Croaking it 2024

[Frankie Crisp]

Celebrity passings rarely bother me, but Hill’s is a proper gut-punch.

Boys From The Blackstuff is the most important TV show of my life, effectively getting me into politics a decade or so after it was first broadcast.

The character of Yosser Hughes, as funny as it was in parts, wasn’t far removed from many of my old man’s mates in the Eighties. Not the physical side, but the desperation side. He was the epitome of dozens of his mates, wanting to work but not getting a start, so doing what they had to, to put bread on the table. His mental decline was a valid depiction of what that long dead cunt did to workers in our city, and many others.

Weirdly enough - and this isn’t an ‘I watched No Way Out 2004 the night before Eddie Guerrero snuffed it’ - I went to watch an adaptation of Boys From The Blackstuff with my old man last night.

It brought the show back to me but more importantly and emotionally, it brought the 1980s back to my Dad. He was absolutely engrossed throughout and both at the interval and the end, he referenced many of his mates who were in his head throughout. It’s on for a week but I’d imagine tonight’s performance was more emotional than the cast could ever have expected.

Bernard Hill was, of course, more than just Yosser Hughes. He was brilliant in everything he did. But the impact that one role had on me and no doubt countless others, wanting to understand the desperation (Dan) of the working class in that era, is something I’ll forever feel.

Edited May 5, 2024 by Frankie Crisp

[RIDDUM_N_STYLE]

I’ve said this in a couple of places now but Bernard Hill had meant to have been a part of a LOTR reunion this weekend here in Liverpool at Comic Con but had pulled out last minute with the line being that his wife was taken ill

His former cast mates found out the sad news before coming to the show this morning and like pros, from what I heard, made it through their respective signings and photo sessions. At their show closing panel, Sean Astin and Billy Boyd paid tribute to him along with Elijah Wood and Dominic Monaghan (Orlando Bloom had been there but had to catch a flight while Andy Serkis could only do yesterday)

 

[Merzbow]

Steve Albini has died of a heart attack at 61, weirdly The Guardian were asking for questions for him just hours before so I'm guessing it's been a sudden death today?

[SuperBacon]

Oh that is absolutely shit. What a gutting one.

[gmoney]

Ah man, that's a shitter. Better stick on Atomizer tonight. 

[SuperBacon]

Tweeting about chippies. A UKFF legend.

 

[King Coconut]

Salad cream on a chip butty??

[Lion_of_the_Midlands]

1 minute ago, King Coconut said:

Salad cream on a chip butty??

That's what killed him. 

[Merzbow]

24 minutes ago, SuperBacon said:

Tweeting about chippies. A UKFF legend.

 

 

[Carbomb]

49 minutes ago, SuperBacon said:

Tweeting about chippies. A UKFF legend.

 

This is odd, but apparently (I say this because I don't remember it) I replied to that thread, pointing out that slagging off salad cream is a bit odd when they basically have the same thing in Miracle Whip.

I didn't mention the fact that putting salad cream in it is heresy, because millions of others had already done that job.

Edited May 8, 2024 by Carbomb

[Keith Houchen]

Chipster - A bearded trendy type wrongun who thinks salad cream on a chip batch is acceptable, and also wrongly think proper chippys don’t do kebabs. 
 

Probably one for the UKFF Thesaurus thread. 

[SuperBacon]

What a legend.

 

[Keith Houchen]

I think it may have been @BomberPat who said one of the best things Albini did was realising how awful the edgelord stuff he was involved with was, and his encouragement for others to move away from it. 

[Surf Digby]

That's a kick in the nuts. Albini's one of those guys where I can listen to interview after interview with him.

My particular favourite is probably the one with the least useful information in it, but it just gives me a bit of joy.

 

[Donald J Trump]

1 hour ago, Keith Houchen said:

I think it may have been @BomberPat who said one of the best things Albini did was realising how awful the edgelord stuff he was involved with was, and his encouragement for others to move away from it. 

 Yes he definitely approached that in the right way. For me it came across as a genuine change within himself, rather than reacting to a changing culture as is often the case. He had one of those minds that you'd like to see in other industries and walks of life.