''Back in the DHSS'' is the first album released by the UK rock band
Half Man Half Biscuit
Half Man Half Biscuit are an English rock band, formed in 1984 in Birkenhead, Merseyside. Known for their satirical, sardonic, and sometimes surreal songs, the band comprises lead singer and guitarist Nigel Blackwell, bassist and singer Neil Cr ...
(HMHB), in 1985.
The album's title puns on that of the 1968 song "
Back in the U.S.S.R.
"Back in the U.S.S.R." is a song by the English rock band the Beatles. It is the opening track on their 1968 double album, ''The Beatles'' (also known as the "White Album"). Written by Paul McCartney and credited to the Lennon–McCartney part ...
" by
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...
: referring to the high unemployment levels at the time of the album's release (the DHSS,
Department of Health and Social Security
The Department of Health and Social Security (commonly known as the DHSS) was a Ministry (government department), ministry of the Her Majesty's Government, British government in existence for twenty years from 1968 until 1988, and was headed b ...
, was the British institution which distributed unemployment benefit).
It was re-released in 2003, compiled with their first EP, ''
The Trumpton Riots EP''.
Background
In 1984, Half Man Half Biscuit started rehearsing at the Vulcan Studios in
Liverpool
Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...
, where Nigel Blackwell was working as the caretaker. One of the people he had got to know was building an 8-track studio in an upstairs room and hired Half Man Half Biscuit for testing the sound quality. ''Back in the DHSS'' was recorded for £40 as a result of Blackwell having secured a cut-price deal for the band.
According to the band's official biography, the first label to which Neil Crossley and Nigel Blackwell offered their first album was Skysaw Records in
Wallasey
Wallasey () is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England. It is at the mouth of the River Mersey, on the north-eastern corner of the Wirral Peninsula. It lies within the Historic counties of England, historic county bou ...
, who "said they would love to release it but the swearing was a financial risk". Then Skeleton Records "didn't really do anything except smile and ask if they could use the name as a label to put out a single by Instant Agony ((Blackwell and Crossley) said yes, not expecting any publicity of their own)".
Alan Erasmus
Alan Erasmus (born 26 April 1949) is a British actor best known for his involvement in the Manchester music scene starting in the 1970s. He co-founded Factory Records with Tony Wilson, which signed Joy Division and the Happy Mondays. He also co ...
of
Factory Records
Factory Records was a Manchester-based British independent record label founded in 1978 by Tony Wilson and Alan Erasmus.
The label featured several important acts on its roster, including Joy Division, New Order (band), New Order, A Certain Ra ...
"chuckled encouragingly and said it was probably unlikely anything would come about."
Geoff Davies of
Probe Plus
Probe Plus was a record label based in Liverpool, England. It was founded by Geoff Davies, an enthusiastic promoter of small, unsigned bands, who described the label as "Music to drive you to drink".De Burgh, Simon (1991) 'Probe Plus Records', '' ...
took the original tape and a couple of days later said that he would like to release it. Reportedly, Geoff's then wife, Annie, was a major influence, "being more in tune with the references".
The band recorded a few more songs at Vulcan, and the resultant ''Back In The DHSS'' LP was sent to
John Peel
John Robert Parker Ravenscroft (30 August 1939 – 25 October 2004), better known as John Peel, was an English radio presenter and journalist. He was the longest-serving of the original disc jockeys on BBC Radio 1, broadcasting regularly from ...
, who "delighted in the savage mockery of minor British celebrities, all wrapped up in tales of the everyday tedium that is life on the dole". The LP topped the
UK Indie Chart
The UK Independent Singles Chart and UK Independent Albums Chart are charts of the best-selling independent singles and albums, respectively, in the United Kingdom. Originally published in January 1980, and widely known as the indie chart, the ...
to become the biggest-selling independent record of 1986.
Track listing
Cassette
#"Busy Little Market Town"
# "God Gave Us Life"
# "'Fuckin' 'Ell It's Fred Titmus'"
# "Sealclubbing"
# "99% of Gargoyles Look Like Bob Todd"
# "Time Flies By (When You're the Driver of a Train)"
# "I Hate Nerys Hughes - From the Heart"
# "The Len Ganley Stance"
# "Venus in Flares"
# "I Love You Because (You Look Like Jim Reeves)"
# "Reflections in a Flat"
# "I Left My Heart in Papworth General"
2003 rerelease
# "Busy Little Market Town"
# "God Gave Us Life"
# "Fuckin' 'Ell It's Fred Titmus"
# "Sealclubbing"
# "99% of Gargoyles Look Like Bob Todd"
# "Time Flies By (When You're the Driver of a Train)"
# "I Hate Nerys Hughes (From the Heart)"
# "The Len Ganley Stance"
# "Venus in Flares"
# "I Love You Because (You Look Like Jim Reeves)"
# "Reflections in a Flat"
# "I Left My Heart in Papworth General"
# "Architecture and Morality Ted and Alice"
# "Albert Hammond Bootleg"
# "1966 and All That"
# "The Trumpton Riots"
# "All I Want for Christmas Is a Dukla Prague Away Kit"
The above is the correct song order; the track listing on the 2003 release was incorrect, placing "The Trumpton Riots" at number 13, so putting the last five songs into an incorrect order.
Tracks 1317 were first released in 1986 on ''
The Trumpton Riots EP''.
References
{{Authority control
1985 debut albums
Half Man Half Biscuit albums