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Ed Blaney:

"Hello Stefan,We have been refused visa's,Therefore we have had to cancel the USA dates for April,We hope to re-schedule the tour with additional dates for mid August this year,We are very unhappy with this."

Manchester Evening News (April 5):

PASSPORT FIASCO CAUSES THE FALL TO AXE TOUR

Famed Manchester punk band the Fall have been forced to axe their forthcoming American tour, after the authorities refused to approve their visas.

But lest images of Class A convictions, general delinquency and debauchery go flashing through your mind, the reasons behind the fiasco are disappointingly not at all rock n roll. The sad fact of the matter is that the group, due to play a string of dates in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago and New York from Sunday, forgot to send their passports off in time.

"We had to cancel the tour last week," manager Ed Blaney admits. "We were supposed to attach the hard copy of our passports to our visa applications but we didn't. We were in Italy and if we'd posted them off we would never have got back home."

American fans need not fret, however, because the dates are frantically being rescheduled for late August. "We like it over there. If I could get them a gig for a whole year I'd do it," adds Blaney. "The Fall has this big cult following and there are limos everywhere we go. Unbelievable. It's quite a bit more glamorous than Blackburn."

The Fall play...

Fri., Apr. 19	North Cafe Bar, Blackburn (16 Town Hall Street) "Tickets would be advantageous owing to limited capacity," according to Ronnie Brown of the North Bar. Phone venue 01254 682670.......07790 279557 or email ronnie@north-bar.co.uk for details. Tickets also available from Action Records (Preston); X Records (Bolton); and Astonishing (Burnley).
Sat. Apr. 20	The Garage, London Tix £12 advance; doors 19:30, Fall on stage 21:45. Ticket Outlets: Credit Card hotline 020 - 7344 0044 (24hrs) Stargreen: 020 - 7734 8932. Also from www.meanfiddler.com & www.ticketmaster.co.uk & in person from Ticketmaster in selected HMV, Tower Records & Waitrose stores, plus usual agents (subject to booking fee) Tickets without bkg fee for cash from Camden Ticketshop and Astoria Box Office. Info line: 020 - 8963 0940
Sun., Apr. 21	All Tomorrow's Parties, Camber Sands Holiday Centre, East Sussex Stage 2, 12:30 - 1:30 a.m.
Sun. Apr. 28	All Tomorrow's Parties, Camber Sands Holiday Centre, East Sussex Stage 1, 10:15 - 11:15 p.m.
~May 17-20	11th Annual Wave-Gottik-Treffen goth festival in Leipzig, Germany

band at present: MES (v.), Ben Pritchard (g.), Jim Watts (b.), Dave Milner (d.). Ed Blaney is still the manager, despite rumours to the contrary.

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Upcoming releases:

Ed Blaney says the next official Fall CD, scheduled for release around April/May, will comprise nine tracks recorded at Nov. 2001 US gigs, plus three studio tracks, one of which is "I Wake Up in the City" -- good news for people who missed out on the Flitwick freebie. John Peel has a copy and played "The Joke" off of it on one of his shows last week, and 'My Ex-Classmates' Kids" this week. Rumour has it that the title will be 2G+2 (i.e. 2000+2=2002, which makes perfect sense since all the tracks were recorded in 2001).

According to Amazon UK the 3xCD box set "Totally Wired" (Essential #CMETD461) has been pushed back to July 15. Still no idea what'll be on it. And Castle/Essential also have a "Singles Box" 4xCD set (#CMGBX526) due for release on the same day.

Also it looks like the Derby Hall, Bury (27apr82) gig will be out soon on Cog Sinister/ Voiceprint (May 20, according to Amazon UK). This was supposed to be a two-gig set coupled with the terrific Queen Mary Union, London (05feb81) soundboard and to be sold at regular price -- doesn't look like that's going ahead now. To make matters worse, purchasers of the recent Cog/Voiceprint reissues of Room to Live and Palace of Swords Reversed will already own several tracks from this Bury gig (although the discs claim the tracks were recorded at Manchester's Band on the Wall club, they're really from this Derby Hall gig).

