[MichaelA]

Hi everyone, well two Fridays back @PaulAds, @pompeyjazz and myself were the last three sad hangers-on on the regular Zoom video call. I'd been describing the mile long queues I'd been witnessing that week outside the local MacDonald's Drive Thru, it just having reopened out of lockdown. I mentioned that this crazy sight, saying as it does something weird about our UK today, might make a good song idea. The other two seemed to wake up at this notion, with John even stopping snoring. And having no meaningful life of their own, like me, we decided to collaborate on this here song.

https://soundcloud.com/pompeyjazz/bigmacbloodbath

It was a true three way collaboration. All the bits you will like were by me. The other bits where by those two! 

Seriously it was much fun to do and wouldn't have happened if we hadn't have got used to chatting on Tinder, ...erm I mean Zoom. I wrote the lyrics, except the chorus hook couplet (Paul), the guitar and vox intro/outro, and sang a bit. Paul wrote the chorus melody, played bass and rhythm guitar. John wrote the verse melody, played lead guitar and everything else, plus did all the production (clever cloggs!). Both also sang to help enact our little contemporary drama. Anyhow hope you enjoy this little bit of fun, which we managed to do all in the space of a week.

The Soundcloud cover art is Paul's selfie outside a Mac Drive Thru somewhere in the wastelands of the North East yesterday. I think the song had made him dream of his very own Big Mac all week! 

Lyrics:

John: Lockdown closed my favourite takeaway
M: Three months on hooray its back open today
P: Queue up for an hour, a mindless thing to do
J: To grab a Big Mac
M: From Mackie’s
P: Drive thru

J: We’re not there yet, kids shut up in the back
M: Trouble with my honey, we'll make up with a Big Mac
P: The meaning of life, is this what it's come to?
J: To grab a Big Mac
M: From Mackies
P: Drive thru

CHORUS
J: A Big Mac for my kids
M: A Big Mac for my honey
P: They're queueing at the food banks too
All: No money isn't funny

J: Don't say that they've sold out
M: Don't say all has been bought
P: It's murder on the menu
All: Bloodbath on the forecourt

Big Mac Bloodbath

V2
J: I said shut up in the back kids, or no McFlurry
M: The slowest queue in Britain, for honey I must hurry
P: This moronic food chain has drawn me in too
J: Gotta grab a Big Mac
M: From Mackies
P: Drive thru

J: So who hit who first? I've had it with you three
M: Babe had a fling with Bob, he got her KFC
P: Is happiness a Happy Meal? Maybe that is true
J: So grab a Big Mac
M: From Mackies
P: Drive thru

RPT Chorus

M8
J: Hey kids we're here at Window One
M: Sold out says Window Three. No!
P: The spotty youth at Window Two
Says nothing left for me

J: Lock the door kids, we're away
M: Carjack’s my battle cry
P: Oh dear I've rammed them in the back
And now the fists will fly

RPT Chorus

Big Mac Bloodbath

[PaulAds]

Ha ha!

We had a right giggle putting this one together...what a couple of top geezers John and Michael are.

Amazing that it came together so neatly when it was really three or four different sections written by three different people.

As for the photo...there was a McD's next to where i filled up with petrol...and i couldn't resist the purchase of (and selfie with) the pictured McFlurry.

I am happy to report that everyone behaved in a perfectly civilised fashion in the queue at the drive through and fists didn't fly on this occasion :-)

Thanks for the laughs @pompeyjazz and @MichaelA !

[PaulyX]

Great!  The three way vocal is really cool.... I can't think of anything else quite like it, and your voices combine really well on the lines where you all sing at once.  I love the  bubblegum punk feel to the instruments and the lyrics are super... hilarious whilst still being utterly believable.  What a good job you all stayed on late in PJ's bar.

[irwin]

Yes, this song was enjoyable I like the vocals a lot. Brilliant of you guys coming together.

Irwin

[adamfarr]

I was at a wedding once when someone brought and manage to drop their own McD so there were plenty of choruses of "burger on the dancefloor". Hilarious times.

This is a crazy melange of you three and a highly entertaining listen. Must be weird doing the vocals in isolation. Great punky feel and sweet and sour lyrics. The only way to improve it would be to turn up those hi-hats. PaulAds, #donteatthat.

[pompeyjazz]

It sure was a hoot to work on this one for sure. I really enjoyed it. It was quite strange listening to the "one part" vocals versions before I stitched them all together  Thanks to @MichaelA and @PaulAds for a whole heap of fun 

[Paulski]

Now that put a smile on my face in these lock-down blues 
That driving punk feel and the changing (spot-on) vocals really worked in this and the melody is quite unique for a quick write.

If I were being super picky, I would mention that sometimes @MichaelA lines are slightly delayed in the verses but I'm not that sort of nitty guy so I won't. 

Oh and the EQ on the high-hat is super IMO.

Good fun - good collab fellas. 
Paul

[pompeyjazz]

I just heard from the BBC that they will be playing this on BBC Radio Solent around 12:10 tomorrow 

[shadowfax]

This is terrific!! been noticing the long ques at Macdon's and thought they must be giving stuff away or summat..great stuff guys, really enjoyed it!

[Grubstar]

Brilliant collaboration, I loved the driving indie beat and clever witty lyrics ( with a touch of social commentary thrown in) its got a great melody and chorus and the split vocals  work really well.Outstanding production as well, 1st class.

[montydog]

Great work, guys. Clever, funny contemporary social commentary with that punk edge. Your individual parts have been brilliantly melded into a whole. Congrats on the radio play.

M

[rightly]

This was really funny.
Familiar , distinctive voices
Banging out the lines
You must have had a right laugh.

[MichaelA]

Hi to those who've listened and commented. Just listened to John on the radio sounding like an old pro, then nice to hear our song too on digital BBC.

Anyhow...

@PaulyX, yeah I like that 'bubblegum punk' description. I shall shamelessly steal it as my own from now on. And yep, the vocals turned out better than expected, given our remote recording situations. Amazed me anyhow!

@irwin and @rightly thanks for listening. Yes indeed this was much fun to do. Paul and John are very easy to work with, which helped.

Bloody 'ell @adamfarr, that was a budget wedding if people were bringing their own Big Macs! Must be a song in there somewhere though! As for the hi-hat sound, we wavered between a Zildjian Avedis 14" and a Jacob's Biscuit Tin lid (Christmas 2018 Special Edition), the latter winning out. But it's as loud as we could get it sorry!

@montydog , @grubstar and @shadowfax , so glad we could bring a bit of a smile to your day! Thanks.

@Paulski, glad you liked the EQ'd  biscuit tin.  I didn't realise my vocal was sometimes delayed though. That said, I am usually late for most things these days, so I'll live with it. Cheers 

[pompeyjazz]

The radio interview is here.....

https://soundcloud.com/pompeyjazz/bmbint?ref=clipboard

[PaulAds]

Great stuff, PJ!