The Fall were an English post-punk band from Prestwich, Greater Manchester. Formed in late 1976, the group originally featured vocalist Mark E. Smith, guitarist Martin Bramah, bassist Tony Friel and keyboardist Una Baines, with their first permanent drummer Karl Burns joining the following year. The group went through many lineup changes but remained active until Smith's death on 24 January 2018, at which point the band included bassist Dave "The Eagle" Spurr (since 2006), guitarist Peter "PP" Greenway, drummer Keiron Melling (both since 2007) and keyboardist Michael Clapham (who joined for the band's final tour in 2017).[1][2]
Mark E. Smith, Martin Bramah, Tony Friel and Una Baines formed the Fall shortly after attending a Sex Pistols show at Manchester's Free Trade Hall in July 1976.[3] The band played their first show on 23 May 1977,[4] with Steve Ormrod playing drums for his sole appearance.[5] The group's first permanent drummer, Karl Burns, took his place.[6] In November the group recorded their debut EP Bingo-Master's Break-Out!, which was issued the following year.[7] Friel left the band in December,[6] unhappy with the recent decision to hire Kay Carroll, a friend of Smith's, as their manager.[8]
Marc Riley replaced original bassist Tony Friel in 1978, and later switched to guitar the following year.
After brief spells with Jonnie Brown and Eric McGann early in the year,[6] 16-year-old roadie Marc Riley took over Friel's position on bass in June 1978.[9] Baines had also left in March, following a "mental breakdown triggered in part by the druggy lifestyle she was leading".[10] She was replaced by Yvonne Pawlett in May.[6] The lineup of Smith, Bramah, Riley, Pawlett and Burns recorded the group's debut album Live at the Witch Trials, which was issued the following year.[11] Burns left before the end of the year and Bramah followed in April 1979, claiming that "What initially started out as a collective became a dictatorship" dominated by frontman Smith.[10]
Burns and Bramah were replaced by Mike Leigh and Craig Scanlon, respectively.[6] At the time of Scanlon's arrival, Steve Hanley also joined on bass, with Riley switching to guitar.[12] The new lineup recorded one single, "Rowche Rumble", before Pawlett also left the Fall.[13] In an interview years later, the keyboardist claimed that she "never fitted in" with the group, leaving to study biology and breed dogs.[14] Pawlett was not replaced, with Riley and Scanlon performing keyboards.[15]
In March 1980, Leigh was replaced by Hanley's brother Paul on drums.[6] The group issued Grotesque (After the Gramme) later in the year,[16] followed by the EP Slates early the next year, featuring brief member Dave Tucker on clarinet.[17] After replacing Paul Hanley for an American tour in the summer of 1981, due to the former being under the age of 21, Karl Burns rejoined the Fall in October 1981 to mark the start of the band's first two-drummer lineup.[18] This incarnation issued two studio albums in 1982, Hex Enduction Hour and Room to Live, before Riley was sacked after a physical altercation with Smith, playing his final Fall show in December.[19]
1982–1995
After Riley was fired in 1982, Mark E. Smith married Brix Smith in 1983 and she took his place in the Fall.
After several months with just one guitarist, the Fall added Brix Smith in the summer of 1983 after she married frontman Mark E. Smith in July, just three months since they first met.[20] She debuted on two tracks on the 1983 album Perverted by Language, which was followed by The Wonderful and Frightening World Of... the next year.[21] In November, shortly after the latter's release, Paul Hanley left the Fall to form Kiss the Blade, and the following month, his brother Steve Hanley went on paternity leave and was temporarily replaced by Simon Rogers.[22] After a four-month absence, Hanley returned and Rogers joined officially on keyboards and guitar.[3]
By early 1986, Karl Burns had left the Fall for a second time, with Simon Wolstencroft taking his place.[23] Before Wolstencroft's arrival, however, Paul Hanley briefly returned to record two tracks for Bend Sinister, as well as the single "Living Too Late".[24][25][26] Shortly after the release of Bend Sinister, Rogers left the group to focus on his production work, which he continued to do with the Fall for several years.[27] With new keyboardist Marcia Schofield, the band released The Frenz Experiment and I Am Kurious Oranj in 1988, as well as a string of commercially successful singles including "There's a Ghost in My House", "Hit the North" and "Victoria".[28]
In July 1989, it was announced that Brix Smith had left the Fall, with original guitarist Martin Bramah returning in her place.[29] It was revealed later that Brix and Mark E. Smith had divorced earlier that year.[30] Bramah performed on Extricate and remained until July 1990,[6] when both he and Schofield (who by that time were dating each other) were fired from the band.[31] Following the pair's departure, keyboards were handled primarily by Wolstencroft,[32] as well as by violinist Kenny Brady, who joined at the same time.[6] Dave Bush, who initially joined the Fall crew as a roadie, took over as the band's new keyboardist in August 1991.[33]
After the release of Code: Selfish and The Infotainment Scan, Karl Burns returned for a second two-drummer lineup in May 1993.[33] He left again just a few months later, but returned in time for a North American tour in August.[34] After the release of Middle Class Revolt, Brix Smith also returned in August 1994, claiming she had "started to miss the artistic freedom that [she] had" in the group.[35] After the band recorded Cerebral Caustic, Bush was replaced by Julia Nagle.[36]
After nearly 16 years with the band, guitarist Craig Scanlon was fired from the Fall in late 1995.
