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Bloody Well Live! Special Edition! [The Complete Concert Recording at Markthalle Hamburg, New Years Eve, 31st December 1992 - Remixed & Remastered]

by The Whisky Priests

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1.
THE ROW BETWEEN THE CAGES One morning when I went to work the sight was most exciting I heard a noise and looked around and who do you think was fighting I stood amazed and at them gazed to see them in such rages I never saw a row like that between the Brockwell cages The patent to the old cage says although I be a stranger I can work my work as well as you and free the men from danger But if the rope should break with me old skinny jaws just watch us You'll see me clag on to the skeets for I'm full of springs and catches When going up and down the shaft the patent cage did threaten For to take the old one's life if they stopped it meeting The old cage bawled out as it passed you nasty dirty patent Rub your eyes against the skeets I think you're hardly wakened The old cage says come over the gates because it's my intention To let you see whether you or me is the best invention The new one being raised took off his claes and at it they went dabbing The blood was running down the skeets and past the weighman's cabin The brakesman brought them both to bank the mischief for to settle They fought from five o'clock 'til six and the patent won the battle It took the brakesman half his shift to clag them up with plasters The old cage sent his notice in just to vex the masters (Tommy Armstrong)
2.
HALCYON DAYS I remember Charlie Douglas when we were still at school He was my very best friend But I passed him as a stranger in the street the other day He didn't even know my bonnie face And little Cathy Thompson with her hair and heart of gold I vowed I would love until the end of time But we were young and I failed to realise That she would never be mine I remember the times when we used to laugh and play But this cruel world always seems to take those times away Now it all seems like a dream that just happened yesterday Those times will never come again We rang bells and ran through gardens But caused no harm to anyone And the rows and fields were our own And we would mucky all our best clothes Jumping becks and climbing trees And stayed out late didn't want to go back home And the gypsy-camp battlefield where we used to play at wars Was innocent fun and games back then But now we are acting out our battle plans for real Though we say we are fully grown men I remember the times when we used to laugh and play But this cruel world always seems to take those times away Now it all seems like a dream that just happened yesterday Those times will never come again In our ignorance and bliss we were happy in our lives And our innocence could never let us down On grassy moors we chased and in greeny lanes we roamed Creating our own world in our town But it could never last forever fate caught up on us in time And turned our whole world upside down For our minds then knew of guilt and all the pain of love and hate While our dreams were left shattered on the ground I remember the times when we used to laugh and play But this cruel world always seems to take those times away Now it all seems like a dream that just happened yesterday Those times will never come again Oh what happened to you whatever happened to me What became of the people we used to be (Gary Miller) OLD MAN FORGOTTEN As the waves come rolling in Across the blackened shale An old man stands alone And carves an image of nostalgia In the dying sunlight you know And the features on his wondrous face Once shined like a million stars Now it’s cracked and worn His whole life is tattered and torn And he's filled with grief you know And as the day comes down He feels the years come down As the sands of time slip through his hands Like a burdened weary old pack horse Waiting for the slaughterman And he's spent his whole life in the area Working for the area But what recognition do they send his way But so long Joe it's time to go And as the day comes down He feels the years come down There is a weight upon this man Like a burdened weary old pack horse Waiting for the slaughterman And as the day comes down He feels the years come down Like a weight across the land Like a burdened weary old pack horse Waiting for the slaughterman And as the day comes down He feels the years come down "I toiled in this place" he says As the tears roll down his face For the family that has forgotten him And the land that has forgotten him (Gary Miller)
3.
BONNIE GATESHEAD LASS / JAMIE ALLAN: BONNIE GATESHEAD LASS I'll warrant you've never seen my lass Her name I cannot mention For fear you'll go and tell her How I like her so I do It's just for lads and lasses For to whisper their affection The bonniest lass in Gateshead's Bonnie face is bothering me The first time I saw her I thought I didn't know her I was sure I'd seen her face before I couldn't think of where Her blue eyes met mine in passing Up the high street in the morning And her look was so entrancing That my heart was mine no more Well I didn't see her for a week Until one night at the bridge end I stamped upon her gown And the gathers they came away She told me I was clumsy And I said that I was sorry I humbly begged her pardon I was licked for what to say So I walked on by her side As if I had a right to do The conversation first was shy But then it turned first class We talked about the weather And she mentioned that her father Was a puddler down at Hawks's Oh my bonnie Gateshead lass She mentioned confidentially That her uncle was a grocer And her mother's father's cousin Was a fiddler on the shore She talked so nice and friendly And looked both sweet and pleasant I thought I'd never seen a lass So charming like before She says her mother keeps a shop And sells hot pies and candy Her brother he's a cobbler In the high part of the town Now she was a dressmaker And we got on so well together I blessed I'd been so awkward As to stand upon her gown I made her laugh and slap me lug For talking lots of nonsense But bless you when you're courting There's nowt so good'll pass I asked her would she be my lass And I'd take her out on Sunday To my delight she says "I might" My bonnie Gateshead lass (Trad. arr. The Whisky Priests) JAMIE ALLAN [instrumental] (Trad. arr The Whisky Priests)
