Simply amazing. I grew up in a bland city in California, known for it's state-of-the-art sewage plant; being ethnic and a outside thinker, the Fall became my soundtrack. Thank you Mark E. Smith.
He says in Renegade that The Fall had an especially big Latinx following in San Francisco. Such an incredible band. We'll never see M.E.S's like again, that's for sure. I briefly spoke to him once during the later years (2012) and he was very nice, thanked him for the music, said "you and the band just keep getting better and better and keep putting out absolutely belting records, thanks so much, Mark!" He said: "Thanks very much cocker, that's really nice to 'ear". He looked like he was in a hurry to the bar so I didn't want to push it any more...plus they were great that night, it was in London and they did two nights, my Sis lives there so I decided whilst my ears were still ringing waiting on the last train that I was going to see the next gig! And do you know what?--I DID!
@@questionitall3053 Have you seen the "It's Not Medication, It's Perspiration" doco on here that was filmed from 2004-2013? It has the most banging version of "I Am Damo Suzuki", and this is with the Eleni, Ben, Spencer Birtwhistle and Jim Watts version of the band. Or the "Traitors, Liars, C**ts" band as they came to be known, lol! Except from Eleni, of course...Great stuff. EDIT: It's actually called "It's Not Repetition, It's Discipline", sorry! If you like the early-to-mid-2000's line up it's particularly gratifying. That version of "Damo Suzuki", though, damn
I grew up in the next town on from Prestwich , but my Dad’s from there. It’s been a bit run down, like the rest of this part of England since the 70’s . Coming from the provincial city of Manchester and being working class. Makes you feel a little bit of an outsider. I’m guessing this has something to do with people who grew up in your situation relating to Manchester music. It’s cool how are two countries have a mutual respect for each other’s music and culture.
I spent many mediocre nights in Vegas in my early 20s listening to the Fall. Just sitting in an apartment on a weekend night totally wired with nothing better to do.
Living in Los Angeles for almost 40 years I've been blessed to see The Fall more times than any other live band. They comprise the most volume of my music library. Why? Don't know. Don't care. Just is.
Lmao, they take up the bulk of my collection too, but I'm the type of nutter who wants every pressing of every LP...finally scored the white with black splatter edition of Fall Heads Roll! That is the Holy Grail of my collection! So I have both the Narnack pressings, thinking about getting the UK pressing, but it's all on one record, which seems silly. The bass on that LP will knock your damn head off! Also you're very lucky to have seen them so much! Good for you fellow Fall fiend!
His comment on morrisey is worth this docs weight in gold,,perfick! I hung in the same pubs, drank with his band mates in prestwich, red lion, church etc, saw him from afar, close but never met…didn’t even know him, what a missed chance,still kick me-self for not saying hello an takin me chance…am told we would have defo got along, see ya mark, cheers for the endless fun xox
This is brilliant. Watched it a couple of times as the interviewer seemed a bit week initially but I have just got the humour of this entire fucking piece - more laughs and quality songs than I've ever enjoyed! Well thought out, I think even the background ambient music was deliberately chosen!
@@terrypussypower ...can get that ..Hanleys ' chunky sound ' was much of the reason the Fall were great ( with Marc ,Karl etc)...Magazine bass /guitar + Keys were musically top quality...
Late reply but I'm reading it at the moment! I've had so much Fall stuff on CD-R/tape; I've started (re)-collecting my (sold) collection. Great Cherry Red reissues, I played the Hex tape I was given (a copy) so much that it was virtually unlistenable, and the tape of Dragnet from my mate's shit hi-fi....I listened to it three times, but knew there was something there...I just couldn't fucking hear it! Now I've got a decent vinyl reissue I'm playing the bastard 3 times a week at least, it's incredible! Getting into the late stuff too--Sub Lingual, Post-Reformation, New Facts Emerge...who else is left now from the @post-punk" generation who never stopped gigging and recording?! The Bad Seeds? Pere Ubu (though there seems to be a health problem with David Thomas)? They're the only ones who never split up and reformed 'cause they were skint years later, u2 don't fucking count, very, very few bands had the endurance and legacy of M.E.S and The Fall. Rest In Power Mark E.Smith
Fabulous doc Mick Middles and big thanks to FRiB6890 for posting. I miss Mark so much. The band in it's various ways that I saw more than anyone else. People still don't get The Fall and that's their failure. No Bulbs is a go to tune for me. And The Man whose head expanded....