1995–2000
After the band spent much of the year touring, long-time guitarist Craig Scanlon was dismissed from the Fall in late 1995.[6] In later interviews, Mark E. Smith claimed that Scanlon's sacking after 16 years in the band was due to his "slovenly appearance" and "failure to maintain [his] amps", although he later changed his explanation by suggesting that the guitarist had been "trying to play jazz or Sonic Youth-style stuff over good simple songs that he'd written himself".[37] It has been strongly suggested that Smith regretted his decision, and Scanlon himself said he was invited to re-join the group by Smith several years later, but declined. The Light User Syndrome was issued in 1996.[38]Brix Smith left in October, following an argument with Mark E. Smith at a show in October.[39]Karl Burns followed in December.[6]
Adrian Flanagan took over as the Fall guitarist in December 1996, followed by Tommy Crooks the following May (when Burns also rejoined).[6][40] The group continued touring until April 1998, when all but Smith and Nagle left the band following two shows in the United States which ended in fighting between band members.[41] Before the planned final show in New York, Smith was arrested after allegedly assaulting Nagle, his girlfriend at the time, which resulted in the show's cancellation.[42] A few weeks later, Smith and Nagle returned for three more shows in the UK, joined by temporary drummer Kate Themen.[43]
After several months off, the Fall returned in August 1998 with new bassist Karen Leatham and drummer Tom Head,[6] the latter of whom took over from Themen who was originally hired on a full-time basis after her first three shows.[44] By the following January, Neville Wilding was the band's new guitarist and Leatham had been replaced by Adam Helal, with both new members joining officially after performing on The Marshall Suite as session musicians.[45] Head was briefly sacked ahead of the 1999 Reading Festival, with Nick Dewey taking his place for the show, before he was reinstated the following day in time for the Leeds date.[46]
2000–2018
Frontman Mark E. Smith remained the sole constant member of the Fall throughout the band's tenure.
Shortly after the release of The Unutterable in November 2000, Tom Head was replaced by Spencer Birtwistle.[6] By February the next year, Neville Wilding and Adam Helal had also been replaced, by Birtwistle's Trigger Happy bandmates Ben Pritchard and Jim Watts, respectively.[47] By August, keyboardist and guitarist Julia Nagle had left the Fall after six years with the band.[6] Brian Fanning briefly took over the vacated role of second guitarist, but by October had left again, shortly before Birtwistle was replaced by Dave Milner on drums.[40] Milner was another former member of Trigger Happy featuring Pritchard, Watts and the Fall's manager Ed Blaney.[48]
In September 2002, the Fall played one show with two new keyboardists – Smith's girlfriend Elena Poulou alongside Ruth Daniel.[49][50] Retaining only Poulou on a full-time basis, the group issued The Real New Fall LP (Formerly Country on the Click) in 2003.[51] Watts was fired that March and replaced by Simon "Ding" Archer the next month.[52][6] After just a year with the band, Archer left the following April and was replaced by Steve Trafford.[53] In July 2004, Watts returned on guitar and Birtwistle returned on drums.[6] By December, the former had left for a second time, crediting concerns over credits and royalties, as well as a lack of creative input in the band.[54]
The Fall's lineup changed dramatically again in May 2005, after Pritchard, Trafford and Birtwistle all left the band suddenly following a show in the US.[55] The trio were quickly replaced by Tim Presley, Rob Barbato (both members of American group Darker My Love) and Orpheo McCord, respectively.[56] Later in the year, guitarist Peter Greenway, bassist Dave Spurr and drummer Keiron Melling all debuted with the Fall, due to the new members' differing schedules.[57] After the release of Reformation Post TLC (featuring Greenway and Spurr), the three new additions became full-time members upon the departure of Presley, Barbato and McCord in June 2007.[6]
For almost ten years the Fall's lineup remained stable, making it the longest-standing incarnation of the band's history.[58][59] Daren Garratt of the Nightingales joined as a second drummer between 2013 and 2015, featuring on The Remainderer, Sub-Lingual Tablet and Wise Ol' Man.[28][60] Paul Bonney of the Australian Pink Floyd Show took over for tour dates in 2016.[61] The lineup came to an end with the departure of long-time keyboardist Elena Poulou in 2016, after her divorce from Mark E. Smith.[62] Keyboards on the band's final studio album New Facts Emerge were recorded by Greenway (synthesisers) and Spurr (mellotron),[63] before Mike Clapham joined for the final touring cycle in 2017.[64]
