The Fall

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The Fall
The Fall on the cover for the US release of Reformation Post TLC (2007). L-R: Safi Sniper (regular Fall warm-up act), McCord, Presley, Barbato, Poulou, Spurr, Smith
Background information
Origin	Manchester, England
Genre(s)	Rock, Post-punk
Years active	1976 - present
Label(s)	Rough Trade, Beggars Banquet, Narnack, Phonogram, Permanent, Slogan
Website	TheFall.info
Members
Mark E. Smith, Elena Poulou, Tim Presley, Rob Barbato, Orpheo McCord, Dave Spurr, Pete Greenway, Keiron Melling
Former members
see Members of The Fall

The Fall are an English post-punk band, formed in Manchester in 1976. Named after the English translation of Albert Camus' novel, La Chute (The Fall) (1956), they are notable for their idiosyncratic and innovative music, leader Mark E. Smith's enigmatic lyrics and drawling delivery, and for their subtle influence on several generations of musicians who keep an ear tuned to underground popular culture.

The current line up is essentially Mark E. Smith, and his wife, Elena Poulou, on keyboards augmented by a 'squad rotation system' of accompanying musicians made up of some but never all of : Tim Presley (guitar), Pete Greenway (guitar), Rob 'Spanners' Barbato (bass), Dave 'The Eagle' Spurr (bass), Orpheo McCord (drums) and Keiron Melling (drums).

[edit] History

[edit] Seventies

From their first lineup of Smith, Martin Bramah (guitar), Tony Friel (bass), Una Baines (keyboards) and Karl Burns (drums), the group produced a sound quite unlike anything else being played in the run-down dancehalls of northern England's new wave scene. Their performances, together with Smith's confrontational demeanor, often provoked violent audience reactions. Their debut EP Bingo-Master's Break-Out! (1978), two tracks on the compilation Short Circuit - live at the Electric Circus, and debut album Live at the Witch Trials (1979), (minus Baines and, incidentally, not a live album), served up a caustic mix of belligerently provincial urban paranoia and scorn for cultural norms, atop a deceptively unsophisticated musical arrangement.

With Craig Scanlon and Marc Riley on guitar, Steve Hanley on bass and Mike Leigh on drums (subsequently to be replaced by Paul Hanley, and then a two-drummer lineup with a returned Burns), 1979's low-fi L.P. Dragnet signalled a sparser, more jagged feel, which on subsequent albums filled out into a more grinding, industrial sound. The live album "Totales Turns" documents the band during various appearances, with Smith announcing last orders at the bar and berating his band members throughout.

[edit] Eighties

With the album Grotesque (After the Gramme) (1980) came a significant improvement in production and content, which continued throughout the period which saw the release of 10-inch Slates (1981), Hex Enduction Hour (1982) and Room to Live (1982). Arguably the most experimental and consistently brilliant period of the group's career, this was perhaps reflected by the relatively settled band line-up.

The autumn of 1983 heralded another dramatic change, this time to a relatively more conventional rock-oriented sound, with the departure of Riley and the arrival of Smith's American girlfriend and later wife, Californian Brix Smith, as guitarist alongside Scanlon. A last album for Rough Trade Records (Perverted by Language, 1983) was followed by the Fall signing to Beggars Banquet Records, a more sympathetic and supportive label than any they had been signed to before.

This era found The Fall scoring a few modest hits with singles from a string of highly acclaimed albums: The Wonderful and Frightening World of The Fall (1984), This Nation's Saving Grace (1985), Bend Sinister (1986), The Frenz Experiment (1988). I Am Kurious, Oranj is notable as the fruit of a ballet project between Smith and dancer Michael Clark. Simon Rogers and later Marcia Schofield played keyboards, and Simon Wolstencroft replaced Burns on drums after This Nation's Saving Grace.

[edit] Nineties

With Brix's departure in 1989, Bramah returned briefly for 1990s Extricate, the first of the Fall's three albums for Phonogram Records. Bramah and Schofield left in advance of 1991's Shift-Work. Dave Bush joined on keyboards for 1992's Code: Selfish, followed by the band's return to an independent record label for The Infotainment Scan (1993), Middle Class Revolt (1994) and Cerebral Caustic (1995). The latter album saw the unexpected return of Smith's ex-wife Brix, who left again in 1996.

With Bush gone and Scanlon sacked after 16 years (a decision later regretted by Smith), 1996 saw the arrival on keyboards, guitars and computers of Julia Nagle for The Light User Syndrome. That year also saw the start of a torrent of compilations of live, demo and alternate versions of songs, on the Fall's new label Receiver Records.

