Achtung Bono

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

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]

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.