Legendarily truculent leader of Manchester’s The Fall has died aged 60. A true original and gifted lyricist, he fired and fought with over 60 members of the band.
I don’t imagine they are widely known in the US - they were’t really here, but a unique talent has gone.
MiM
Did they do “Let The Day Begin”? I remember that as having powerful vocals, a kind of urgency.
The phrase “a unique talent” is often abused, but not in this case. Farewell, you crotchety old bastard.
Nevermind- I looked on youtube. It rhymed, anyway.
No, that was the Call, and THEIR singer also died a while back.
Oh wow.
Sucks like sucking sucks. Godfuckingddammitt this isn’t starting my year off well.
For those that haven’t had the pleasure, and for those of us who have: Mr. Pharmacist
The late 1970s in the UK was a time & place ripe for the birthing of some of the greatest “art rock” the world will ever know, music that was in form and execution and philosophy the equal of the great visual arts movements and literary movements of the past 200 years. And from just a gut-level does-it-make-me-want-to-dance perspective, some of the bands of the time just got it and could put together music that was at once powerful, fun, angry, hopeful and primal, often while delivering scathing social critiques. The Fall sits right up there with Swell Maps and Gang of Four, IMO, and I’m very sad to hear about Mr. Smith’s death since he was The Fall.
Back to the ears: the B-side of their first single was called Repetition and it was basically their musical manifesto, loudly proclaiming
RIP Mr. Smith; you totally fucking rocked. Totally. Fucking. Rocked. Punk as fuck, eh.
RIP MES - They broke the mould there and no mistake.
Marc Riley announced it on 6music this evening and was clearly v emotional - ton of Fall stuff played in honour.
Devastated to hear this. I’m a huge fan (surprisingly, the only one in my bluegrass group). I would call him an innovator if there were anyone else remotely like him. Fortunately I got to see them around '03 or so in Cambridge, Mass. Rest in Peace…
Yep, safe journey you miserable sod. Last Orders: The Fall - Last Orders (live) - YouTube
Ok, I know this is kinda sordid, but I’m gonna go ahead and recommend Christian Fitness, a kind of one-man band that’s like if in an alternate universe, The Fall and Gang of Four were a supergroup fronted by John Cooper Clarke and then they were all psychically consumed by a Mark E. Smith clone that went somewhat wrong. Bruce Hated Puppies, for instance.
It’s no substitute for The Fall, but IMO it’s a good addition to the library. And since The Fall is done and Christian Fitness is still with us, that means more to look forward to.
Damnit, that’s my third pop culture icon this week.
Love The Fall, even if Mark E. was a crotchety bastard.
He is not appreciated
Check the record
Check the record
Check the guy’s track record
Mr Pharmacist is a cover.
And in fact the original and the fall’s versions are remarkably alike.
They had a few covers that became some of their few actual chart hits: Mr Pharmacist, Victoria and There’s a Ghost in My House. Their cover of Lost in Music wasn’t released as a single, sadly:
A little musical tribute from the underrated Barbara Manning.
The Fall were a fixture on the John Peel show, so I grew up with the this stuff.
The BBC news called him the “singer” far the Fall. I think that’s taking it a bit far. As a singer he was limited
My favourite “song” “The Lie Dream of a Casino Soul” I am playing it now on my retro turntable (not kidding)
Much to add, but I am being invaded by a (new) cat (details to follow - on other threads)
Hope I’m not the only fan of “The Mighty Fall!” on the dope.
The three “r’s”
repetition, repetition, repetition.
We got repetition in our music, and we’re never go’na loose it.
Telephone Thing is one of my favourites.
That’s really nice 
I’ve heard some purists slightly decry the Brix years, but I couldn’t disagree more. The run of albums from Perverted by Language through to I Am Kurious Oranj is pretty damn fine. Who knew The Fall would benefit from a bit of a scrub up and some pop sensibility? (OK, maybe not Perverted by Language, but MES and Brix had only just met).
Check the record. Check the record. Check the guy’s track record.
Read this in the middle of the day yesterday. I feel weird about this one, much more than others who have passed. I loved The Fall, but sad seems like an inappropriate emotion to have in relation to the man. He seemed to be more inclined to being irritated and disgusted, rather than sad. So, I’ll be irritated that he turned out mortal, and disgusted with the world for not being quite as neat after he’s gone.
If nothing else, he proved rock isn’t just a young man’s game. Blindness from 2007 is my cite. Totally rockin’.