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Fall news

Stefan is having a break from the news page. Please email any news items to me at conwaypaton@gmail.com. Thanks, Conway


Merry Christmas from us at the Fall online!

Recent & forthcoming gigs

updated 22 December

Thu 11 Aug Terraneo Festival, Sibenik, Croatia
2-4 Sep End of the Road Festival, Larmer Tree Gardens, North Dorset
Sun 11 Sep The Electric Frog, SWG3, Eastvale Place, Glasgow
Sun 18 Sep Incubate Festival, Tillburg, The Netherlands
Wed 12 Oct Teatro Castro Alves, Salvador, Brazil as part of the Coquetel Molotov festival. The Fall has withdrawn from the festival due to "health problems".
Fri 14 Oct Teatro da UFPE, Universidade Federal do Pernambuco, Recife, Brazil also part of the Coquetel Molotov festival. The Fall has withdrawn from the festival due to "health problems".
Sat 22 Oct SWN Festival, Great Hall, Cardiff University, with the Nightingales and Ted Chippington. A limited number of cheap tickets available (£16.50 inc. booking)
Wed 2 Nov Stylus, Leeds. Tickets from Crash Records.
Thu 3 Nov HMV Picture House, Edinburgh
Fri 4 Nov Riverside, Newcastle
Sat 5 Nov Fibbers, York
Fri 11 Nov Les Indisciplinées Festival, Espace Cosmao Dumanoir, Lorient, France (with Wire)
Tue 15 Nov The Junction, Cambridge
Thu 17 Nov Concorde 2, Brighton
Fri 18 Nov The Auditorium, Leicester Cancelled due to venue closing down
Sun 20 Nov The Royal Exchange Theatre, St Ann’s Square, Manchester. Tickets available at the Royal Exchange box office (no booking fee for cash payment) and phone sales on 0161 833 9833.
Thu 24 Nov indigO2, North Greenwich, London
Sat 26 Nov Mr. Kyps, Poole
Mon 28 Nov The Laugh Inn, Station Road, Chester. Tickets only £10 phone 0800 6129714 or via ticketweb.co.uk.
NEXT YEAR:
Fri 10 Feb 2012 Gagarin 205, Athens, Greece
Tues 6 Mar 2012 l'Aéronef, Lille, France
Wed 7 Mar 2012 Le Bataclan, Paris, France
2-4 Dec
9-11 Mar 2012
All Tomorrow's Parties, Butlins, Minehead. Note: The festival has been rescheduled from December 2011 to March 2012.
Sadly for the many Brazilian fans, The Fall did not make it to Brazil. The festival promoter stated that the group withdrew from the festival due to "health problems".

Tim Presley played guitar on the UK tour dates in November, replacing Pete Greenway who is on paternity leave.

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New album & single

added 9 September; updated 21 September; 10, 13, 26 October, 23 November

Cherry Red Records has announced details of the forthcoming new album and single. Ersatz G.B. will be released on 14 November 2011 on CD, vinyl and digital download.

The tracklisting is:

1. Cosmos 7
2. Taking Off
3. Nate Will Not Return (originally listed under the title "Kennedy")
4. Mask Search
5. Greenway
6. Happi Song
7. Monocard
8. Laptop Dog (originally listed as "Laptop")
9. I’ve Seen Them Come (originally listed as "I've Seen Them")
10. Age Of Chang (originally listed as "Change")

On vinyl, side 1 of the LP comprises tracks 1-6; side 2 tracks 7-10.

Revised artwork

Preceding the album will be a 7" single. The single tracks have not been announced as yet, but Cherry Red says the b-side will be exclusive to the single.

Cherry Red is taking CD pre-orders at a price of £9.95 here and LP pre-orders at £17.99 here. The UK iTunes store has the album available for pre-order here with 90 second previews of all the tracks. It's also on the US iTunes store here.

The cover artwork shown above replaces the original artwork, below, which was displayed by Cherry Red at the time the album was first announced.


Original artwork

Latest update: Now that the album is out, Cherry Red has set up a dedicated Ersatz G.B. website - http://ersatzgb.yolasite.com - with photos, reviews & fan comments.

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Single details

added 30 September; updated 10, 14, 27, 31 October

Laptop Dog will be released on 7 November 2011 on limited edition 7" vinyl and digital download. Cherry Red is taking pre-orders for £4.99 here. According to Cherry Red's Facebook page, the two B-side tracks are different to the album versions.