4.
JENNY GREY I watched as you watched me with hope in my heart And I wondered what your eyes were telling me then But a wall drew around me and trapped me forever And there was no key could free me again I passed by a headstone which no shadows darkened There I saw a young woman with flowers and tears And I envied the soul for whom she was grieving And I lost all desire to continue my years When they are drying the blood from my body And the flowers and grieving are all for me And when I am gone into Hell or to Heaven Oh Jenny, Jenny Grey cry for me We walked together in the cool summer morning And the birds were all singing in the valley below But the wind stole their voices as the sweet vision faded And I walked home without you alone The factory gates have all closed down before me And the lights have all dimmed on the edge of the town And they are singing a sad hymn in the church in the village And your face looks so sad as the tears flow down (lyrics: Gary Miller / music: Glenn Miller)
5.
SEE THE WHIPPET RUN I was born and bred into a race of skill It's the drug that gives me speed and thrills With a never ceasing heat in my heart and brain To give me the power of a speeding train See the whippet run Watch it leap the highest hurdles Run rabbit run Keep on heading down that track See the whippet run As it hurtles to the finish line Racing past your train and never looking back There's many a pleasure and delight In being the victor through another man's plight I can see the gold at the rainbow's end So carry me up as the gods descend See the whippet run Watch it leap the highest hurdles Run rabbit run Keep on heading down that track See the whippet run As it hurtles to the finish line Racing past your train and never looking back This race has led me to grief and woe And brought me to arms against friend and foe Yet the fire still burns as bright as before I can win this race and a thousand more See the whippet run Watch it leap the highest hurdles Run rabbit run Keep on heading down that track See the whippet run As it hurtles to the finish line Racing past your train and never looking back (lyrics: Gary Miller / music: Glenn Miller)
6.
INSTRUMENTAL MEDLEY NO.2: a) THE BORDER WIDOW'S LAMENT b) NEE GUD LUCK c) THE HESLEYSIDE REEL [Instrumental] (Trad. arr. The Whisky Priests)
7.
THE RAVEN You were born a handsome lad There was never one more bonnie The apple of your father's eye His fine and dashing Johnny Your mother she was proud of you She swore there was none better And your father taught you all he knew For better or for worse But when they come to lay him down After his final blessing oh Will he depart in peace and pride Or will his shame lay him down low The clouds hung low and the sleet and snow Spewed forth like a plague across the earth The thunder rolled while the north wind moaned And the lightning witnessed the birth At six a.m. the bastard was born And blessed with the warm blood of God His parents loved and doted upon And bred the miserable sod His heart was made like an evil blade Hard steel with a thirsty lust for blood His soul dwelt on the dark side of the grave And his body held no love Suffering was his bliss and evil got him pissed And he feasted on the food of human hate And when darkness came he played the lycanthrope game When his body and his ego would inflate His heart was made like an evil blade Hard steel with a thirsty lust for blood His soul dwelt on the dark side of the grave And his body held no love He could have been such a dashing blade With a heart full of goodness and love But all around the world he's heard it said That the raven is stronger than the dove (Gary Miller)
8.
EASINGTON We prayed for a new day dawning On a village shrouded in grey Where people spend their dole lives Waiting day by day Waiting oh so patiently For good luck to come along But that would be like finding gold On the streets of Easington Little bairns with mucky faces Playing in the colliery streets Reminds us of our childhood years Oh they were so sweet Me and Mary Walker Were going to be wed But you lose all hope and love When all your dreams are dead But let’s not hang our sorrows On the gates of misery We'll get the bairns up laughing And we'll sing We'll show there is joy in Easington From the outer villages To the beaches by the rocks The old men who degrade themselves Stoop to pick the black For what was once their livelihood Has laid their land to waste But there are no inner cities here Where the slag surrounds the coast But let’s not drown our sorrows On the dregs of misery We'll get the lasses drinking And we'll sing We'll show there is joy in Easington From the broken windows Of the houses in the night You can see the pithead pulley wheel In the lamplight burning bright But what about the young lad Who must leave the town where he was born It never can be easy When your heart is in that town But let’s not dwell on sorrow Nor think of misery We'll get the old folks dancing And we'll sing We'll show there is joy in Easington (Gary Miller)
9.
NO CHANCE Tim Malone took the long road home As the night was closing in And the cruel wind struck and wailed in angry moans With his scarf wrapped tight around his neck And his cap pulled over his eyes He fought to keep the cold out of his bones As he passed by closed down factories Waste ground and crumbling walls He recalled the evening's events oh what a story The cinema's woodbine smells The patriotic war film as well And the end to the tune of 'Land of Hope and Glory' "Cheer up there bonnie lad" Says the man who knows no cares "It's no use crying needlessly" (I'm all right Jack) "Get up off your backside" Says the man who knows it all It’s no use waiting until your boat comes in (I see no ships round here) "Because you'll find out son it's never coming in" At the shipyard on the quayside He watched the men come out And the boss said "Are you looking for a job" He sang "Weel may the keel row" To the tune of fifty quid But the boss said "Try some busking with your gob" (Weel may the keel row that my laddie's in) "Cheer up there bonnie lad" Says the man who knows no cares "It's no use crying needlessly" (I'm all right Jack) "Get up off your backside" Says the man who knows it all It’s no use waiting until your boat comes in (I see no ships round here) "Because you'll find out son it's never coming in" He'd sit and curse at four grey walls And watch his life go slowly by Waiting for next pay Friday to come Then he'd sit and sup his beer Watch people come then disappear And wonder if their lives were fashioned out of stone "Cheer up there bonnie lad" Says the man who knows no cares "It's no use crying needlessly" (I'm all right Jack) "Get up off your backside" Says the man who knows it all It’s no use waiting until your boat comes in (I see no ships round here) "Because you'll find out son it's never coming in" (Gary Miller)