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Fall article in the May issue of Wire:

What promises to be an excellent article by Simon Ford will appear in the next issue of Wire, out next week, to coincide with the 25th anniversary of the Fall's first gig. It'll cover the Fall's earliest days up to the end of 1977, and will feature new interviews with Martin Bramah, Una Baines, Tony Friel, and Kay Carroll, plus photographs by Kevin Cummins.

Also, Simon's currently writing a book about the Fall, due for publication next year on Quartet.

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With many thanks to Matt Bryden and Yousef Sheikh, here's a scan of the Mojo Collections "The Smithsonian Institute: How to Buy the Fall" article (by Ed Clarke).

page 1
page 2

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Conway Paton (c.paton@xtra.co.nz):

Introducing two new Fall webpages for you to pour scorn upon:

The Fall at a glance (http://fallwatch.cjb.net) -- a single page editorialised summary of what's currently happening in the wonderful & frightening world of... I hope to update this page quite frequently to keep up with new live gigs & CD releases, and the latest gossip.

The Fall timeline (http://liquid2k.com/fall/timeline.html) -- this lists month by month since 1977 all Fall record releases, radio sessions, live tours & lineup changes!

Any useful criticism & factual corrections would be much appreciated. Keep your snide remarks to yourself!

Conway's also revamped the Lyrics Parade -- all hail Conway!

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From the Chemikal Underground web site (http://www.chemikal.co.uk):

Aidan and Stuart Braithwaite perform 'Sick' cover versions.

The Sick Anchors, a much-rumoured mysterious collective, finally unleashes its debut release on an unsuspecting public. Arab Strap's Aidan Moffat has got together with Stuart Braithwaite out of Mogwai and together with keyboard maestro Sheepy, they release a 3-track e.p. on Lost Dog Records on April 22nd. There are 3 cover versions on the single - 'Whole Again', originally by some band called Atomic Kitten (or Darius, if you prefer), a take on The Fall's 1989 classic 'Bill Is Dead', and The Mills Brothers' 'You Always Hurt The One You Love'.

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Richard Gallon:

There is a Fall tribute band, the Hideous Replicas, playing at the 12 Bar Club, Denmark Place, London, WC2 on Sunday 28 April, 2002. Apparently they are only playing material up to 1980 / Grotesque, but it's all Fall. For more info, go here: http://www.bagrec.com.

There's more about the gig and a link to some photos of the Hideous Replicas on Richard Sanderson's site - Stefan.

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Thanks to Graham Coleman and Matt Bryden for both pointing out this heartfelt appreciation of MES by William Crain on the Tangents website.

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Thanks to That Pete, a review of AYAMW from Gadfly Online by James Lindbloom:

Mark E. Smith has made a career out of being annoyed. After 25 years, dozens of albums and countless changes in band membership, Smith's caustic cerebralism has settled into curmudgeonliness, but that doesn't neccessarily diminish the pleasures of a new Fall record. Nor does it make it any easier to predict what the next one will sound like: after the glossy production of The Unutterable, Smith's latest effort takes a sharp turn towards low-fi. The whole package seems to have been conceived in a state of inebriation: from the title, which will make English majors everywhere wince with the urge to correct it, to the hideously ugly and slapdash cover layout, to the (deliberate?) offhandedness of much of the music, AYAMW begs for your dismissal. Many longtime Fall fans have already done so, apparently, but then again, the disparate nature of the band's catalog practically insures that one person's favorite will be another's low point.

