Damn, The Fall were one of my favorite groups. They've releasesd a boatload of albums and been around since the 70's.... I though Mark would live forever.


Taken from BBC.com

http://www.bbc.com/news/e...s-42811968

The Fall singer Mark E Smith has died aged 60, the band's manager has said.

Pam Van Damned said the frontman died at home on Wednesday morning and a more detailed statement would follow "in the next few days".

"In the meantime, Pam and Mark's family request privacy at this sad time," the statement said.

Paying tribute, Smith's former bandmate Marc Riley said the singer "taught me a lot about life and he taught me a lot about music".

Riley, now a radio DJ, was on air on BBC 6 Music when the news broke. The pair had a tumultuous relationship - as was the case with Smith and many of the 60-odd musicians who passed through The Fall's ranks.

"Aged 16 he really did teach me so much," Riley told listeners.

"The Fall were my favourite band when I joined and they were still my favourite band when I got kicked out."

Born into a working-class family in Broughton, Salford, Smith grew up in Prestwich, and worked first in a meat factory and then as a shipping clerk on the Manchester docks.

In 1976, inspired by a Sex Pistols gig, he quit the docks for The Fall.

Simon Wolstencroft, who was the band's drummer for 11 years, told the BBC Smith was a "funny guy" and "very intelligent".

Smith's ex-wife and former band member Brix Smith Start thanked well-wishers for their messages and said she was just "taking the news in".

Singers Lisa Stansfield and Billy Bragg paid tribute to Smith saying a "cultural icon" had died.

Heres a more detailed article about Mark and The Fall.


https://www.rollingstone....60-w514673

hey joeyc, big fall fan here, going back a good 31 years or so. heard them my first year of university, and i immediately knew that this was meant for me, like my neurons immediately locked into the groove on the vinyl.

the fall were exactly what i want music to sound like.

i follow various fall groups, & knew that he was not in great shape lately, so this was not a shock for me, but it's still very sad of course.

Here's a few...

[Edited 1/24/18 17:45pm]

my favourite fall tracks:

impression of j temperance is something i never, ever get tired of hearing.

fortress/deer park is their greatest drone, i think





and gross chapel - british grenadiers is their second greatest drone:

damosuzuki said:

hey joeyc, big fall fan here, going back a good 31 years or so. heard them my first year of university, and i immediately knew that this was meant for me, like my neurons immediately locked into the groove on the vinyl.

the fall were exactly what i want music to sound like.

i follow various fall groups, & knew that he was not in great shape lately, so this was not a shock for me, but it's still very sad of course.

Hey damosuzuki. Yeah, i can definitely relate to how you felt in first hearing The Fall. I was immediately attracted to them as well. They just had a cool sound. The bass, the Guitar, Mark's drunk uncle delivery, etc. Sometimes they were somewhat chaotic sounding but they were exceedingly catchy. Also IMO, The Fall had some of the best Guitar and Bass playing(and melodies) form any of those punk/post punk bands. I would put them right up there with bands like PIL, Wire, Gang of Four, Siouxsie & the Banshees, The Damned, Television, killing Joke, Pere Ubu, Joy Division, The Soft Boys, etc etc. They may not have been as popular as some of those bands but IMO they were just as noteworthy. For me, besides Killing Joke and Siouxsie & The Banshees, The Fall were my favorites. And they were definitely one of the most unique.


Anyway, Mark was a Icon, and he will be missed. I would be surprised though, if his drinking didn't contribute to his death. Too bad he couldn't slow down/stop...


Good songs that you posted, damosuzuki.

I'm not a big fan but some of my friends are and, man, there will never be another, never be another like him. An icon.

I happened to finally find out about The Fall in 2010 and yes I was intrigued. I may never have the time to listen to all of his work but he connected with me and I'm thankful for his music. Be at peace Mark.

...ps. I was just randomly thinking to myself one day how Shane MacGowan and Mark E outlived 1001 of their peers and contemporaries in the music business both younger than them and older looking like they both drank all the whiskey in Ireland, but as life is bound to do to us all it eventually caught up to Mark. I'll make an effort to hear his catalog.

[Edited 1/30/18 18:38pm]

I've always been intrigued by that story concerning The Fall and Motown records. It goes like this, apparently a British subsidery of Motown were interested in signing some rock bands and asked to listen to something by The Fall. They were given the album Hex Enduction Hour, which contains the song The Classical, which includes the now infamous lyrics "Where are the obligatory nig**rs?", and "Hey there f*ckface!". Unsurprisingly Motown chose to pass on them and said "We see no commercial potential in this band whatsoever".


Mark E Smith tells the story like this:

"We were just f*ckin' around," recalls Smith. "Then fuckin' Tamla
Motown steam in! You know... about time we had another white act,
ha ha! Dead funny. But they were pretty serious. I went to see them
and everything. They had a pretty good lad in London who was well
behind us. So they offered us a contract and this bloke in London
goes, Have you got any LPs? So I said, I'll get a copy of 'Hex
Enduction Hour' to you."

I find this story very hard to believe. I can't picture any circumstances under which Motown would be remotely interested in signing a band like THe Fall. But no-one has ever come and said that this story is untrue. It's a weird one isn't it.

ShaggyDog said:

I've always been intrigued by that story concerning The Fall and Motown records. It goes like this, apparently a British subsidery of Motown were interested in signing some rock bands and asked to listen to something by The Fall. They were given the album Hex Enduction Hour, which contains the song The Classical, which includes the now infamous lyrics "Where are the obligatory nig**rs?", and "Hey there f*ckface!". Unsurprisingly Motown chose to pass on them and said "We see no commercial potential in this band whatsoever".


Mark E Smith tells the story like this:

"We were just f*ckin' around," recalls Smith. "Then fuckin' Tamla
Motown steam in! You know... about time we had another white act,
ha ha! Dead funny. But they were pretty serious. I went to see them
and everything. They had a pretty good lad in London who was well
behind us. So they offered us a contract and this bloke in London
goes, Have you got any LPs? So I said, I'll get a copy of 'Hex
Enduction Hour' to you."

I find this story very hard to believe. I can't picture any circumstances under which Motown would be remotely interested in signing a band like THe Fall. But no-one has ever come and said that this story is untrue. It's a weird one isn't it.

it's weird at first glance for sure, but when you consider that it was a new-ish uk subsidiary showing interest, it starts to feel more plausible. i don't think it's far-fetched that some new kid imagined having the fall on their new banner would be a rather daring feather in their cap, only to get the lid slammed down on that idea by management. if the claim was that stevie wonder or berry gordy were pining to have them on the label, that would be another matter entirely.

we only have smith's word on the story as far as i know, but he stayed consistent on it over the years, i believe. i believe he was talking about it shortly after the event, and he repeated it in his 2008 book.

[Edited 1/27/18 12:35pm]