10.
THE RISING OF THE NORTH [Instrumental] (Gary Miller)
11.
LAND OF THE DINOSAUR Here amongst the memories That belong to yesterday The monolithic metal beasts No longer rule the waves The ruins of a greater age Lie strewn across wasteland The dinosaurs are now extinct Their bones rust in the sand The timbers burned The wheels have turned The ships have sailed away Yet the dinosaurs stand tall and proud In the graveyard that remains See the greatness now expired In the hearts and lives of men Monuments of men Monumental men And their epitaph shall be: 'They walked on water They parted the waters Until the seas of power engulfed them' The timbers burned The wheels have turned The ships have sailed away Yet the dinosaurs stand tall and proud In the graveyard that remains (Gary Miller)
12.
PERFECT TIME Now down the row where the icemen grow There dwelt a caring man His body seemed cold but his heart was warm Though he had always felt so alone And down the way where hearts seem clay There came a bonnie lass And it seemed that Heaven opened its arms And blew away all of the past They walked together down Timeless Street Together they were in perfect time But only time would tell if a perfect tale Like the ones in fairy tales and dreams Would be told in perfect time Now time took on a different role For it seemed the perfect time To cast away all past fears And look towards a brand new life But life is cruel at imperfect times And fate is more cruel still And fate caught up like it always does And in a short time things turned ill They walked together down Timeless Street Together they were in perfect time But only time would tell if a perfect tale Like the ones in fairy tales and dreams Would be told in perfect time He walked across the lonely moors He was in a timeless zone And the eerie mist cast ghostly shapes Amongst the trees and stones He fell into the mystic spell As he felt for Mary's hand But it wasn't there it never was For he had failed to understand They walked together down Timeless Street Together they were in perfect time But only time would tell if a perfect tale Like the ones in fairy tales and dreams Would be told in perfect time Now he sits alone in a smoke-filled room And he feels too weak to stand He sits alone for he is all alone Clutching his life in his hands And in the corner the smallpipes play The hauntingly beautiful 'Sweet Hesleyside' Then he staggers home where he is all alone To be haunted forever by the broken dreams Which the darkness cannot hide They walked together down Timeless Street Together they were in perfect time But only time would tell if a perfect tale Like the ones in fairy tales and dreams Would be told in perfect time (Gary Miller)
13.
DOL-LI-A It's fresh I come down Sandgate Street Dol-Li, Dol-Li My best friends here to meet Dol-Li-A Dol-Li, De-Dillen-Dol Dol-Li, Dol-Li Dol-Li, De-Dillen-Dol Dol-Li-A Dolly Coxon's pawned her shirt Dol-li, Dol-Li To ride upon a baggage cart Dol-Li-A Dol-Li, De-Dillen-Dol Dol-Li, Dol-Li Dol-Li, De-Dillen-Dol Dol-Li-A The green cuffs have gone away Dol-Li, Dol-Li That will be a crying day Dol-Li-A Dol-Li, De-Dillen-Dol Dol-Li, Dol-Li Dol-Li, De-Dillen-Dol Dol-Li-A The black cuffs are coming in Dol-Li, Dol-Li That will make the lasses sing Dol-Li-A Dol-Li, De-Dillen-Dol Dol-Li, Dol-Li Dol-Li, De-Dillen-Dol Dol-Li-A Dol-Li, De-Dillen-Dol Dol-Li, Dol-Li Dol-Li, De-Dillen-Dol Dol-Li-A (Trad. arr. The Whisky Priests)
14.
WILLIAM'S TALE This is the town where I was born It's the town where I live now There’s many a tale to be told of this place So I’ll tell one to you now In Nineteen-O-One I entered the world The year Victoria died My mother died delivering me How my father must have cried and cried As a young lad of twelve Just fresh out of school I spent my first day in the mine And it seemed like the hell Of a dark prison cell But Christ knows I'd committed no crime The West Stanley Pit Disaster I remember it well When a hundred and sixty-eight lost their lives We were little more than slaves then Growing old before our time When the Fourteen-Eighteen Great War came My father was among the first to go He joined with the Durham Light Infantry And we were proud of all the medals he won Pozzieres, Mons and Ypres, Cambrai and the Somme He fought in all the major campaigns But when they shipped him back home at the end of it He wasn't the father that I had once known In Twenty-Six the General Strike Saw all the men on the streets And from Jarrow they marched in Thirty-Six But all they got was blood on their feet Half a century on it all happened again It seems that some things never change Jarrow cried and now Sunderland’s died And strikes are still all the rage When the Second World War came along In Nineteen-Thirty-Nine My son got a note from the government Saying "We need your services son for a while" Then they sent me a note at the end of it all Saying "Sir your son did fine Now he's buried in North Africa You can visit him from time to time" Now I sit here at home with my plaque on the wall It's not much to show for my life Of fifty-odd years of toil down the mine It's been a long haul of struggle and strife And now that the Tories are back in power again It's driving me bloody insane And now that the Eighties have become the 'Haties' There's no future left for the bairns of today (Gary Miller) AALL FAALL DOON There's a rumbling started underground But it's falling on deaf ears But who gives a shite what you think about it We'll only grab ourselves some more beers And someone said if we close our eyes It might just go away But we sang a song for collier lads And one for the lass down on the quay But still you never came down the waggon way And in your town the land of clowns It's just another day You are still afraid you run and hide You