Eschewing the recent flirtations with dance-pop, AYAMW finds the Fall in rackety garage-punk mode, with Smith's drunkenly slurred vocals front and center in the mix (to the point of distortion, on the infectious rant "My Ex-Classmate's Kids"). The hypnotic "Crop-Dust" sounds like it was produced by a small child exploring all the shiny buttons on the mixing desk, but the effect is not unwelcome. "Kick The Can" stops and turns into a completely different tune midway through, as though Smith tried pairing his lyrics with two separate backing tracks and, being unable to choose between them, decided to present both. There's a similar rift in "Ibis-Afro Man," a deconstruction of an old Iggy Pop song, although Smith takes it to a degree of fractiousness that borders on incoherence. Smith tones down his sneer for a cover of the obscure Motown oldie "Gotta See Jane," and it falls a little flat, although he has another go at the lyrics during a rambling studio jam at the end of the album. "Hollow Mind" is a relatively straightforward Fall song, and it's a good one indeed; the pairing of Smith's chorus vocal with a basso profundo backing voice is a nice touch.

There's something to be said for a band that's done their time on the pop charts (see A Sides 458689 for the Fall's most accessible incarnation) and is still releasing such resolutely uncommercial records at this point in their career. The band may not currently be at the height of their powers—for a glimpse of how frighteningly awesome they can be when it all clicks, check out the live-in-Iceland CD Austurbaejarbio—but AYAMW proves that, in spite of surface appearances, there's still plenty of vitality left in the band's perpetually discontented frontman. Smith may not want you to take the new Fall album too seriously, but you should.

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Tim Wesley reviews the film 24 Hour Party People:

Having endured for a full hour Anthony H wilson the previous night at the book signing for '24hr party people' movie I was more than surprised at the cast of many in the films retro glide through Manchester via the factory communications story.

There is some witty post hippy post modern philosophy from Wilson played by steve coogan and some blinding turns by Andy Serkis as producer Martin 'mad professor' Hannet and paddy considine as joy division /new order manager Rob Gretton Lennie James turns in a good appearance also as factory/hacienda co founder Alan Erasmus as well as Shaun Harris' bob deniro esq Ian Curtis.

Although Mark E Smith playing a punter in his diamond pullover in a swift turn, there aren't many other fall connections apart from Rowche Rumble being played in the film but not the soundtrack and the falls own take of that period is known in the songs from the same period.

At times the film is indulgent and it would be nice to know what other people who were not part of the scene thought, it is still a fun film to watch and the reconstruction of the HACIENDA nightclub is visually appealing there were better clubs (Thunderdome) were totally eclipsed by the 'hac' but it did show a collision of class but not race/gender.

I visited the 'hacienda' only twice once for a job and once to see The Fall (with brix) play xmas'89 and I wonder really why would anyone travel 180 miles to go to a nightclub?

The scene in which Martin Hannet attempts to set Wilson on fire adds to the humerous mayhem created by the film.

But it will remain to be said the factory crew similar to the Fall tried to create something from nowt.

24 HOUR PARTY PEOPLE goes on National release on APRIL 5TH

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Thanks to Carsten Stockter, this interview from the Sept. 2001 SPEX (http://www.spex.de) with Henry Rollins:

Excerpt from:
"Henry Rollins: Rock 'n Roll Ninja"
An interview by Harry Streng. SPEX 9/01, page 38/39. [The name 'Streng' is probably some kind of joke. It means something like severe, harsh, hard, rigid, stern etc. I never heard of a guy with that name - CS.]

HR: I invested over a million dollars to release all these bands and writers on my label and believe it or not: The money is gone. It took me all my life to earn it and now it's gone. I almost even lost my house. And what did it bring me? Nothing. All projects went haywire big time, but I don't care because there were some wonderful things amongst them.

HS: Such as...?

HR: Together with Rick Rubin I founded a label called Infinite Zero. The idea was to assemble all those artists whose records aren't available anymore and to re-release them, remastered, in a cool package, and for a fair price. Warner gave us the money so at first we checked out which bands were rotting in Warner's vault. You wouldn't believe it, we found Gang of Four, the first Devo-LPs, all of them out of print - it's a fucking crime! Alan Vega, The Fall, all the big names.

HS: You released The Fall?

HR: Not really. I mean, Mark E. Smith is a god, a total genius but he wanted £25,000 in advance - which he got, and for it he sent us four fucked up tapes without informational material, without nothing. We were negotiating with him for a whole year and in the end I gave up and said: "If you are such an asshole, you won!" So it has come to nothing. Warner dropped us, the critics loved us but we just did what every label should do, that is to make these wonderful records available. We weren't successful, but nothing can beat the feeling when a 15-year-old tells you: "Hey, I listened to Gang of Four, they are brilliant!" Man, that's just awesome!