The UK iTunes store has the single available for pre-order here and you can hear 90 second previews of all 3 tracks. The tracks are now listed on amazon.co.uk; the B-sides with the titles Cosmos 7 (Single Version) and Monocard (Lunatic Mix), confirming they are different to the album versions.

The tracklisting is:

A-sideLaptop Dog
Cosmos 7

B-sideMonocard

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added 27 October; updated 31 October, 8, 14, 23, 28, 29 November, 9 December

Reviews of the new album are starting to come in:

  • The Wire, November 2011 by Marc Masters:
  • Mark E Smith spends most of The Fall's 29th album with his snarl turned up to ten. "I had to wake up the cat to feed the fucking dog," he growls like a bitter grandfather over the hard rock riffs of "Greenway". The anger of those words is actually a rarity; most of the lyrics on Ersatz GB are playful and even comic, full of random observations and absurd interjections. But they're all delivered with spittle-filled vitriol, as if someone knocked Smith's teeth out right before the session and he could only spill blood and phlegm all over the microphone.

    Such bilious delivery makes even the goofiest songs on Ersatz GB shake with urgency. One of the best, "Nate Will Not Return", appears to be about a character in the American teen soap opera Gossip Girl. I'm baffled that Smith knows so much about it (presuming his couplets are accurate), but I'm even more fascinated to hear him bite so hard into them, grinding his jaw and swilling saliva until he has forced almost every line to rhyme with "Nate". That drool dribbles into "Mask Search", wherein he rants at everything (including Snow Patrol) with a sinister gurgle.

    Some might find the group's repetitive grooves too smooth a match for all Smith's spewing. But his bark infects everything around it, giving the music a nervous, vibrant edge and turning potentially slick songs into serrated mantras. By anybody's standards, "I've Seen Them Come" is sandpaper-rough, while the metal-clanging "Age of Chang" is all skin-piercing pound. I don't hear a bum note on Ersatz GB - except perhaps "Happi Song", sung too robotically by Elena Poulou - and its peaks thrust it toward the upper end of The Fall's daunting discography.
  • Louder Than War website by John Robb - 9/10 - link
  • Mojo, November 2011 - 4/5 stars
  • Uncut, November 2011 by Gavin Martin - 2/5 stars:
  • When considering the new Fall album, the allusion to the decline in the nation's craftsmanship in the title is painfully ironic.
  • Stool Pigeon, issue 34 - 4/5 pigeons:
  • If you include truncated 10" release Slates as an LP, then pre-eminent rock and rhythm combo The Fall have made it to their 29th album with Ersatz G.B. And if the barrelling pace of opener Cosmos 7 is anything to go by, they're speeding up, not slowing down. There's Stoogian bluster on Greenway, which along with Blindness is one of the sludgiest, heaviest things they've done to date, and includes Smith sounding like Fenriz from Darkthrone. Elsewhere his vocals are crystal clear, making lyrics easy to decode as the wind whistles pleasingly round his loose dentures, meshing beautifully with the hissing layer of cymbals alredy on offer.
  • The Skinny website by Simon Fielding - 4/5 stars - link
  • The Arts Desk website by Bruce Dessau - 3/5 stars - link
  • Clash Music website by Ben Brill - 7/10 - link
  • The Guardian, 10 November 2011 by Rob Fitzpatrick - 2/5 stars - link
  • The Times, 12 November 2011 by Neil Gardner - 3/5 stars:
  • The Fall's 29th studio album finds Mark E. Smith on particularly vituperative form, directing his ire at the shoddy state of the nation and at targets such as Snow Patrol in his familiar asthmatic wheeze. Having miraculously maintained the same line-up for three consecutive albums, the band seem happy to go with him, rocking it out on the metallic Greenway and adding an off-kilter rockabilly strut to Nate Will Not Return, while Mrs. Smith, Elena Poulou, sings Happi Song in the manner of a strangely upbeat Nico. A curious mixture of the slapdash and the inspired, The Fall remain as strange, esoteric and infuriating as ever.
  • Financial Times, 12 November 2011 by Ludovic Hunter-Tilney - 4/5 stars - link
  • NME, 12 November 2011 by Ben Hewitt - 8/10:
  • "I'm so sick of Snow Patrol/And where to find Esso lubricant." growls a phlegm-riddled throat atop of a riff so caustic it could corrode asbestos. And there's not even the faintest chance that such a stonking non sequitur could have germinated anywhere but the noggin of Mark E Smith. For while lesser mortals still pilfer from The Fall's handbook, he remains forever several pages ahead. Of all the things that could be deemed ersatz - a German word for "substitute" used mockingly by British POW's in WWII for the piss-poor imitations of bread and coffee they received in captivity - The Fall are not among them.