won't come out to play And you've misunderstood everything we've ever said And every point we've ever tried to make But if I see you dancing on Mr Armstrong's grave I'll come and give you a bloody good smack Just to let you know that you don't know the crack You stick your head in a hole in the ground And wait for a time when we'll all fall down But had away you stupid clown We'll never go away And in the land of fantasy Where you seem to live The ugly frog will become a handsome prince But it will be too late then to forgive And your writer's pen is spilling bad ink And our mouth doesn't know what it's saying It's in the place where your arse should be So kiss yourself goodbye and be on your way I never want to see you for the rest of my days You stick your head in a hole in the ground And wait for a time when we'll all fall down But had away you stupid clown We'll never go away There's a rumbling started underground But it's falling on deaf ears And if you try to stop it It will only end in tears And someone said if we close our eyes It might just go away But we sang a song, we've just begun And then we headed back down the waggon way The bonnie pit laddie is here to stay You stick your head in a hole in the ground And wait for a time when we'll all fall down But had away you stupid clown We'll never go away (Gary Miller)
15.
THE DURHAM LIGHT INFANTRY When I was just a young lad I used to mine the land With a pick across my shoulder Or a shovel in my hand But then the bloody war came And my hero's instincts grew And the posters in the street said "Your country needs you" "Your country needs you" And I knew then what I must do So Billy signed up For a soldier's bloody wage And Jimmy joined the navy So that he could rule the waves And they stood so proud and smart In their uniforms so new And the people lined the street with flags Coloured red white and blue Coloured red white and blue And you'll die for your country too So we're off my boys Through the hell and the noise To die for our country And they'll raise a cross To remember the loss Of the Durham Light Infantry In the muddy fields of Flanders We fought like men from hell And the ground itself was ripped apart Where all my best mates fell Jacky Cranston got his balls blown off And a shell took Chorley's leg And in all that hell and madness I wished that I was dead I wished that I was dead And all the sky was filled with lead So we buried all our dead At least those that could be found As well as bits of bodies That were scattered all around And it made me sick with anger At the things the war had done But when it was all over We still kept marching on We still kept marching on Though all my mates are dead and gone So we're off my boys Through the hell and the noise To die for our country And they'll raise a cross To remember the loss Of the Durham Light Infantry Now we'll sing a song of victory That was paid for with the brave But we're left only with monuments And an unknown soldier's grave And a special day once every year To remember them to God And commemorate their bravery With a poppy the colour of blood A poppy the colour of blood We've paid too high a price with all that blood So we're off my boys Through the hell and the noise To die for our country And they'll raise a cross To remember the loss Of the Durham Light Infantry (Gary Miller)
16.
GOBLINS [Instrumental] (Gary Miller / Glenn Miller)
17.
GENERAL TAYLOR General Taylor gained the day Walk him along John carry him along General Taylor gained the day Carry him to his burying ground General Taylor died long ago Walk him along John carry him along General Taylor died long ago Carry him to his burying ground I wish I was General Taylor's son Walk him along John carry him along I'd build him a ship of ten thousand ton Carry him to his burying ground I'd build him a ship of ten thousand ton Walk him along John carry him along I'd fill her all up with New England rum Carry him to his burying ground I'd fill her all up with New England rum Walk him along John carry him along I'd give a drink to everyone Carry him to his burying ground (Trad. arr. The Whisky Priests)
18.
SHUT DOON THE WAGGON WORKS The lights are going out on the edge of Ghost Town As a coldness penetrates through curtained windows For the colliery streets shed no warmth light or heat But our hearts are always warm here in winter As me and my marrers go to get ourselves a pint All we get are looks that make us shiver For the people have changed though the place still looks the same But the waggons don't run here anymore Times are hard in this world When you get put out of work The people up in power Have shut down the waggon works There are jobs up for grabs in other parts I hear While our village has been scrapped through lack of care They've decided to scrap jobs in the places they matter most Though the towers still belch their smoke into the air Times are hard in this world When you get put out of work The people up in power Have shut down the waggon works (Gary Miller)
19.
FAREWELL JOHNNY MINER Johnny Miner you were born Never to see the rising dawn Now its time that you were gone Farewell Johnny Miner Farewell Durham, Yorkshire too Nottingham, the same to you Scotland, South Wales, say adieu Farewell Johnny Miner You battled with the sliding scale With blackened lungs and faces pale Now your body's up for sale Farewell Johnny Miner Farewell Durham, Yorkshire too Nottingham, the same to you Scotland, South Wales, say adieu Farewell Johnny Miner They promise you the earth sometimes To get coal from their stinking mines Now the justice for their crimes Is farewell Johnny Miner Farewell Durham, Yorkshire too Nottingham, the same to you Scotland, South Wales, say adieu Farewell Johnny Miner So farewell John, don't take it hard Unemployment isn't bad They'll treat you well in the knackers yard Farewell Johnny Miner Farewell Durham, Yorkshire too Nottingham, the same to you Scotland, South Wales, say adieu Farewell Johnny Miner (Ed Pickford) THE LADS OF WEAR AND TYNE Still round the banners we'll stand In love and truth combine And children yet unborn shall sing The Lads of Wear and Tyne Brave Hepburn and our delegates Like rays of virtue shine Their fame shall long be echoed Round the planks of Wear and Tyne On Boldon fell a flag shall wave Like victory's wreaths entwine That peace shall be the motto still With lads of Wear and Tyne We envy not the rich and great Whose dazzling greatness shine While we the hardy sons of toil Can labour in the mine Our happy wives and children now All former cares resign And sing with joyful mirth and glee The Lads of Wear and Tyne (Trad. arr. The Whisky Priests)