I love how much John loved The Fall. He was absolutely adamant that they were the greatest band in Britain and deserved constant airplay. Without him, The Fall wouldn't be the critics darlings they are now, for sure.
Nice to see a more natural Smithy in this doc; sardonic, mischievous, earthy and likeable. He puts all his drinks on the table but not all his cards. Ta for all the stuff and off you go x
Couldnt get a word out of him myself---thanks for this---been transfixed by the Fall for thirty sum years now--find smiths stuff expanding and inspiring as ever.
they have 40 years of songs , im still wading through them to see which ones i haven't heard i might like , most of it i dont get at all , but there are some gems for sure. i wish i could get sloshed and talk like mark with that accent and the i dont give piss attitude , fucking priceless.
Is there anyone who still hasn't heard 'Cheap Space Chant' ? In RU-vid, search for 'Timekode, Mark E Smith' and listen to the strangest and best MES/Fall collaboration of them all...
it's a wonderful bit of serendipity but the Enya song 'Sail Away' seems to take up a reasonable chunk of the background jukebox music (so too 'somethings gotten hold of my heart', another northerner)......strange that, but all the more wonderful and enigmatic
Prestwich is in Manchester.. Not Salford.. it borders Salford, but then prestwich comes under Bury too.. All near by tho.. I was wondering if that interview was done in one of the local pubs in prestwich he'd go drinking in (woodthorpe), (red lion)?? Or one of his Salford haunts? Looked like vault in the friendship to me. Used to see him having a few in there in summer aswell as the woodthorpe. would say hello.. 😎🍻👍
hahaha he's so right on about LA, public transporatation becomes the shame train. many have lamented on it as a hell even kerouac called it the loneliest he's ever been.
The bible is a magical library that spans centuries it consists of poetry prophecy various values and laws spaning a host of cultures and so on The Koran is unique in that there is nothing like it in all of Arabic literature but it feels and fits in perfectly. Very much like the fall!
For whatever reason, Manchester has always been the cultural heart of modern England. Biggest football teams in the world, best bands in the world...Its only a small place, too. Southern boys like me have watched Manchester intently for decades lol. Fucking great city.
Like Liverpool had a strong Catholic working class, though Smith is clearly of a Protestant background and is occasionally dismissive of his Catholic band mates. I met him before he formed the group and he was open and said I could join without having heard anything. I doubt it would have lasted long. Strangely saw him in a local pub in the area of London where I have lived since 1980 not long before he died. Stood outside.
@@Jlipnicki MES asked you to join the fall?! Lol, brilliant. Were you two mates or something? And yea, Liverpool was extremely influential, too. Bands from the north west captured British working class culture better than any other area. Northern bands did that much more successfully than southern bands. Partly because they were genuine, no pretention. They were factory workers, into football and pubs etc, proper working class lads. Whereas southern bands were more middle class. Very self aware. Art school types. But then punk was a cockney thing, wasn't it? So maybe I'm talking bollocks lol. But still, Manchester, and the north east, were the heart and soul of British culture for decades. Without a doubt
Hard to take in what he was saying with T'pau and Fairground fucking Attraction playing in the background, but I remember this bit: 'That whole Madchester thing, you stayed sensibly aloof from it at the time, do you think anything positive came from it?' MES: No. 'But seriously, did you enjoy it at the time?' MES: No, I went to Scotland.
A great doco. The emote that goes with wins my vote, much as the lyric may the mind have smote, and the underlying truth get your goat, all that mediaeval groat pales before the fact of the matter: a man with heart and soul does nor shatter nor sooth; rather, he does improve, like wine, with age, and may be enlightening at any stage. Time for some more revision.
