Songs That Reference Ian Brady & Myra Hindley | Playlist 🎧

“Songs That Reference Ian Brady & Myra Hindley” features music by Church of Misery, Richard Thompson, Sex Pistols, and The Smiths.

Ah, it’s been a while, but finally, The Musical Hype returns to familiar territory – true crime. After spending ample time (in 2017 and 2018 especially) covering some of the worst people imaginable musically, we return with a new playlist that dabbles in utter evil.  Keeping it short, this latest entry into the true crime realm features seven songs that reference the infamous child murders committed by Ian Brady (1938 – 2017) and Myra Hindley (1942 – 2002).  For those who don’t keep up with serial killers, Brady and Hindley were the perpetrators that were reviled for the Moors murders, where five children were assaulted and killed.  Songs That Reference Ian Brady & Myra Hindley features music courtesy of Church of Misery, Crass, Manic Street Preachers, Richard Thompson, Sex Pistols, and The Smiths.

1. Richard Thompson, “Love in a Faithless Country”

Faithless • Beeswing • 2004

“Always move in pairs and travel light / A loose friend is an enemy, keep it tight / Always leave a job the way you found it / Look for trouble coming and move around it.” Sometimes, the darkest songs can be the most beautiful.  That is the case with “Love in a Faithless Country,” one of the most radiant, yet blackest songs ever.  This song originally appeared on the 1985 LP by veteran British singer/songwriter Richard Thompson, Across a Crowded Room. In the United States, however, the only available version appears on Thompson’s 2004 effort, Faithless.

“Love in a Faithless Country” “deals with a mass murderer and his wife roaming across Britain,” even though, Moors Murderers Ian Brady and Myra Hindley aren’t explicitly mentioned in the song.  Nonetheless, as beautiful as “Love in a Faithless Country” is, it’s also unsettling, as are the lyrics.  However, That’s the way we make love. 

“Always make your best moves late at night
Always keep your tools well out of sight
It never pays to work the same town twice
It never hurts to be a little nice.”

2. Manic Street Preachers, “Archives of Pain”

The Holy Bible • Sony • 1994

“I wonder who you think you are. You damn well think you’re God or something? God give life, God taketh away, not you. I think you are the devil itself.” Wow… “Archives of Pain” commences with the aforementioned fitting, though chilling sampled intro, that establishes the tone of this unique record by Welsh rock band Manic Street Preachers. Do a little research, and the words come courtesy of the mother of one of serial killer Peter Sutcliffe’s victims.

Howl & Echoes superbly sums up the premise of “Archives of Pain”: “‘Archives of Pain’ is a song about serial killers, capital punishment, and extreme political violence.” For our purposes, we’ll focus on the serial killer part of the equation. Before diving into the darkness of the subject matter, one of the characterizing musical features of “Archives of Pain” is the robust bass line. While that’s a ‘bright spot’ in a troubling, dark record, to say the music is ‘bright’ would be quite an overstatement – a flat out lie.  With Sutcliffe alluded to, and later actually named, two other serial killers come to mind on this five-and-a-half-minute hellish ride.  Sure, “Archives of Pain” doesn’t solely focus on Ian Brady and Myra Hindley, but there are references to the infamous Moors Murderers, specifically on the pre-chorus, when James Dean Bradfield sings, “A drained white body hangs from the gallows / Is more righteous than Hindley’s crochet lectures / Pain not penance, forget martyrs, remember victims…” Yeah…

Of course, later, “Hindley and Brady” join Sutcliffe, Dahmer, and Nilsen among those who deserve no respect whatsoever, at least from the band’s perspective.  The second verse in particular ‘keeps it 100’ you might say about the perspective of killers and what should happen to them.

“Execution needed
A bloody vessel for your peace
If man makes death, then death makes man
Tear the torso with horses and chains
Killers view themselves like they would view the world
They pick at the holes
Not punish less, rise the pain
Sterilize rapists, all I preach is extinction.”