20.
THE COLLIERY The pit where I worked was built in Eighteen-Ten It's claimed the lives of many good men Like rats in a hole we crawled underground Digging for coal at the colliery I had long shifts to put in every day And I worked like a slave for a poor man's pay We hated our boss because the bastard worked us hard For a pittance to keep our families And the curse of God was on our lives Though we prayed to Him for better times We learned to cry and we learned to die Down at the colliery I had a wife and six bairns to feed We paid the price of a rich man's greed I sweated and toiled in that unholy black hell Feeding the fires of Britain's industry And we found no joy in our toil As our lungs filled with dust and soot and soil We laughed and cried we prayed and died Down at the colliery Both servants and masters shared the land They abused our humanity they used our bloodied hands And they would steal our brains to destroy our souls But we were put on God's earth to go below it for coal This land was built by men of steel But the fires are now dying in its industries The machines have rusted and the pit stands dead The men lie idle no more prayers are said And the curse of God was on our lives Though we prayed to Him for better times We learned to cry and we learned to die Down at the colliery (Gary Miller)
21.
THE HARD MEN In the wild bad lands of England Where the law is our own We'll cause such a bloody riot You'll be trembling in your homes We'll lie in wait to ambush you In an alley that's our lair Whichever town you go to You will always find us there We've never tasted whisky Just lager and red wine But by Christ we can't half knock 'em back When it comes to judgement time We'll take you on at drinking And if you lose we'll skin your hide Then you'll say we're the hardest gang in town And we'll go home drunk with pride We'll leave our calling card If you're passing by our way If you're looking for a fight We can lick you any day We'll take you for a drink Just make sure you can pay We're the hard men We know you've worked hard all your life But we couldn't give a damn Because we're all just lazy bastards As I'm sure you'll understand And don't you be misled By our deceptive words of grace Because there's nothing we'd like more Than to smash a bottle in your face We'll leave our calling card If you're passing by our way If you're looking for a fight We can lick you any day We'll take you for a drink Just make sure you can pay We're the hard men There's always at least ten of us Just for company you see The sticks and stones we carry Are just our imagery The long knives in our pockets Are just for carving meat But human flesh is favoured If it's helpless in the street We'll leave our calling card If you're passing by our way If you're looking for a fight We can lick you any day We'll take you for a drink Just make sure you can pay We're the hard men We're meaner than Clint Eastwood And we're tougher than John Wayne We hate you if you're better than us We're all the fucking same We're like an evil disease Spreading through the land We have the Devil in us And his will is our command We'll leave our calling card If you're passing by our way If you're looking for a fight We can lick you any day We'll take you for a drink Just make sure you can pay We're the hard men (Gary Miller)
22.
THE COAL-DIGGER'S GRAVE There had just been a big cave-in in the depths of Belly Row And Jim Greenwood was stretched out on the ground And those with no guts were smiling at the back While the strong men had failed to bring him round The burial party had just reached the top of Dead Man's Hill It was well past closing time and all the men had drunk their fill They were starting to shovel the soil over his head When he jumped up and yelled "Give us whisky!" The top men are calling for enquires round the town They've got a lot of face to save And they've sent out appeals for the men to rally round "Will someone put a body in the coal-digger's grave?" Jim Greenwood had survived many pitfalls in his time The thinkers couldn't think what else to do "We cannot starve your family and we cannot steal your home But somehow we're going to get you" The top men are calling for enquires round the town They've got a lot of face to save And they've sent out appeals for the men to rally round "Will someone put a body in the coal-digger's grave?" And they sent him off to fight in the war And the bullets knocked him to the ground And they said "That's the end of you my son" But the bugger he came back round The top men are calling for enquires round the town They've got a lot of face to save And they've sent out appeals for the men to rally round "Will someone put a body in the coal-digger's grave?" (Gary Miller)
23.
ISN'T IT GRAND BOYS Look at the coffin with golden handles Isn't it grand boys to be bloody well dead Let’s not have a sniffle Let’s have a bloody good cry And always remember the longer you live The sooner you'll bloody well die Look at the mourners bloody great hypocrites Isn't it grand boys to be bloody well dead Let’s not have a sniffle Let’s have a bloody good cry And always remember the longer you live The sooner you'll bloody well die Look at the flowers all bloody withered Isn't it grand boys to be bloody well dead Let’s not have a sniffle Let’s have a bloody good cry And always remember the longer you live The sooner you'll bloody well die Look at the preacher bloody sanctimonious Isn't it grand boys to be bloody well dead Let’s not have a sniffle Let’s have a bloody good cry And always remember the longer you live The sooner you'll bloody well die Look at the widow bloody great female Isn't it grand boys to be bloody well dead Let’s not have a sniffle Let’s have a bloody good cry And always remember the longer you live The sooner you'll bloody well die Look at the drunkard bloody great piss-head Isn't it grand boys to be bloody well dead Let’s not have a sniffle Let’s have a bloody good cry And always remember the longer you live The sooner you'll bloody well die (Trad. arr. The Whisky Priests)

