Smith opened art-rock fissures in reality, passed merciless judgment on his enemies and led his legendary group to the edge of destruction, repeatedly. In remembrance of one of music's true one-offs, we've revisited the encounter in full There are numerous, hitherto arcane music documents that the internet has made widely available: think The Cramps live at the Napa State Mental Hospital, , or a bug-eyed Iggy rubbing peanut butter on himself in the crowd at the Cincinnati Pop Festival, In a doomed attempt to play Free Range โ a Number 40 single from that prophesied war in Eastern Europe โ dishevelled, kit-meddling frontman Mark E Smith is set upon by furious drummer Karl Burns.
Keyboards and amps are upturned as bassist Steve Hanley tries to maintain order. Still, they almost finish the set. By the end of the night three of the group, including year veteran Hanley, had left. Smith spent two nights in jail. Maybe they thought I was going down for seven years.
It was serious stuff. But it was probably the best thing. I was quite all right with it. Smith has harnessed the power of discord, tension and flux ever since The Fall began in His group is not the easiest to explain. Lovecraft and Philip K. Dick, theirs is a raw noise, radical yet rooted. Over 31 original studio albums, odd labels and more than 50 line-up changes, The Fall have become the gold standard of independence in music.
But if things seem stable, seasoned Fall watchers know better. He splays his legs, cocks his head to one side and looks you in the eye. Bob Geldof and Eddie Izzard โ twats. They think the fucking people are morons. The superior wisdom of the working class over the bourgeois is a given in The Fall universe. A sharp-witted and self-contained youth, the use of his middle initial began at Stand Grammar School in Bury, alma mater of Clive of India. There was also the example of science fiction authors, like Philip K.
I knew it had to be done. Actually, Martin was the singer and I was the guitarist, ha ha! I was into that โ avant-garde, no drummer. It was sort of exciting when punk came along because I thought it might be like that.