3. The Smiths, “Suffer Little Children”

The Smiths • Warner Music UK • 1984

“But fresh lilaced moorland fields / Cannot hid the stolid stench of death.” Eerie. “Suffer Little Children” is the penultimate track from The Smiths’ 1984 self-titled debut.  The Smiths were an English band from 80s, led by Morrissey, who later continued his career as a solo artist.  “Suffer Little Children” references the infamous child murders (Moors murders) committed by Ian Brady and Myra Hindley.

Morrissey mentions the victims of Brady and Hindley by name.

“Lesley-Anne, with your pretty white beads
Oh John, you’ll never be a man
And you’ll never see your home again
Oh Manchester, so much to answer for
Edward, see those alluring lights?
Tonight, will be your very last night.”

Creepy. Worth noting, Edward, the final victim, will appear on the final song on this playlist… Interestingly, Ian Brady is left out of the name dropping.  Myra Hindley, not so much. Also, worth noting, we’ll dive more into the greater hatred for Hindley.  But until then, we’ll end with the following Hindley-dominated lyrics:

“Hindley wakes and Hindley says
Hindley wakes, Hindley wakes, Hindley wakes, and says:
‘Oh, wherever he has done, I have done.’”

4. Crass, “Mother Earth”

Stations of the Crass • Crass • 2018

“It’s Myra Hindley on the cover / Your very own sweet anti mother.” Here’s the deal.  As evil as Ian Brady was, the perception at least is that people loathed Myra Hindley more for her role in the Moors murders.  Why? Likely because she broke with female stereotypes, particularly in that day and age, plus women’s involvement in serial murder is rare. Making matters worse, Hindley played a role in serial murder involving the most innocent members of society, children.

According to an article by Crime and Investigation entitled, ‘Was Hindley Worse Than Brady?’, the author makes notable points regarding the horrid perception of Hindley:

“Myra Hindley has always attracted a deeper, more primal revulsion than Brady, and other male serial killers. Her notorious black and white mugshot, showing the peroxide blonde gazing out with hard, unfeeling eyes, has become an iconic symbol of evil, filled with grim and mythic power – the portrait of a modern Medusa… Female murderers are rare. Let alone ones who seem prey on random children and seem to relish in the act of killing for its own sake, rather than because of some inner trauma of their own. As such, Myra represents a perversion of womanhood, grossly subverting cultural stereotypes about women being the gentler, more caring gender.”

So, what does all of this have to do with Steve Ignorant and English punk rock band Crass? Well, on the song at hand, “Mother Earth,” Ignorant addresses and challenges the perception that the public has about the “anti-mother.” “Let her rot in hell is what you said / Let her rot, let her starve, you’d see her dead / Let her out but don’t forget to tell you where she is,” he sings filled with angst. After setting the tone with the sentiment regarding Hindley, he points the fingers at those judging:

“You pretend that you’re horrified, make out that you care
But really, you wish that you had been there
… You say that you would kill her, well, what else would you do?
Don’t you see that violence has no end? Isn’t limited by rules?
Don’t you see as angel preaching, you’re nothing but the fools…”

Is Steve Ignorant defending Hindley? No, but he is calling out hypocrisy and maybe secondarily, the death penalty.  Also, tying in with the aforementioned reference to Hindley’s mugshot, Ignorant adds, “That single mugshot from the past ensures your fantasy can last and last / It gives you the chance to air your hate because she got there first, you were too late.” Oh, and as for the Christians, he’s got something too:

“Hindley’s crime was to do what others think
Took her anger and her prejudice and pushed it to the brink
Then you goodly Christian people, with your sickly mask of love
Would tear that woman limb from limb, you never get enough…”

5. Church of Misery, “Lambs to the Slaughter (Ian Brady / Myra Hindley)”

Thy Kingdom Scum • Rise Above • 2013

In terms of the true crime playlists featured on The Musical Hype, Church of Misery have been ‘the gift that keeps on giving.’  It helps when you a band dedicated to capturing hellishness full-time.  If you’ve never heard of Church of Misery, well, shame on you – you’re missing out.  For just a little background, the band is a Japanese doom metal band notorious for recording music about serial killers, mass murderers, and cult leaders. Naturally, “Lambs to the Slaughter” tackles the infamous Ian Brady and Myra Hindley, who are parenthesized in the song title.  “Lambs to the Slaughter” hails from the band’s 2013 LP, Thy Kingdom Scum – kickass title to say the least.