about

CD liner notes:

In 2000, we were looking for a special release to mark the 15th Anniversary of The Whisky Priests…

An equipment malfunction, resulting in loss of material on the night, had led to our second live release ‘“Here Come the Ranting Lads” - Live!’ in 1999, being issued as a single CD, instead of the planned double CD, which was to have featured the entire show. Following this disappointment, we cast our minds back to our first live release, ‘Bloody Well Live!’, which had been successfully recorded in its entirety on New Years Eve 1992/3 to a 1500 strong sell-out crowd at the Markthalle, Hamburg. Suddenly, the germ of a plan to re-assess the ‘Bloody Well Live!’ recordings was born.

As the original 17-track single CD version of ‘Bloody Well Live!’ had been deleted for a number of years, and there was still a big demand for this landmark release, now seemed the perfect opportunity to go back to the original master tapes and restore this recording to its full glory.

Following a four-year apprenticeship performing throughout the UK’s underground rock venues, The Whisky Priests had ventured to the European mainland for the first time in 1989, with a highly successful 7-date tour of Germany. Further tours to Germany and the rest of Europe quickly ensued. By the end of 1992 The Whisky Priests had graduated into a well-oiled (in more ways than one!) live machine. This recording perfectly captures the live essence of the band during that period, and in fact the original Bloody Well Live! proved to be a landmark for The Whisky Priests on its release in 1993.

The Bloody Well Live! Tour, running from the end of March to the middle of June 1993 was a whirlwind experience, with 72 concerts in 12 weeks throughout Europe. The Bloody Well Live! Again! Tour followed later in the year, consolidating both the album’s and the band’s general success at the time.

Now, in our 15th Anniversary year, this unedited Special Collector’s Edition of ‘Bloody Well Live!’ presents for the first time ever the entire concert recording, remixed and remastered from the original master tapes, and including previously unissued tracks as well as all the re-inserted between song dialogue, warts and all.

Isn’t it grand boys, to be even more Bloody Well Live!

(Gary Miller & Glenn Miller, August 2000)


Media Reviews:

“Hard to credit that while the A & R community currently works so hard to sign so little, there should be tales of gross neglect to tell. The Whisky Priests’ DIY-ethic tells that story in some detail. To celebrate the band’s 15th anniversary their long-deleted 1993 release ‘Bloody Well Live!’ has been remixed, remastered and re-issued as a double CD featuring the entire concert recording from Hamburg’s Markthalle.
It’s interesting to compare and contrast this edition with its predecessor – Fred Purser has returned to the original master tapes and re-mixed the performance as an unedited, warts and all set. Consequently we now get all the between song dialogue, none of the fade-outs and the previously edited out musical moments reinstated into one definitive document. The gig was greeted with religious zeal from a venue packed full of swinging fans and it’s easy to understand why. The band’s joy and vitality positively leap out of the speakers and the listener is immediately transported back to sweaty nights in 1993. Indeed, their folk oeuvre is so stripped down; you can almost spot the chrome tendons rippling beneath their brilliantly realised, folk-rock posturing. This is the sort of high seriousness that fills stadiums. It might be an anti-climax when the Priests return to trudge round the toilet venues of the nation. But they should take heart. It might not be long before the stadiums claim them as their own.”
Geoff Wall, ‘Folk On Tap’, UK, Issue 86, Jan-Mar 2001.


“‘Bloody Well Live!’ is a remixed and remastered double-CD issue of the long-deleted (originally single) CD of the classic, landmark New Year concert with which the Priests all but demolished Hamburg some seven years back. This is intended as the pukka 15th Anniversary celebration for the Priests, to atone for the equipment malfunction that severely curtailed the planned 'Ranting Lads' live release last year. Here we get the entire concert, 23 tracks as opposed to the original 17, and an already great existing release is transformed into something bloody tremendous (no other word for it). The Priests are on a real high here; their uncompromising thrash is in full flow here with no let-up, replete with that impressive, omnipresent freshly honed dramatic and energetic delivery. Hear that whippet run!”
David Kidman, ‘Rock 'N' Reel’, UK, Issue 35, Winter 2000.


“This year marks the 15th Anniversary of one of the North East’s top bands, The Whisky Priests, and to celebrate, the band have released two CD’s.
The Priests are twins, Gary and Glenn Miller, who grew up in Sherburn near Durham City, deep in the county’s mining territory.
Images from the industry and what it means to the region and the Millers themselves litter The Whisky Priests music. Even their sound, a whirling dervish of folk-rock, has its roots in the region’s tradition.
The second release of the anniversary year is a special edition of Bloody Well Live!, their first live album from 1993. Deleted for many years, it has been remixed, re-edited, repackaged and re-released at twice its original length, so that it now spans two CD’s.
It captures the noise and energy of a Whisky Priests’ concert splendidly, and it never ceases to amaze how out of such fury they can fashion and hold an irresistible tune.
For some unknown reason, the Continent has always received the Priests’ folk-rock more enthusiastically than their home shores.
They are currently touring the Netherlands, having played through Austria and Germany, and before Christmas they will reach Belgium, before returning to Germany.”
Chris Lloyd, (from joint review of Mad Dogs and Englishmen ‘Going Down With Alice’ and ‘Bloody Well Live! Special Edition’); ‘The Northern Echo’, UK, 30 Nov 2000.


