‘BHS’ is the first single from the upcoming Sleaford Mods album English Tapas out Friday 3rd March via Rough Trade / Remote Control. The album was recorded at Steve Mackey’s (Pulp) West Heath Garage studios in London. Watch the video below!
British Home Stores (BHS) was a chain of department stores in the UK controlled by Sir Philip Green, the chairman of Arcadia Group, which also owns Topshop, among others. The chain was shuttered in summer 2016, and 11,000 jobs were lost, as well as £571 million from the pension fund, leaving 22,000 former employees without retirement income. Having taken £400 million in dividends from the failed retailer, Green was sailing the Mediterranean on a newly-purchased super-yacht as the last stores closed.
Sleaford Mods are aggressive, abrasive, and unabashed in their lyrical support for England’s 99% and in railing against the oligarchs who deny people their basic human and civil rights; with ‘BHS’, they address Green’s treachery and the human costs he ignored. As singer Jason Williamson says about the song:“Buy a company, run it down, take the money, fuck the workers, it’s legal.”
On the origin of English Tapas, Williamson explains: “Andrew walked into some random pub and saw “English Tapas” scrawled on the menu board. Underneath this beautiful coupling of words were it’s components, half a scotch egg, cup of chips, pickle and a mini pork pie” It says everything about this fucking place. It’s comedy, it’s make do, it’s ignorant and above all, it’s shit.”
Sleaford Mods are Jason Williamson (words) & Andrew Fearn (music).
Stream/Purchase ‘BHS’: https://remotecontrolrecords.lnk.to/SleafordModsBHS
