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The "The Fall Were A Right Load Of Old Bollocks, Weren't They ?" Thread

Started by Lisa Jesusandmarychain, January 11, 2019, 01:14:20 PM

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the science eel

Tomorrow marks (ha!) a year since the great man died.

There are actually quite a few things happening around the country to commemorate it...

https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/thefall/mark-e-smith-events-around-the-anniversary-of-his--t43326.html#p40159818

Janie Jones

Yes, I'm going to this at the Lexington on Sunday, as is Stewart Lee, allegedly. Might be crap but it's for charity:
http://www.thelexington.co.uk/event.php?id=496

Here is MES declaring himself a fan of Bernard Manning in a TV interview with the then-teenage Caitlin Moran from the 1980s

https://youtu.be/W2wL1R5YD6s

Lisa Jesusandmarychain

#63
Just had a bit of a splurge on Facebook, putting up loads of videos, and that, documenting yer man MES transforming over the years from ragged looking sulkurchin to dashing, young bemulleted Richard Madeley lookalike (he lost the mullet after a couple of years, but kept up the Madeley resemblance for quite a while,bless him), to the Robin Cook MP/Dessicated corpse of John Bird years. Then I put up the surprisingly quite well done ITV news report of his death. Then I started crying. Oh Dear.

(Regular readers and Lisa observers will know that I would *never*genuinely refer to The Fall as a right load of old bollocks, of course. I was playing "New Facts Emerge" only last night, and , that one that sounds like "On A Rope" by Rocket From The Crypt notwithstanding, I have to say it's a stone-cold classic to go out on. You may find yourself moved to being reminded of past glories [ "Second House Now " repeats the "British Sea Power doing 'Ace Of Spades' and goes all extraneously noisy at the end ' formula, but has added extra 'reminiscent of 'Two Little Boys" by Rolf Harris quotient,while "Gibbous Gibson" has more than a little C.R.E.E.P DNA within, but there are still moments of startling originality, such as the queasy Galianofilm soundtrack with heavy metal outbursts of the standout track "Couples Vs. Jobless Mid 30s ". The only reason we know this it that it was well documented. Nine out of Ten, indeed]).

the science eel

It's a very special record that one, yeah. And despite what some people have said earlier in the thread, Smith really did put his stamp on every incarnation of the band (have a listen to what Imperial Wax are doing now if you don't believe me). The idea that they sounded like anyone else - ever - is always going to be a lie.

'Gibbous Gibson' is easily my fave on the album, actually. I love it when the Fall do pop. It really is life-affirming.

McChesney Duntz

Disagree strongly as I do with the very concept of this thread, this appears to be the best place to share this at the moment:

https://www.vice.com/en_uk/article/mbzeg8/the-oral-history-of-mark-e-smith

(Spoiler alert: not about his increasingly horrifying dental hygiene.)

the science eel

Just finished reading that. It's absolutely revelatory in places.

non capisco

QuoteWe were sat in a bar, and he decided he wanted some new shoes and asked Dave [Spurr, Fall member 2006-2017] to go and get him some. Dave asked him what size and Mark had no clue, so he took his shoe off and drew round it on a piece of paper, and just gave that to him to take to the shoe shop

Still reading the article but I had to pause just to quote that one.

the science eel

At another concert by Garbage, he was shouting "rubbish" between songs, and when we saw them after, he told Shirley [Manson] – a huge Fall fan – that their show was "like watching paint dry".

non capisco

QuoteWe went to an awards evening with him and there were loads of famous people walking around, and Mark would just be shouting at people. Paul Weller walked past and Mark just looked at him and went [adopts creepy voice] "Weellleeerr", and Paul Weller just put his head down and fucked off.

QuoteSome trendy French promoters took us for a meal in this swanky restaurant. Mark decided he was going to horrify everyone by being as outrageous as possible. He ordered a steak with no vegetables or anything else, just steak. Then he proceeded to eat it without any cutlery, just eating it with his hands and mouth and tearing chunks off it like a starved wolf, and then spitting it out. You should have seen the looks on their faces. I was in hysterics. He was a wind up merchant.

This is a goldmine. "Weellleeerr"!


