NORTH West indie wackos Half Man Half Biscuit are back with a typically surreal new single. Over a toasted cheese supper, singer Nigel Blackwell tells JAMES SCANLON why he shunned fame in the 1980s and why he hates the elitist aspects of the music business.

"I GET feedback when I'm in my bedroom in Nantwich. Stamp my foot down on the angst switch - that's the time to be bad."

These are just some of the words from the curiously-titled new single by Half Man Half Biscuit - Look Dad No Tunes.

Released to coincide with the airing of their sixth Peel session, it's evidence that singer Nigel Blackwell's acerbic wit is sharper than ever.

Nigel said: "Bands nowadays listen to the Velvet Underground's first album and think 'If we make a bit of noise here and there, we'll be alright'. But you've got to have the tunes first, haven't you?

"It's like the Jesus And Mary Chain - they could do all their songs on an acoustic guitar, and it'd still sound good. That's the difference.

"A lot of bands just think they can use some noise and feedback, and people think that's good and that's deep."

Does this reflect his contempt for the pomposity of the music industry in general?

"That's where I'm probably a charlatan," Nigel admits. "I only do it really to pay my way, like, get my bills paid and that. The talent always comes through in the end.

"I don't think you've got to become part of that elite society, although it does help if you know a few people, say the right things and hang around with the right people.

"Ultimately, if you've got a good tune, that's what the record-buying public wants. A typical example would be Gomez. The New Musical Express have slagged them off for being too old for their time, but people who buy music don't care about things like that. They just say 'I like that song, I'll go out and buy it'."

I ask Nigel why, at the height of their success in the mid-80s, HMHB decided to shun fame by refusing to tour or appear live on television.

Nigel said it was down to his reluctance to conform.

"If I'm not comfortable with something, I won't do it. There came a time when I was about 28 when I thought 'I don't really want to do that'. How many wedding receptions have you been to that you've really wanted to go to?

"We've got the same attitude that we had back in 1983. When things took off about two years later, I thought it was great and I wanted to do it for the next 15 or 20 years and stay fresh."

It looks like he's managed it.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.