Half-Acre Half Biscuit: Langland in the Lyrics of Nigel Blackwell

Abstract Since their foundation in 1984, the Wirral-based post-punk group Half Man Half Biscuit has built an impressive cult following. In large part their appeal rests on the idiosyncratic, allusive and scabrous lyrics of singer and guitarist Nigel Blackwell. Unusually given his chosen medium, Blackwell’s work sporadically calls on William Langland, echoing the medieval poet’s imagery and evoking his apocalyptic satiric persona at several points. As this note argues, these allusions are more than novelties, since the comic capital Blackwell draws from Langland is both founded on and revealing of the longer-term reputation of Piers Plowman and its vexed canonicity.