Lisa Jesusandmarychain

Quote from: Jockice on January 29, 2019, 11:32:42 PM
Wonderful and Frightening.
FTFY

Yeah, I read that article last night. As Eely said, some revelatory bits in there, and I didn't have to read about him sacking a sound technician for eating a salad again (although one of the quotes comes pretty close to that ). Also, according to Ol' Tracy Barlow features, he'd *already* had cancer previously, ten years ago ? :-O.
I also like the shoe thing already quoted by non capisco, especially as Smitty could simply have looked into the slippery shoe for his horrible foot to see the size written therein ( wouldn't have been as funny a story, like as if he'd made a hungry music journalist a perfectly good meal, but still....). I also * didn't* like reading about him still taking speed in his fifties, just as I'm not a big fan nowadays of seeing pictures of him puffing away on the old fags. Some top pictures in that articles too, especially the ones with him and Brix, and him with the rest of the gruppe in Munich, circa 1988.

McChesney Duntz

Quote from: Lisa Jesusandmarychain on January 30, 2019, 12:20:20 PM
Also, according to Ol' Tracy Barlow features, he'd *already* had cancer previously, ten years ago ? :-O.

Yeah, did a double take at that as well. Wasn't that around the time he broke his hip? Were the two related, I wonder? Or was the hip injury a cover story for what was really happening with him (though it seems like half the songs on Your Future Our Clutter were about his, erm, fall)? The man continues to be a mystery...

Mark Steels Stockbroker

(spam)

chveik

has anyone listened to that Imperial Wax album? I'm not sure I will, it feels a bit wrong without MES.

Mark Steels Stockbroker

Quote from: chveik on October 24, 2019, 10:11:20 PM
has anyone listened to that Imperial Wax album? I'm not sure I will, it feels a bit wrong without MES.

Once or twice, before I gave it away. The sleeve design is the best thing about it.

a duncandisorderly

Quote from: Mark Steels Stockbroker on October 24, 2019, 10:03:52 PM
Paul Hanley has a new book out discussing his time in the group, and I went to see him talk about it. He was good and the book is good.

what's this? amazon, no sign... only his excellent account of strawberry studios & the other place....

I like the fall but there's a lot of bollocks in their back catalogue, particularly post-hanley, & an even greater deal of bollocks talked about them.

I read a lot of the books, smith's own, the other hanley, funky si... the worst of the lot was brix's. I'm not sure I even finished it, but I got past kennedy & onto the new (rich) hubby who got her playing again.

here's a site that attempts to explain their lyrics without disappearing up smith's arse in a reverie of reverence. the site's author makes loads of mistakes, for reasons of cloth-earedness or simple cultural divergence (I believe he's a murican) but is quite happy for you to write to him & fix stuff.

http://annotatedfall.doomby.com/

studpuppet

Quote from: a duncandisorderly on October 24, 2019, 10:28:26 PM
what's this? amazon, no sign... only his excellent account of strawberry studios & the other place....

I think it's publisher-only at present HERE and SIGNED too!

Quote from: a duncandisorderly on October 24, 2019, 10:28:26 PM
here's a site that attempts to explain their lyrics without disappearing up smith's arse in a reverie of reverence. the site's author makes loads of mistakes, for reasons of cloth-earedness or simple cultural divergence (I believe he's a murican) but is quite happy for you to write to him & fix stuff.

http://annotatedfall.doomby.com/

I once took the trouble to copy all the lyrics including annotations into the Lyrics box of all my iTunes tracks. That was a very satisfying week...

a duncandisorderly

Quote from: studpuppet on October 24, 2019, 10:50:16 PM
I think it's publisher-only at present HERE and SIGNED too!


cheers. I did a bit of um-ing & ah-ing because I'm trying to avoid actual wooden books these days, but there's no kindle version.... then I remembered how good paul hanley's other book was.
so... ordered. it can sit next to funky si's tome.

Neville Chamberlain

A whole book about the making of Hex sounds like a massive fucking big dream come true! Definitely getting this. It'll sit next to Steve Hanley's tome and The Fallen and Renegade (I don't have Funky Si's  tome...yet).