The Fall

English post punk band The Fall formed in Prestwich, Greater Manchester in 1976. The band has existed in some form ever since and is essentially built around its founder and only constant member Mark E. Smith.

The Fall is originally associated with the punk movement of the late seventies but the band’s style has traversed through several genre fluctuations throughout the years. What always remains the same is the domination of abrasively driven guitars and the frequent use of repetition topped by Smith’s cryptic lyrics and individual vocal style.

As of April 2008, The Fall has released a mammoth catalogue of twenty-seven full-length studio albums and have maintained an avid cult following. The band takes their name from the novel by Albert Camus.

The original line up of The Fall consisted of Mark E. Smith (vocals), Martin Bramah (guitar), Tony Friel (bass), Una Baines (keyboard) and Karl Burns (drums). The Fall’s debut EP, titled ‘Bingo – Master’s Break – Out!’ was funded by the Buzzcocks’ label New Hormones, but it sat unreleased for nearly a year, simply because the band were having difficulties finding a label that wanted to sign them. Eventually Miles Copeland released the EP on his Step Forward independent label.

1978 saw Smith replace bassist Friel with Marc Riley (bass, keyboards) and keyboardist Baines with Yvonne Pawlett and the new line up recorded the bands’ debut full-length album ‘Live At The With Trials’ released in 1979. Radio One DJ John Peel became an avid fan of the band, allowing them to record a number of sessions for his show, providing the group with an outlet for exposure.

Before The Fall recorded their sophomore album, Smith decided to alter the line up again; this time firing Pawlett, Bramah and Burns and recruiting guitarist Craig Scanlon, bassist Steve Hanley and drummer Mike Leigh. Scanlon and Hanley would prove to become integral members of the band, remaining with The Fall for a great part of its career.

1979 saw the release of ‘Dragnet’. The following year The Fall parted company with Step Forward and signed to Rough Trade Records and released their live album ‘Totale’s Turns’ and their full-length studio record ‘Grotesque’. They also released several hit singles including ‘Totally Wired’ and ‘How I Wrote Elastic Man’ during 1980.

1982 saw the band release possibly their strongest album to date ‘Hex Education Hour’ which was released on Kamera Records; as was its follow up ‘Room To Live’.

1983 saw another line up change as Mark E. Smith met and fell in love with Brix Smith. The pair soon married and Brix joined the band as their second guitarist, replacing Riley. The next full-length player to be released from the new line up was 1983’s ‘Perverted By Language’.

Brix brought to the band a more melodic pop sound, which can be heard in 1984’s ‘The Wonderful and Frightening World of The Fall’ which was their debut on Beggars Banquet.

The Fall also collaborated with ballet choreographer Michael Clark who worked alongside Smith to produce a ballet named ‘I Am Kurious Oranj’. The Fall wrote the music and libretto for the ballet and performed the work several times during 1984 and 1985.

Midway through 1985, Hanley took a leave of absence and was replaced by classically trained musician Simon Rogers. Upon Hanley’s return, Roger’s took the role of keyboard player. 1985 saw the release of ‘This Nation’s Saving Grace’, which received rave reviews.

Between the years of 1986 and 1988, The Fall achieved some charting singles, including their cover of the Other Half’s ‘Mr Pharmacist’, their cover of The Kinks song ‘Victoria’ and ‘Hit The North’.

Soon after the release of 1988’s ‘The Frenz Experiment’, Brix and Smith separated and she left the band in 1989. With Brix’s departure The Fall’s musical style returned to the darker chaotic sounds of their earlier albums as seen in 1990’s album ‘Extricate’.

1993 saw the band sign to Matador records and release ‘The Infotainment Scam’. Unfortunately the album didn’t sell too well in the U.S, though this did not matter much as the band still had a massively dedicated following in the U.K.

A handful of albums later The Fall released their single titled ‘The Fall vs. 2003’ which signalled another great period for the band. Smith’s new wife Eleni Poulou had joined the band and added a more melodic base to their sound.

Following the release of ‘The Real New Fall’ LP, the Sanctuary label reissued two of the bands classic albums ‘Live at The Witch Trials’ and ‘Dragnet’ in 2004, with improved sound and added bonus tracks. In June of the same year Beggars Banquet released the first career spanning compilation of the band titled ’50,000 Fall Fans Can’t Be Wrong’.

In 2005 The Fall toured America, but after only a few dates Smith fired all of the members except for his wife Eleni Poulou. Their 2007 album ‘Post TLC Reformation!’ featured a hybrid line up of U.K and U.S members. Recently The Fall have been joined onstage by former bass player Simon ‘Ding’ Archer, whose group Bobbie Peru will be supporting The Fall on their current U.K tour.

The Fall’s latest release ‘Imperial Wax Solvent’ was released in April 2008 and features a new British based line up alongside remaining members Eleni Poulou and Dave Spurr. The album entered the U.K Album Charts at number thirty-five, which is their first time in the top forty since 1993.