Product Placement Friday #7: Fray Bentos

This week, I'm handing over the responsibility of Product Placement Friday to George... thanks for giving me a day off, old pal. 

Since my return from the freezing cold of Dundee, I have spent many hours sitting in the sun here at the farm, gazing at the Serra and trying to come up with an idea for this series.

First attempt: Hula Hoops, but a hula hoop seems to be that plastic thing that some people shake about their hips, and even to me a song referring to jumping through a hula hoop of fire simply can not refer to the potato-ish product I was thinking of.

Second attempt: Angel Delight, but this led to songs that I’m quite sure had nothing to do with that peculiar powdered desert (one that we were never allowed to have as children despite “everyone else in my class has it for their pudding”) and also included band names, song titles and lyrics that were eye-wateringly crude.

One more go. Result! So here it is, songs that mention Fray Bentos (that was never allowed in our house thankfully, a steak pie in a tin, or was it steak and kidney, that’s just disgusting).

What better way to start than with Ian Anderson (he of Jethro Tull), from the belated follow-up to the Thick As A Brick album:

Smooth clockwork running motors hum while barren Madge prepares hot dinner

Fray Bentos pie: always a winner

Ian Anderson - Cosy Corner

Next up is Scott Lavene, this might appeal to more people than my first choice (although the estuary-London accent might be a turn-off). It’s an 8 minute listen but very enjoyable

So on this day, he brought around two bottles of gin,

Four bottles of wine, some Fray Bentos Pies

Six tins of cheap Irish stew, a packet of Ginger Nuts, and a loaf of shit bread

Scott Lavene - Broke

Asbo Slipz have an entire song devoted to the steak-pie-in-a-tin yuckiness;

Other pies, well they're for other guys,

Not bad, but I won't compromise

I need the pies that come within

Blue tins with hard to  open lids

Built to survive a nuclear

Bomb and withstand a hundred years

Sat in my kitchen cupboard I've no no fears

With Fray Bentos on my side

Asbo Slipz - Fray Bentos (song for Bav)

The Macc Lads have a song that mentions Fray Bentos. I have not knowingly heard anything by this lot, and after looking at the lyrics I decided to omit the song, I don’t know if it’s tongue-in-cheek satire or just offensive. Anyway, I didn’t like it. 

Unlike the next and last one, by Goldie Lookin Chain. 

And these lyrics are not for the faint-hearted, but I thought this was hilarious

'Til someone said 'oi wanker, what you doing?'

Threw me out, I raised an objection

With corned  beef still stuck to my erection

So what, fuck 'em, I don't give a toss

I'm going home with a Fray Bentos

Thanks again to George for saving me some time this week... although that didn't stop me from having a look to see if I could find anything he'd missed. Here are The Wheezing Dogs from late 70s Canada. Their lead singer was called... Fray Bentos.

The Wheezing Dogs - I Don't Like You

And here's some German Trip Hop...

The Bad Examples -  Das Stück, Das Sie Fray Bentos Nannten

(It translates as The Piece They Called Fray Bentos.)

Fortunately, that was all that I could find.