HS: It's a shame; I can't even imagine a life without Gang of Four or The Fall.

HR: Yeah. What I'm saying is: Go buy your Limp Bizkit records and that stuff by Marylin Manson but please, save some room in your brain for something else. There's so much good music. Keep some space for Bob Dylan, Bob Marley, Beethoven, Duke Ellington, Hank Williams, Jane's Addiction; all of this is just great.

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Thanks to Stephen, a great June 1991 Select interview by David Cavanagh (PDF - 760 kb).

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Thanks to Tom Wootton:

Here's a couple of things that I've been meaning to send you for a while, one is but a flimsy bit of Mike Clarke flam in the Evening Standard from last year that I found while tidying up my room. The other is a load of piff from a student newspaper that I found unnaccountably undestroyed in my house.

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What was the last book/CD you bought?

Can I tell you about the first book I bought here? It was "Alternative London", a guide that told you how to get free electricity, find a squat, and roll a joint. I prefer buying vinyl but my record player's in storage at the moment so I buy CD's. I've just got hold of a copy of the new Fall CD "Are You Are Missing Winner", which is great.

(Evening Standard ES Magazine, p9 interview with Michael Clarke in My London feature, 26 October 2001)

***

There you go, barely worth typing out was it? Anyway, 'I can't go on, I'll go on' and all that...

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THE FALL - Are You Are Missing Winner (Cog Sinister)

This time they really are taking the piss. Throughout his quarter-century long career, Mark E. Smith has consistently ripped the piss out of his band, his fans, music and life in general. This is a good thing, and the ridiculously titled "Are You Are Missing Winner" is no exception to this rule, but in terms of musical quality the record nosedives dramatically. While The Fall's last outing, "The Unutterable," showed a punk band alive and kicking, dallying with drum'n'bass, this year's effort is decidedly lacklustre. "My Ex-Classmates' Kids" is a particular offender, repeating the same old riffs in a very pale imitation of previous Fall records. Tantalisingly, "Ibis-Afro Man" offers a brief whiff of former glories, as Smith claims to have eaten a skunk for breakfast over a backing sample that features maddened chimpanzees screaming. This is the kind of thing that the formerly gazelle-like Smith has taught us to expect - but sadly the rest of the record disappoints.

[2 shaded in square blocks out of a possible 5]

Jane Hamlett

London Student Issue 6, December 10th 2001 - January 14th 2002

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Load of old unbrrrzpat basically. Still, scotches the peculiarly resilient "The Fall, they're just a student band myth' doesn't it?"

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International Megastar Michael Major updates his Fall pisstrack table:

I had a theory once* that the quality of pisstrack correlated very strongly to the presence of a violin in said pisstrack. This theory would confirm (scientifically) that Afro Man is crap. The corollary to the theory dealt with the "The general decline in quality of pisstracks on Fall albums as a function of time." It was shot down as nonsense by Mr. McBride and by the historical record, but I'll repost the data set from which it was formulated for your consideration...

* please note: the theory and its corollary were mine

Afro Man doesn't strictly meet the specification for pisstrack because it doesn't seem to have been recorded in Mark's front room and is free of hiss from cassette deck recording, but the monkey screeching is as close substitute for that as one could want.

p.s. The possibility exists that these findings have not accounted for each and every pisstrack in the back catalogue, and if so it's because the National Science Foundation wouldn't front additional research funds to hire a post-doc to sharpen my pencils and take my goddamn trash out.

 

Apr. 19, 2002

This is the latest news and gossip off FallNet for those with weak stomachs.

If you have anything to say, you can mail Stefan, but you can't mail the FallNet mailing list direct anymore. To subscribe to FallNet, send mail to fallnet-subscribe@ yahoogroups.com. The Freedonia list is out of action.