In 1995 and 1996 The Fall played at the Phoenix Festival in Stratford, England - the 1996 appearance being one of much surprise to many fans as they were not scheduled to play. They followed novelty keyboardist, Margarita Pracatan.

The next album, Levitate (1997), toyed with drum and bass and polarised opinion (long-serving drummer Simon Wolstencroft left halfway through the recording sessions, and was replaced by Karl Burns). Steven Wells in the NME (11 October 1997) wrote, "Imagine pop without perimeters. Imagine rock without rules. Imagine art without the wank. If you've never heard The Fall then Levitate will be either the best or the worst record you've ever heard." The group was temporarily reduced to Smith and Nagle when a disastrous U.S. tour ended in April 1998 with a violent onstage row and the departure of Hanley (bassist for 19 years), Burns and guitarist Tommy Crooks. The following day, Smith was arrested and charged with assaulting Nagle in their hotel.^[1]

[edit] 21st Century

From this nadir, the Fall achieved another comeback with Smith and Nagle being joined by Neville Wilding on guitar, Karen Leatham and later Adam Halal on bass, and Tom Head on drums for the albums The Marshall Suite (1999) and The Unutterable (2000). Further rifts followed in 2001, in which the new lineup of Smith, Ben Pritchard (guitar), Jim Watts (bass) and Spencer Birtwistle (drums) released Are You Are Missing Winner to mixed reviews. In September 2002 Elena Poulou - Smith's third and current wife - filled the vacant position of keyboards player. The Real New Fall LP (reputedly renamed from Country on the Click after an earlier mix of the album appeared on Internet file sharing networks) followed in 2003, with a slightly different mix and some extra tracks for the US version. Interim, was released in November, 2004.

In 2002 Q magazine named The Fall one of the "50 Bands to See Before You Die".

In January 2005, The Fall (described as "one of the most enigmatic, idiosyncratic and chaotic garage bands of the last 30 years") were the subject of a BBC 4 TV documentary, The Fall: The Wonderful and Frightening World of Mark E Smith. Later that year, a 97-song box set containing all of the sessions the group recorded for John Peel's BBC Radio 1 programme was issued to widespread acclaim. Their 25th studio album, entitled Fall Heads Roll, was issued on 3 October 2005, preceded by a single "I Can Hear the Grass Grow" (a cover of The Move song) on 6 September 2005 (US) and 19 September 2005 (UK).

Ben Pritchard (guitar), Steve Trafford (bass), Spencer Birtwistle (drums), all of whom played on Fall Heads Roll, left the group somewhat acrimoniously during the group's Summer 2006 tour of the US after just four dates. In a US radio interview, Smith described their departures as "the best thing that ever happened" to The Fall although it was some months before he confirmed that they would not be returning to the group.^[2]

From May 9, 2006, Smith and Poulou were joined by Tim Presley (guitar), Rob Barbato (bass) and Orpheo McCord (drums) who joined them for the remainder of the US tour, a flagship show in Manchester held in June 2006 and an appearance at the Oya Festival in Oslo, Norway in August 2006. Presley and Barbato are members of the band Darker My Love while McCord is one half of the experimental duo The Hill.

With Barbato and Presley fulfilling Darker My Love commitments back in the US in late August, the first 'squad rotation system' of Fall musicians emerged with new members Pete Greenway (guitar) of West Midlands group Pubic Fringe (more recently known as Das Fringe), and Dave 'The Eagle of Ramsbottom' Spurr (bass) making their Fall debuts alongside Smith, Poulou and McCord at the Reading and Leeds festivals in August 2006. Since that time, the group has taken many forms on stage, at various times incorporating either one or even two of the bass guitarists alongside just the one guitarist. Drummer Keiron Melling has since been added to the 'squad' having replaced McCord for a Dublin show in October 2006. Melling and Spurr play together in the group Motherjohn.

[edit] Influence

Regarding the group's influence on later musicians, Stephen Thomas Erlewine notes that "the Fall, like many cult bands, inspired a new generation of underground bands, ranging from waves of sound-alike indie rockers in the U.K. to acts in America and New Zealand, which is only one indication of the size and dedication of their small, devoted fan base."^[3]

Sonic Youth covered three Fall songs (and one, "Victoria" by the Kinks, memorably covered by the Fall) in a 1988 Peel Session.