Unlike the other songs about Brady and Hindley that grace this list, we don’t have the lyrics to analyze.  That said, you don’t really need them.  From the start, the vibe is heavy, more like totally infernal.  The guitars are jagged AF, the drums pummel, and the vocals have a bite that sounds utterly twisted and Satanic to the core. These guys are not playing around, and neither were Brady and Hindley.  Anything but a roaring track set in a minor key chocked-full of devilish would fall sort of capturing the horror Brady and Hindley brought to the table.

6. Sex Pistols, “No One is Innocent”

The Great Rock ‘n’ Roll Swindle • Universal • 2012 (1979)

It’s rare that a ‘rare’ song appears on a playlist. Why? Well, simply because they are difficult to come by.  The first of two rare songs on Songs That Reference Ian Brady & Myra Hindley arrives courtesy of legendary punk rock collective, Sex Pistols.  Ronnie Biggs performs the lead vocals on this energetic number, asking for salvation for numerous bad people.  Biggs includes Sex Pistols on that list, and he specifically was a criminal and fugitive (“Ronnie Biggs was doing time until he done a bunk / Now he says he’s seen the light and he sold his soul to punk”).  But this isn’t about Biggs’ issues, but rather how he references Ian Brady and Myra Hindley on “No One is Innocent.”

 As aforementioned, “No One is Innocent” is one of those songs that isn’t readily available, at least in the United States.  The part pertinent to Brady and Hindley arrives on the second half of the second verse.  “God save Myra Hindley, God save Ian Brady,” Biggs sings, continuing, “Even though he’s horrible and she ain’t what you call a lady.” Once again, Hindley receives quite the negative perception because she doesn’t fit the expectations or stereotypes of women.  Everyone knows that Brady is horrific.

7. Throbbing Gristle, “Very Friendly”

The First Annual Report • Thirsty Ear • 1975 (Released in 2001)

“Ian Brady and Myra fucking Hindley / Very, very friendly / Ian Brady and Myra Hindley / Very friendly.” That’s one way to describe such deplorable serial killers.  Anyways, it’s rare that one ‘rare’ song ends up on a playlist, let alone two. That’s the case with “Very Friendly,” an early, mostly unavailable song by industrial rock pioneers Throbbing Gristle.  It appears on the initially unreleased album The First Annual Report, which did ‘see the light of day’ in 2001.  Still, it’s difficult to come by. Safe to say, opener “Very Friendly” is quite the avant-garde record. Worth noting, there is a version that appears on Spotify from the album Rafters: Throbbing Gristle Psychic Rally, but it lacks the narration of the original, which is where the tie to Ian Brady and Myra Hindley come into play.

One thing that is easily accessible in regard to “Very Friendly” is the lyrics – the narration. The band specifically covers Edward Evans (1948 – 1965), the final victim of Brady and Hindley.  Throbbing Gristle, accompanied by unsettling music, don’t spare the details – it’s an intense account.

“And when he went inside, he looked over to the sofa, and there was Ian Brady… chopping at Edward Evans’ head with an ax! And he was chopping and chopping, and the ax was going into the back of his neck, and there was blood spurting over the Church of England prayer book, and a few drops landed on the TV screen… And it took quite a few hits before Edward Evans gargled.”

Yeah, that’s “very friendly” stuff alright.

[Photo Credit: Beeswing, Crass, Rise Above, Sony, Thirsty Ear, Warner Music UK, Ian Brady & Myra Hindley Mugshots (Fair Use)]