    Like 2010's Your Future Our Clutter, Ersatz GB sees Smith and co perpetually moving forwards. The rumbling riffs of Mask Search and Taking Off are fall-like, yet elsewhere they continue to lob the occasional hand grenade into the mix and revel in the resulting chaos - just witness Greenway, which sees aimless piano explode into mushroom cloud-heavy guitar, while Smith blindly chokes through billowing fogs of brown smoke.

    Yet it's his words that are truly inimitable - jumbled images with snatches of meaning floating amidst the din, with disparate nods to gum-healing ointment Bonjela (Taking Off) and US teen drama Gossip Girl (Nate Will Not Return). Perhaps most oddly of all, on Greenway, he's confronted with his own doppelganger staring back at him from a Danish TV screen before he surreally barks: "I had to wake up the cat just to feed the fucking dog." It's hard to decipher fact from fiction; or, as he grumbles on Laptop Dog, "Life was there but life disappeared/Searches all the bins", the remnants of lucidity buried amongst the litter. But then, there's really only one salient truth about Ersatz GB - the The Fall, even at nearly 30 albums old, still stand alone and aloft.

    Sometimes, however much you meddle with the ingredients, you can't improve upon the original.
  • Kicking Against The Pricks, issue 14 by Patrick Glen - 8.5/10 - link
  • Sunday Times, 13 November 2011 by Stewart Lee:
  • The Fall's 29th studio album in 35 years finds Mark E Smith fronting a kind of amphetamine-drone rock band. The 2011 model grooves on two or three cord riffs, pounding bass booms and Eleni Poulou's retro keyboard blips, like some ancient krautrock legend, but pin-eyed with punk intensity, spattered with Smith's keleidoscopic shards of dog-growled observations and serrated throughout by Pete Greenway's stuttering guitar skree.

    When Polou takes the mike to intone, Nico-style, over the bittersweet Happi Song, it's one of the Fall's mist successful changes of mood. Dear me. Now all other rock music suddenly seems rather silly.

    The Fall remain our most vital group.
  • Independent On Sunday, 13 November 2011 by Simon Price - CD of the week:
  • Never changing but never dated. Never alarming but never stale. It's a hell of a trick, but one which The Fall have pulled off for over three decades. Their 29th album arrives at an unusual time, in that they have a relatively stable line-up. Always prolific, they are now in a period of consistency unparalleled since the mid-1980s, and Ersatz GB is a fine addition to an excellent recent salvo.

    The highlight is "Nate Will Not Return" - a shaggy dog tale in the vein of "Athlete Cured" - but throughout, Mark E Smith is on top grumpy old man form, whether as the scourge of idiotic internet warriors on "Laptop Dog" or bemoaning the experience of modern shopping on "Mask Search", with the never-more-pertinent couplet "I'm so sick of Snow Patrol/ And where to find Esso lubricant". And if he doesn't snarl "I had to wank off the cat to beat the fucking dog" at one point, then it sure sounds like he does.
  • BBC Music website by Garry Mulholland - "a poor LP" - link
  • The Quietus website by Luke Turner - "To mediocrity, The Fall continue to say 'no'." - link
  • Mark Prindle website - 8/10 - link
  • Adrian Denning website - 8/10 - link
  • The Scotsman, 14 November 2011 by Fiona Shepherd - "Unmistakable Mark of quality":
  • The mighty Fall continue to inspire awe on their 29th album, finding fresh impetus in their Krautrock-inspired controlled chaos. Much of Ersatz G.B. (another terrific titling job) operates on the cusp of detonation, whether the spiky garage track Nate Will Not Return or the rockabilly rumble of Mask Search on which Mark E Smith announces "I'm so sick of Snow Patrol". Smith sounds more raddled than rattled on the metal-tipped Greenway, presumably named after guitarist Peter Greenway, and the lumbering Monocard. But this old ranter propping up the bar has lost none of his faculties when it comes to perversely poetic word association. Personal favourite here is "Bonjela completion", for the way the words sluice around the mouth.
  • Sputnik Music website by Joseph Viney - 4/5 - link
  • The Bulletin (Brussels), 18 November 2011 by PM Doutreligne - 5/5 stars - link
  • The Irish Times, 25 November 2011 by Lauren Murphy - 3/5 stars - link
  • Pulsomatic (France) website by Lionel Delamotte (in French) - link
  • Soundblab.com website by Rich Morris - 8/10 - link
  • Pitchfork website by Douglas Wolk - gives the album a damn good pitchforking with a mere 2.2/10 - link
  • Cleanville Tziabatz on the forum - 8/10 (would've been 9/10 if it ran 1% faster) - link
  • Peter Kemp's Record Reviews website - 10/10 - link
  • Drowned In Sound website by J.R. Moores - 7/10 - link
  • -------------------

    added 22 December

    One of our lucky readers, Ian Willey, got an extra special birthday cake this year... Happy 40th from us as well.

