since replaced by Gas Safe.
- Chatteris is a small town in Cambridgeshire.
- "Shit Arm, Bad Tattoo" has been suggested to refer to the cover of the eponymous second album by the Libertines, released 2004.[2][3][10] Nigel Blackwell of Half Man Half Biscuit has, however, denied such a connection.[9][11]
- Upon Westminster Bridge is an 1802 poem by William Wordsworth (1770–1850).
- Westminster Bridge is a major bridge over the River Thames in central London.
- Joy Division were an influential band from Manchester in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The song "Joy Division Oven Gloves" satirises band merchandising.
- "Asparagus Next Left" is the sort of sign that can be seen on British country roads advertising farm products for sale at the farm gate.
- "Depressed Beyond Tablets" is from a line in the "Crime" episode of Chris Morris's controversial TV comedy Brass Eye.
- "Bogus Official" is asterisked on the album track listing as a 'Public information tune'.
- Twydale is a fictional person.
- The title "We Built This Village on a Trad. Arr. Tune" parodies that of the 1985 song "We Built This City" by Starship.
- "Trad. Arr." is short for "traditional, arranged (by)", and is often attached to recordings of folk music.
- Brenda Blethyn starred in "Outside Edge", a 1990s ITV sitcom about a village cricket team.