“This album has just been re-released as a new double album covering an entire concert from Markthalle, Hamburg 31st December 1992 / 1st January 1993 New Years Eve. Well what can I say by the sounds of this album it was one hell of a party the distinctive Celtic flavoured material being lapped up by the crowd who are whooping and cheering throughout. Folk isn’t supposed to be riotous but that’s exactly what The Whisky Priests sound like on here. Guitar, fiddle and accordion combining to create their version of folk music but it’s played with such passion and at times mad fury that it could almost be a punk band. The likes of ‘See The Whippet Run’ (yes it is about dog racing) is played with pace and passion. The accordion is played with flair and is used as the lead instrument alongside the clever lyrics showing that no matter the subject if you write good lyrics it’ll be a good song. You get accordion driven instrumentals that are surprisingly compelling and turn into full jigs that you can just imagine the crowd dancing along to. Now normally I wouldn’t like this kind of music but I can’t get enough of this album the lyrics are haunting in places and music even sombre the likes of ‘Land Of The Dinosaur’ are about a shipbuilders graveyard after being closed down. You also get songs about the war ‘The Durham Light Infantry’ as a man responds to the call of his country, the closure of mines ‘Farewell Johnny Miner’ and working in a colliery ‘The Colliery’ these songs show the band’s social awareness and ability to write about newsworthy topics. What is quite amazing is that the German crowd can relate to these subjects but they do and this turns out to be a truly breathtaking live album.”
Album of the issue (with ‘“Here Come the Ranting Lads” - Live!’), ‘Rhythm and Booze’, UK, Issue 16, December 2000.


“To mark the fifteenth anniversary of The Whisky Priests, they have decided to revisit their 1993 live album, and re-issue it as a special edition that features the whole of that concert, as a double CD. It has been remastered from the original tapes by Fred Purser, and is totally unedited so if you had been in the Markthalle in Hamburg eight years ago this is what you would have heard.
It is strange that their concerts have a much larger attendance in Europe than in this country, especially given Gary’s distinctive style of singing, but it just shows that concertgoers would rather see a covers band than original material. I last saw WP in a pub, yet in Germany they play to thousands. Listen to the crowd join in on the sing-along ‘Dol-Li-A’ or how they respond to ‘mental’ songs like ‘The Hard Men’ when there is so much energy that WP are like the Pogues on speed. It’s not all about power and enthusiasm, there are numbers that are slower & reflective about life in the pit, but they are all filled with a passion and intensity that screams out honesty. It also contains one of my all-time fave numbers ‘The Raven’ which captures so many aspects of their music in one song.
It may be their second live album of the year, following on their superb CD/Video ‘“Here Come The Ranting Lads” - Live!’, but would be a welcome addition to any music lover’s collection.”
Kevin Rowland, ‘Feedback’, UK, Issue 61, 5th February 2001.


“A double helping of The Whisky Priests’ straight between the eyes delivery on this two CD set recorded live in Hamburg in 1992. In part it is a re-release of the original album of that date plus a number of other previously unreleased tracks from the same performance, and what an absolute stormer it is.
If you could bottle all the sweat, tears, pride and anger of a mining community of the Thatcher years you would end up with the songs of Gary Miller; forceful biting lyrics they represent the poetry of a working class morality which was destroyed for daring to say no. Songs like ‘The Colliery’, one man’s story of life underground that could have been any miner over the past 200 years or the optimistic ‘Easington’ with it’s ‘never let the bastards grind you down’ philosophy. Look out too for ‘Land of The Dinosaur’ with its imagery of shipyard cranes. Recorded at the time of the Heseltine massacre of the coal industry, in years to come these songs will be documents of our social history.
There’s some great traditional stuff on there too, ‘Bonnie Gateshead Lass’ taken along at a rip roaring pace and some rattling instrumentals, but pride of place, for me, goes to the ‘Farwell Johnny Miner’ / ‘Lads of Wear and Tyne’ set. What a joy to hear Ed Pickford’s song presented with all the strength and conviction it deserves.”
Jim Hancock, ‘Folktalk’, UK, Issue no. 29, Summer 2001.


“A re-mastered re-release of the New Year 1992-3 Hamburg gig, uncut, with six tracks that were omitted from the first, now deleted, release and the between-song banter left in. Fiddles, accordion, mandolin with electric bass and drum kit and not a crusty or a drunken Irish student in sight – magic!
Progressive north-eastern folk, a musically-updated Blaydon Races. The Whisky Priests will never be ‘In’ and ‘cool’ like misty-eyed hippy/anarcho folk-borrowers because they kept it real, old skool, round-the-doors, like yoking man, mother-fucker and kept the music true to its roots and its region and didn’t try to blend it with a more commercial rock, punk or metal sound. I don’t know how popular the Priests are outside the North-east, as most people will equate the instrumental side of things with Irish folk, when really it’s the sound of all our yesterdays. Those unused to the accent will surely think it sounds at times like an ex-shipyard-worker having a mid-life crisis and joining a goth band, but I find it refreshing. While I’ve never been down the pit, mourned the shutting of the wagon works or raced whippets, I remember the end of the shipyards, the mines closing, coal fires, the last steam trains, cobbled streets and the stories of how life used to be. Better to sing about industrial decay and things gone, than jig about getting all nostalgic about some hippy crap that never existed. In these global hyperlink days, it’s good to be reminded just where you came from and that someone hip, somewhere hip, just can’t be down with it like you can. On a lighter note, open the case and in the live photo on the back of the booklet/cover, Bob Mills off the telly (In Bed With Me Dinner) appears to be playing bass.”
Jon Welsh, ‘Get Rhythm’ Magazine, June 2001, UK.


