Thursday, March 24, 2011

F**kin' 'ell, goodbye Fred Titmus!

Elizabeth Taylor wasn't the only celebrity in yesterday's obituaries.
Cricket fans and HALF MAN HALF BISCUIT aficionados are taken aback by Wednesday's death of FRED TITMUS.

Titmus, who died age 78, was an spin bowler whose first-class cricket career spanned five decades.

English indie band Half Man Half Biscuit immortalized Titmus in the 1985 song, "F**KIN' 'ELL, IT'S FRED TITMUS," a tune characterized by critic Paul Simpson as "the funniest song ever written about an England and Middlesex cricketer."

"Oh I was walking round my local store I was searching for the ten pence off Lenor, when suddenly I bumped into this guy on seeing who it was I gave a cry: 'F**kin' 'ell, it's Fred Titmus.'"

The song continues in a similar vein, also referencing Stevie Nicks and Dracula before it's done.

Hearing about Titmus' death made me dial up the old tune on the iPod yesterday.

It made me smile, so I'm glad I did.