The bizarre moment Napalm Death appeared on a children’s TV show
When thinking of West Midlands outfit Napalm Death, it is easy to instantly consider their position as kings of grindcore, one of the most influential groups in metal, and the band who launched the careers of legends such as Justin Broadrick and Lee Dorrian.
Given their importance to the development of modern metal, you wouldn’t necessarily think that they’d appear on a classic British children’s TV show. Whilst the band have always espoused humanist values, and frontman Barney Greenway’s appearance on the teen drama series Skins, when the band featured on BBC One’s What’s That Noise?, fans couldn’t believe what they were witnessing.
Showing just how child-oriented this part of the network’s programming was, is the fact that What’s That Noise? was aired between Heathcliff with Cats and Co and Newsround.
Presented by the star of Red Dwarf Craig Charles, the show was a staple for anyone returning from school and wanting a little bit of late afternoon entertainment courtesy of some of the UK’s hottest acts. As pointed out by Simon Young in Metal Hammer, who remembers that afternoon well, that edition of the show featured a customary mix of figures, with Cliff Richard, Cold Cut, percussionist Alasdair Malloy, and members of pop act Matt Bianco all appearing.
Bar Cold Cut, you can’t get much more vanilla than that lineup, which is why it surprised so many when Napalm Death performed and were interviewed in the middle of the show. Kicking things off, the band performed their legendary 1989 piece ‘You Suffer’ which still holds the Guinness World Record for the shortest record song some 33 years later, clocking in at 0:01.
After the song, Craig quips: “is that it?”, before joining the band on the stage to discuss their music and lyrics. He then pulls out the inner sleeve from their album From Enslavement to Obliteration and asks them about some of the lyrics from album opener ‘Evolved as One’, “Your pride, why should your pride be so restricted? Restricted to a mere fraction of this earth. This earth from which we have all evolved.”
The invariably affable Charles labels the set of lyrics “poetry” before introducing the band before their next song. “They’re rootin’, they’re tootin’, they’re electrocutin’,” he says triumphantly. “This is music for young lovers, step aside Kylie Minogue! Turn up the TV, plug in your pacemaker, don’t get out of breath. Ladies and gentlemen, Napalm Death!”
In what is one of the most surreal moments in TV history, the band then tears through the punishing ‘From Enslavement To Obliteration‘ as the strobe lights flash and frontman Lee Dorrian delivers his unhinged guttural vocals. We can only wonder what Cliff Richard was thinking.
Watch the clip below.