“Basically, this is a re-release of the album, with the exception of you now get the entire show, so it’s now a double CD! Despite what’s been said about the WP’s, they are a superbly active live band and have generated a dedicated European following. If any proof was needed, just listen to the audience on here. It was recorded in Hamburg and initially released back in 1993. And seeing as it’s The WP’s fifteenth anniversary, why not give the public the truth!!!! Tracks such as ‘Easington’, ‘The Coal-Digger’s Grave’, ‘The Durham Light Infantry’, ‘See The Whippet Run’, ‘Bonnie Gateshead Lass’ and ‘Isn’t It Grand Boys’ all display a colloquial sensibility, yet the pathos, anger and frustration of the downtrodden reverberates throughout every note that’s played. Folk, heavily spiced with rock, and a crackingly good sense of lyricism is what makes The WP’s a band guaranteed to produce the goods, and here’s a right hamper full. One of those live albums where you wish you’d been there when it was going on – what an atmosphere.”
Clarence, ‘The Modern Dance’, #34, UK.


“The year 2001 marks the 15th anniversary of The Whisky Priests’ humble beginnings in the Northeast of England, when the band was put together by brothers Glenn and Gary Miller. Through hard work, an explosive live show, and extensive touring, it has developed a large fan base in both the UK and in Europe. In celebration, Whippet Records (owned and operated by the band) has reissued its landmark recording ‘Bloody Well Live!’ as a ‘special edition’, expanded to include an entire concert on two compact discs. Recorded in Hamburg, Germany, on New Year’s Eve 1992/1993, this release, in essence, sums up what The Whisky Priests is all about: strongly political songs, both original and traditional, about the working man in the coal pits and his struggle to earn a living. The entire show is high energy, with the crowd being whipped into a frenzy, and it’s all done with a largely acoustic format of guitar, mandolin, fiddle, accordion, bass and drums. This makes a good starting point for those unfamiliar with the group, as it collects all their best material up to this point. Those with the old one-disc version would do well to update to the new one with all the new material.”
Jim Lee, ‘Dirty Linen’, January 2002, USA.



On-line reviews:

‘Organ’, UK:
HYPERLINK "http://www.organart.demon.co.uk/oawhiskypriests.html" www.organart.demon.co.uk/oawhiskypriests.html

‘Zeitgeist’, UK:
HYPERLINK "http://the-rocker.freeservers.com/Oct2000/priest.html" the-rocker.freeservers.com/Oct2000/priest.html

‘Green Man Review’, USA:
HYPERLINK "http://www.greenmanreview.com/whiskypriests.html" www.greenmanreview.com/whiskypriests.html

‘Folking.com’, UK:
HYPERLINK "http://www.folking.com/groups/albumreviews/whiskey.htm" www.folking.com/groups/albumreviews/whiskey.htm

Norman Darwen, ‘World Music’, UK:
HYPERLINK "http://members.netscapeonline.co.uk/englishfm/CDRECORDS/Reviews/Whisky.htm" members.netscapeonline.co.uk/englishfm/CDRECORDS/Reviews/Whisky.htm

‘Riffs’, UK:
HYPERLINK "http://riffs.8m.com/cdreviewpage.htm" riffs.8m.com/cdreviewpage.htm

Jim Hancock, ‘Folk Talk’, UK:
HYPERLINK "http://www.folktalk.co.uk/talk4.htm#five" www.folktalk.co.uk/talk4.htm#five




“Dall’Irlanda all’Inghilterra il passo è breve. Se poi I concerti vi pia ce raccoglierli anche su disco, questa è l’occasione per recuperare un e vento: la tournee del ’92-’93 dei WHISKY PRIESTS, uno più importanti gruppi folk-rock inglesi, capitanato dai fratelli MILLER.
Rimasterizzato e con l’aggiunta di materiale inedito, il doppio CD è reperibile anche in Italia. Se volete potete anche rivolgervi alla WHIPPET RECORDS (l’tichetta del gruppo) che lo pubblica, e al gruppo stesso: sul sito www.whiskypriests.co.uk
Comunque quando arrivano a suonare in Italia (lo fanno spesso) non per deteli.”
Giovanni Pietro, Scazzola, Italy

English translation:
“From Ireland to England the step is brief. If then you like collecting concerts also on albums, this is the chance to recover an event: the ’92-’93 WHISKY PRIESTS’ tour, one of the most important English folk-rock bands, lead by the MILLER brothers.
Remastered and with unissued material added, the double CD is also available in Italy. If you want, you can also contact WHIPPET RECORDS (the group’s own label) that publishes it, and the group as well: on the site www.whiskypriests.co.uk
When they come to play in Italy (it often happens), don’t miss them."

credits

released October 1, 2000

The Whisky Priests line-up on this recording:

Gary Miller – Vocals, Acoustic Guitar
Glenn Miller – Accordion, Vocals
Mick Tyas – Bass Guitar, Vocals
Paul Carless – Mandolin, Harmonicas
Tony McNally – Drums
Mike McGrother – Fiddle


Original Single CD album ℗ & © 1993 Whippet Records
This Compilation (Double CD album) ℗ & © 2000 Whippet Records

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Gary Miller Durham, UK

Gary Miller first rose to international prominence with folk-punk/rock pioneers The Whisky Priests (1985-2002), founded with his twin brother Glenn - “the Joe Strummer and Mick Jones of Folk Music". He now performs as a solo artist and with his new band 'Gary Miller's Big Picture' whose debut album is coming soon. ... more

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