On 24 January 2018, Smith died of lung and kidney cancer, marking the end of the Fall.[65]
Singles and EPs: all from "Bury!" (2010) to Wise Ol' Man (2016)
Live albums and videos: Live Uurop VIII–XII Places in Sun & Winter, Son (2014)
Live in Clitheroe (2017)
Another "Set of Ten" (2019) – seven discs
Daren Garratt
2013–2015
drums
percussion
backing vocals
The Remainderer (2013)
Sub-Lingual Tablet (2015) – one track only
Other contributors
Image
Name
Years active
Instruments
Details
Steve "Cowbell" Davies
1978
1980
congas (1978)
drums (1980)
Davies, the band's van driver at the time, performed congas on the band's first Peel session in May 1978, and later filled in for temporarily unavailable drummer Paul Hanley on a Dutch tour in June 1980.[67]
Kay Carroll
1979–1983
vocals
percussion
kazoo
The Fall's manager and Smith's partner between 1977 and 1983, Carroll performed as an additional contributor on Dragnet, Grotesque (After the Gramme), Slates, Hex Enduction Hour and Room to Live.[68][69]
Dave Tucker
1980–1981
clarinet
keyboards
guitar
backing vocals
Tucker was a part-time member of the Fall, contributing to the Slates EP and several live shows.[70]
Friday featured on two tracks for The Wonderful and Frightening World Of... and one for the Call for Escape Route EP, as well as appearing live with the band on a couple of occasions.[73]
Evets performed backing vocals on The Unutterable and Are You Are Missing Winner,[87] and later played bass at select shows in 2002 and at a show in Turkey in March 2003 after Jim Watts was sacked.[88][89]
Ed Blaney
2000–2001
2003–2004
guitar
backing vocals
The Fall's manager at the time, Blaney performed with the band on occasion, featuring on "Rude (All the Time)", Are You Are Missing Winner, the studio tracks on 2G+2, and a number of live albums.[90]
Ruth Daniel
2002
keyboards
Daniel performed as a guest alongside Elena Poulou at the Fall's show on 29 September 2002.[49][50]
Dougie James
2004–2006
vocals
James performed on "Big New Prinz" and "Boxoctosis" at shows between 2004 and 2006.[91][92][93]
Sean O'Neal
2004
O'Neal appeared at the 1 May 2004 Fall show in Austin, Texas, performing on "Dr. Buck's Letter".[91]
Tamsin Middleton
2013
backing vocals
Middleton and Simon Archer contributed backing vocals to "Touchy Pad" on the EP The Remainderer.[94]
Paul Bonney
2016–2017
drums
Bonney performed as a second drummer at several Fall shows between July 2016 and January 2017.[61]
Pamela Vander
2017
percussion
backing vocals
Vander, Smith's final partner and manager, contributed to several Fall shows during their 2017 tour.[95]
The Fall were an English post-punk group, formed in 1976 in Prestwich, Greater Manchester. They had many line-up changes, with vocalist and founder Mark E. Smith being the only constant member. The Fall's long-term musicians included drummers Paul Hanley, Simon Wolstencroft and Karl Burns; guitarists Craig Scanlon, Marc Riley, and Brix Smith; and bassist Steve Hanley, whose melodic, circular bass lines are widely credited with shaping the band's sound from early 1980s albums such as Hex Enduction Hour to the late 1990s.
Mark Edward Smith was an English singer-songwriter. He was the lead vocalist, lyricist and only constant member of the post-punk group The Fall. Smith formed the band after attending the June 1976 Sex Pistols gig at the Lesser Free Trade Hall in Manchester and was its leader until his death. During their 42-year existence, the Fall's line-up included some sixty musicians, with whom Smith released 32 studio albums and numerous singles and EPs.
This Nation's Saving Grace is the eighth studio album by the English post-punk band the Fall, released in 1985 by Beggars Banquet. In contrast to the band's earlier albums, This Nation's... is noted for its pop sensibilities and guitar hooks, and John Leckie's accessible production. This Nation's... was recorded in London between June and July 1985, and is the second of the three consecutive Fall albums produced by John Leckie. The album was accompanied by the singles "Couldn't Get Ahead" and "Cruiser's Creek", and tours of Europe and America.
Dragnet is the second studio album by English post-punk band the Fall, released on 26 October 1979 through Step-Forward Records. Appearing less than eight months after its predecessor, Live at the Witch Trials,Dragnet established at an early stage two key patterns characteristic of the group's future: that of high productivity and that of a regular turnover of group members.
Perverted by Language is the sixth studio album by English post-punk group The Fall, released in December 1983 on Rough Trade Records.
