According to vocalist Steve Grimmett in a 1984 interview , " Dead on Arrival " is about his friendship with Brian Field who was involved with the Great Train Robbery ( 1963 ) . He said when he was living in Surrey his family owned a newsagent where they met someone who totally changed their lives . After the family moved to Tewkesbury they found out their friend had a criminal past and when he visited one weekend he told them all about his involvement with the robbery . The song is about when Grimmett learned of Field 's death in a car accident two years later from a newspaper
Great Train Robbery ( 1963 )
Great Train Robbery (1963)
See You in Hell (album)