1990s indie acts like Pavement (especially early songs such as "Two States" and "Conduit For Sale") and Elastica (Mark E Smith contributed vocals to their final EP and album) have an obvious Fall influence. Meanwhile Suede parodied The Fall with "Implement Yeah!", a B side found on the cassette edition of their 1999 single "Electricity".

[edit] Songs in other media

Many Fall songs have been in other media. The 1982 song "Hip Priest" was used as the soundtrack to the climax of the 1991 film The Silence of the Lambs. From Saturday 6 August 2005, The Fall's "Theme From Sparta F.C." (2003) was used as the theme music to the Final Score section on BBC Television's afternoon sports show Grandstand. Also, Smith was recently invited to read out the classified football results on the BBCi interactive service "Score". "Touch Sensitive" from The Marshall Suite was used in the UK as a soundtrack to an advert for the Vauxhall Corsa, for which Smith claims he was not paid. This Morning With Richard Not Judy – a late-nineties British comedy programme – had a regular sketch involving a creature called The Curious Orange. Its name was derived from the song Kurious Oranj (from I Am Kurious Oranj), which was played at the beginning of each sketch. Stewart Lee, one half of the comedy partnership who wrote the show, is an ardent Fall fan and regularly promotes the group in his articles for such publications as The Wire and The Guardian. The Fall is referenced in the Jens Lekman song Maple Leaves- "And when she talked about her fall, I thought she talked about Mark E. Smith." "Blindness", a track off 2005's Fall Heads Roll, is being used as the soundtrack to Japanese automaker Mitsubishi's current U.S. broadcast advertising campaign (the "Out Everything" one). Rod Stewart used to use the Fall's "Totally Wired" as introductory music before he took to the stage. UK comedians Frank Skinner and David Baddiel covered How I Wrote Elastic Man as part of their Unplanned series on ITV in 2005, after Skinner had belatedly immersed himself in the band's wealth of material.

[edit] Discography

For a detailed discography, see The Fall discography.

Studio albums

• Live at the Witch Trials (1979)
• Dragnet (1979)
• Grotesque (After the Gramme) (1980)
• Slates (1981)
• Hex Enduction Hour (1982)
• Room to Live (Undilutable Slang Truth!) (1982)
• Perverted by Language (1983)
• The Wonderful and Frightening World of The Fall (1984)
• This Nation's Saving Grace (1985)
• Bend Sinister (1986)
• The Frenz Experiment (1988)
• I Am Kurious, Oranj (1988)
• Extricate (1990)
• Shift-Work (1991)
• Code: Selfish (1992)
• The Infotainment Scan (1993)
• Middle Class Revolt (1994)
• Cerebral Caustic (1995)
• The Light User Syndrome (1996)
• Levitate (1997)
• The Marshall Suite (1999)
• The Unutterable (2000)
• Are You Are Missing Winner (2001)
• The Real New Fall LP (Formerly Country on the Click) (2003)
• Fall Heads Roll (2005)
• Reformation Post TLC (2007)

[edit] Sound Files

[edit] References

[edit] Bibliography

• Edge, Brian (1989). Paintwork: A Portrait of The Fall. London: Omnibus Press. ISBN 0-7119-1740-X
• Ford, Simon (2003). Hip Priest: The Story Of Mark E Smith And The Fall. London: Quartet Books. ISBN 0-7043-8167-2
• Middles, Mick & Smith, Mark E (2003). The Fall. London: Omnibus Press. ISBN 0-7119-9762-4
• Smith, Mark E (1985). The Fall Lyrics. Berlin: Lough Press.
• Thompson, Dave (2003). A User's Guide To The Fall. London: Helter Skelter Publishing. ISBN 1-900924-57-9.

[edit] External links

• The Official Fall Website
• The Unofficial Fall Website
• The Official MySpace page for The Fall 'Reformation Post TLC'
• The Pseud Mag - fall fanzine
• The Pseud Mag Mega Fall Forum
• The Biggest Library Yet - old, now defunct, fanzine.
• Guardian article, Jan 2005
• Observer interview with Mark E Smith, Jan 16, 2005
• Punkcast#431 vid from Knitting Factory NYC April 9, 2004
• Theme from Sparta FC video of The Fall performing on the last night at Hammersmith Palais on April 1, 2007
• Review of "Fall Heads Roll" from BBC music online
• The Fall Live Gig repository An attempt to provide recollections of every Fall gig
• Atomic Soup The website of Tony Friel, founding member of The Fall.
• Mark E. Smith interview on KCRW radio