Brix Smith is an American singer and guitarist, best known as the lead guitarist and a major songwriter for the English post-punk band the Fall during two stints in the band.
The Wonderful and Frightening World Of... is the seventh studio album by English musical group the Fall, released in October 1984. It was the band's first album after signing to the Beggars Banquet label. Newcomer Brix Smith co-wrote three of the tracks, ushering in a relatively pop-oriented sound for the group. Paul Hanley left the band immediately after the accompanying UK tour, ending the group's distinctive "twin drummers" period.
Blue Orchids are an English post-punk band formed in Manchester in 1979, when Martin Bramah left the Fall, after playing on the band's debut album Live at the Witch Trials. Christened by Salford-based punk poet John Cooper Clarke the band recorded for Rough Trade and acted as backing band for the Velvet Underground's Nico before a 25-year period of intermittent activity and fluctuating line-ups.
Karl Burns is a British musician best known as the drummer for the Fall, featuring in many incarnations of the band between 1977 and 1998.
Extricate is the 12th album by English post-punk band the Fall. It was made immediately after bandleader Mark E. Smith divorced guitarist Brix Smith. Brix's departure helped define the sound of this album: her background vocals and relatively pop-oriented guitar, which had become mainstays of The Fall, are noticeably absent in this release. In one of the more unusual events in the group's career, she was replaced by founding former member Martin Bramah, who had previously left the group in 1979 to form his own group Blue Orchids.
Shift-Work is the 13th album by English rock band the Fall, released through Phonogram Records in 1991. The Fall started working on the album in 1990 while touring in support of Extricate. Mark E. Smith sacked guitarist Martin Bramah and keyboardist Marcia Schofield immediately after the Australian leg of the tour, reducing the lineup to four for the first time in band's history. Only one song ("Rose") from the sessions with Bramah and Schofield eventually appeared on the album. Several tracks were released as the Dredger EP in August 1990, including "Life Just Bounces", which would later be re-recorded for Cerebral Caustic. The Fall's first release with a reduced lineup was the single "High Tension Line" in December 1990.
Cerebral Caustic is the seventeenth full-length studio album by English post-punk group The Fall, released in 1995 on Permanent Records. It spent one week on the UK Albums Chart at number 67, 19 places lower than its predecessor Middle Class Revolt, marking the end of one of the group's relatively more successful periods.
The Light User Syndrome is the 18th album by the Fall, released in 1996 on Jet Records. It was the group's first album to feature keyboard player and guitarist Julia Nagle and the last to feature Brix Smith, while longtime guitarist Craig Scanlon was fired in late 1995 during troubled recording sessions for "The Chiselers" single which preceded the album. A version of "The Chiselers" is included on the album as "Interlude/Chilinism".
Levitate is the 19th album by The Fall, released in 1997 on Artful Records. Levitate became the last album to feature two long-time Fall members, drummer Karl Burns and bass player Steve Hanley.
The Adult Net were a British indie pop band formed by British-based American singer and guitarist Brix Smith in 1984, while she was a member of The Fall.
Stephen Hanley is an Irish-born English musician best known as the bass guitarist in the Fall from 1979 to 1998. His distinctive and muscular basslines were a signature part of their sound, often carrying the songs' instrumental melodies. Hanley is second only to Mark E. Smith in longevity in the band. With Peter Hook, Andy Rourke and Gary Mounfield, he is widely considered one of the pre-eminent Manchester bassists of his generation. He has always been very private and rarely interviewed; for this reason his 2014 autobiography The Big Midweek: Life Inside The Fall was highly anticipated. On publication it was met with widespread acclaim for its frank honesty and dry, no nonsense humour.
Craig Antony Scanlon is an English guitarist, best known as a member of the Fall between 1979 and 1995. During his tenure he was a stalwart member for 17 albums and co-wrote over 120 of the group's songs; singer Mark E. Smith and bass player Steve Hanley excepted, this tally is unmatched by any other musician to have passed through the group.
Martin Beddington, better known by his stage name Martin Bramah, is an English singer-songwriter and guitarist, best known as a founding member of the Fall, Blue Orchids, Thirst, and Factory Star.
"Cruiser's Creek" is a 1985 single by the English Post-punk band The Fall. The music and lyrics were written by guitarist Brix Smith and lead vocalist Mark E. Smith during sessions in the lead up to recording their 8th album This Nation's Saving Grace, and it was released as single just after the album came out. The b-side of the single was album track "L.A." while the twelve-inch single version contains the song "Vixen", written and sung by Brix.
"Paint Work" is a 1985 song by the English Post-punk band The Fall that first appeared on their album This Nation's Saving Grace. Widely considered the high-point of the album, the track was described in 2019 as "absolutely sublime" by Vulture, and as "mildly psychedelic" in 2011 by critic Mick Middles.
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