record_label this leaden pall
Half Man Half Biscuit ( often HMHB ) are a British rock band from Birkenhead , Merseyside , active since the mid - 1980s , known for satirical , sardonic , and sometimes surreal songs . The group comprises Nigel Blackwell ( lead vocals , guitar ), Neil Crossley ( bass , vocals ), Ken Hancock ( lead guitar ), and Carl Henry ( drums ), occasionally augmented by a brass player . Throughout their career , they have recorded for ___MASK27___ records . This Leaden Pall is the fifth album by UK rock band Half Man Half Biscuit , released in 1993 . The album cover features a bleak overdeveloped picture of the now demolished Hale Wood pub in Halewood , Merseyside . In 2001 it was voted the 93rd best LP sleeve of all time in Q magazine . Anecdotally , lead singer Nigel Blackwell has referred to the album as their Closer . At the time of its release , NME writer Johnny Cigarettes gave the album a 6 / 10 review , describing `` Running Order Squabble Fest '' as `` a mini - epic of Spinal Tap proportions '' and Blackwell as `` the only rival to Vic Reeves in making cultural ephemera unfeasibly funny '' . The same publication revisited the album in 1999 , with John Robinson stating that it `` understood just as much as OK Computer the bravery needed to accomplish modern living '' . ___MASK27___ is a record label based in Liverpool , England . It was founded by Geoff Davies , an enthusiastic promoter of small , unsigned bands , who describes the label as " Music to drive you to drink ".