and so it was, recently, Father's Day. in several countries at least, in particular the UK. certain other nations mark this on a different day, look you see. well, anyway, for that day of this (2021) year, i got a very welcome, most delightful and greatly appreciated "f*** off" from my boys. by that i mean they got me a relatively newly released, previously unreleased two, not three, CD set called F*** Off! Bad News by Bad News, featuring (ahem) Bad News live and in concert.
there are welcome gifts, there are excellent gifts and then there is the amazement and wonder of hearing something which is new to you by someone that you have always loved and treasured. even if this was a simple rehash of what was on their (sadly only) two albums, Bad News and Bootleg, this was going to be great. instead, what i got was even better, for it was all sorts i had not heard before. and yes, just as funny as what was already out.
included here are the two greatest, most legendary, iconic and quite possibly only gigs what ever got done by Bad News, those being the show at the Hammersmith Odeon and their celebrated performance at Monsters Of Rock, Castle Donington. the latter, which was chronologically the first of the two yet resides on disc two, was of course in focus during More Bad News, the second (of two) documentaries about this much cherished, loved and partially talented band.
very much a case of damned if they did and damned if they didn't, this, with respect to the actual release. for make no mistake at all, the sound quality here is shockingly bad. i really doubt that this is down to shoddy work off of the label what made these available to the (in my case extremely grateful) public and all down to these being recordings made that there was never an intention to release. my honest suspicion is that the Hammersmith Odeon one, in particular, is either an audience recording, or done on one of them slimline mono tape decks left on the stage. but, my word, you can hear enough.
essentially, or in real terms, the Hammersmith Odeon show is very much a "show". let us be honest, few if any were into Bad News for the music. no, it was the humour, as childish and obscene as it is, that we wanted. so, this "gig" is exactly what you would expect, with it being banter, swearing, some fighting, and a bit more swearing, then little bits of music here and there. it's hilarious.
one thing the record label what released this can get knacked for is the very, very sloppy work on the packaging. it's like someone played the tape and simply guessed what the names of the songs were. hence Hey Hey Bad News being listed as We Are Bad News, and Bitch Hell Mother somehow becoming Bitch Of Love on one disc. everything about the booklet is also "this will have to do", featuring some random stills and, for some reason, just the lyrics to Drink Till I Die. also, now that i look at the track listing, calling Cashing In On Christmas just Christmas Song is plain wrong.
correctly named on each (of the two) discs is a song i had certainly never heard before, Vampire Spunk Merchants From Hell. no song could ever live up to such a remarkable title, and yet this one does. what a shame that, so far as i am aware, no studio recording of this exists. or if it does, it has not been released. maybe, perhaps, one day.
for some inexplicable reason the shoddy packaging manages to sell this set quite short. sellotaped on the end of disc two are three (3) excerpts from television appearances by Bad News. not entirely sure or certain of exact provenance, what with no details whatsoever being on the box or inlay, but i am all but sure one is off of Wogan and one is off of The Tube.
memories are not always to be relied on, but from what i recall of it, when asked why Bad News ceased to effectively "be" in the late 80s, Colin Grigson (under the guise of his alter ego, The Rik Mayall) said they all loved it, but there was "no point doing something only 37 people appeared interested in". well, either i am one of a very select, distinguished audience, or they sold themselves short. or maybe it all just ran out of steam.
i would imagine, or assume, that all with an interest in everything Bad News would either have this or believes they have enough to be getting on with. well, if you don't have this, get it. yes, poor sound quality and yes, could not care less packaging with a lack of interest in details, but still. it's very heavy, it's very metal and it's very bad news.
be excellent to each other!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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