Achtung Bono

Achtung Bono
Studio album by Half Man Half Biscuit
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
Saucy Haulage Ballads (2003) Achtung Bono (2005) CSI:Ambleside (2008)
Dedicated to the memory of John Peel

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[2]
Stylus Magazine	A- [3]

Achtung Bono is the tenth album by UK indie rock band Half Man Half Biscuit, released in 2005.^[4]

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.
• Chatteris is a small picturesque 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 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 (on rock and roll)" by Starship.
• "Trad. Arr." is short for "traditional, arranged (by)", and is often attached to recordings of folk music.

References

1. "Frog Recording Studios". Retrieved 25 February 2016.
2. Mason, Stewart. Achtung Bono at AllMusic. Retrieved 26 February 2016.
3. Passantino, Dom (21 September 2005). "Half Man Half Biscuit: Achtung Bono". Stylus Magazine. Retrieved 26 February 2016.
4. Half Man Half Biscuit – Achtung Bono at Discogs
5. McCabe, Maisie (22 March 2010). "6 Music supporters push Half Man Half Biscuit song". mediaweek.co.uk. Retrieved 26 February 2016.
6. Plunkett, John (7 April 2010). "Campaign to save 6 Music takes the Biscuit". The Guardian. Retrieved 26 February 2016.
7. "Official Singles Chart Top 100: 11 April 2010–17 April 2010". Official Charts. Retrieved 26 February 2016.
8. "Official Independent Singles Chart Top 50: 11 April 2010–17 April 2010". Official Charts. Retrieved 26 February 2016.
9. Holland, Roger. "Kicking Against The Pricks! An Interview with Half Man Half Biscuit". PopMatters. Retrieved 26 February 2016. Date c. 2005.
10. Granger, Ben (1 November 2005). "Half Man Half Biscuit : Achtung Bono". Retrieved 27 February 2016.
11. Stewart, Michael (24 November 2014). "URGE FOR NIGEL: an interview with Nigel Blackwell of Half Man Half Biscuit". Retrieved 26 February 2016.

External links

• "Achtung Bono". Retrieved 26 February 2016. The oldest-established Half Man Half Biscuit fansite.
• "Achtung Bono". Retrieved 26 February 2016. The Half Man Half Biscuit Lyrics Project.