The Cribs - Men's Needs

The Cribs have a new single named “Men’s Needs” and are from Wakefield, and they shouldn’t be confused with Californian gang The Crips.

The Cribs would be a canny shite gang actually, they’d be like the Orphans on “The Warriors”, with others gangs taking the piss out of them and not inviting them to their big uptown meetings. They also fail to get the apparel right from the outset, as you should all know, every successful gang has to include at least one black.

The black member will often be a specialist in explosives, automobiles, physical violence or manual labour. See Eric Qualen’s gang in “Cliffhanger”, see Clarence Boddicker’s gang in “Robocop”, Hans Gruber’s gang in “Die Hard”, then you’ve got the likes of “Mark” the driver in Ironside’s gang, “T.C” the helicopter pilot from Magnum’s gang, “BA” from the A-Team. Other gangs including a black member on manual labour duties are The Libertines, Ocean Colour Scene and the YOSS (Youth Of South Shields).

It’s only in recent times that bands such as Bloc Party have broken the shackles of the black stereotypes and allowed their singer to be at the front with a microphone, viewed as controversial in some cultures. Maybe The Cribs just need the recruitment of an ethnic to take them to the next level, even if it's just to play some bones or shake a coconut filled with dry peas.

This single is good anyway, in my humble opinion. Aside from the lead singers philatelist look, they manage to pull off a pop tune with gusto with their Franz Ferdinand-esque guitar riff, and the dual vocal approach akin to Gomez with one normal voice and one slightly growling and gravel vocal.

The single is available now and you can listen to it at their MySpace.