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    added 22 December

    Another Pascal Le Gras Fall-related painting for sale, this time the Interim cover, 2011 version. 50cm x 50cm (19.68 inches square), unframed on canvas, 800 euros. Contact Pascal via Facebook or Myspace or email me for Pascal's personal email address.

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    added 22 December

    Simon Wolstencroft is writing a book which will hopefully be published next year, entitled "You Can Drum, But You Can’t Hide". There's an interview with Simon on the Louder Than War website which focuses on the Stone Roses and Smiths connections, but no doubt the book will also cover Simon's period in The Fall.

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    added 9 December

    Merry Christmas Fall fans, from Pascal Le Gras:

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    added 25 November; updated 9 December

    Steve Trafford now has his debut album, What The Cat Saw, out on iTunes - click here for website link. The album is a collection of tracks recorded over the past 15 years under different guises and pseudonyms. He is also working on new material to be released next year. More info on Steve's website: stevetrafford.co.uk.

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    added 9 December

    John Robb has an interview with Julia Adamson about her Invisiblegirl record label on his Louder Than War website - link. For more info, see Julia's site: www.invisiblegirl.co.uk.

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    added 9 December

    Well known Fall fan Stewart Lee is guest editing the Today programme on BBC Radio 4 on 31 December 2011. Stewart says it will include Mark E Smith discussing the impact of the BBC's move to Salford.

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    added 29 November; updated 1 December

    Monday, 28 November 2011    The Laugh Inn, Chester

    Setlist: Nate Will Not Return / Taking Off / Psykick Dancehall / Strychnine / Laptop Dog / Cowboy George / Bury / I've Been Duped / Cosmos 7 / Blue Christmas (!) / Greenway / Monocard / I've Seen Them Come / White Lightning / Reformation // Mr Pharmacist

    Thanks to Philip Hurley for the setlist. Reviews on the forum.

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    added 28 November

    The January edition of Uncut magazine has a 2 page feature of MES commenting on 10 MES/Fall photos from over the years. More info and discussion on the forum.

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    added 28 November; updated 1 December

    Saturday, 26 November 2011    Mr. Kyps, Poole



    Actual setlist: Nate Will Not Return / Taking Off / Psykick Dancehall / Strychnine / Laptop Dog / Cowboy George / Bury / I've Been Duped / Cosmos 7 / Latch Key Kid / Greenway / Monocard / White Lightning // Mr Pharmacist / Systematic Abuse / Reformation

    Thanks yet again to Mark Howard for the setlist and the flyer. Reviews and some excellent close-up photos on the forum.

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    added 25 November; updated 28 November

    Thursday, 24 November 2011    IndigO2, London

    Actual setlist: Nate Will Not Return / Taking Off / Psykick Dancehall / Strychnine / Laptop Dog / Cowboy George / Bury / I've Been Duped / Cosmos 7 / Latch Key Kid / Greenway / Monocard / White Lightning / Reformation / Mr Pharmacist // Theme From Sparta FC

    Thanks again to Mark Howard for the setlist. Reviews and photos on the forum.

    Many thanks to Zane from the promoters, onemanmelt, for offering 150 free tickets to members of our forum.

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    added 25 November

    The Quietus has a lengthy and interesting interview with MES by Kevin EG Perry dated 24 November 2011 online here.

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    added 23 November

    To coincide with the launch of the Brian Blessed Alarm Clock app on iTunes (see below), Dave Milner has released a song on iTunes called "Hills (I live in the)" under the moniker of Skinnybrain. Here is the youtube video for it:

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    added 23 November

    Readers here may be interested in peelplayer.com which has audio and video of all the tracks from all the John Peel Festive Fifties! Unfortunately, the "Fallmode" button doesn't seem to be working (yet).

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    added 23 November

    Sunday, 20 November 2011    The Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester

    Setlist: Nate Will Not Return / Taking Off / Psykick Dancehall / Strychnine / Laptop Dog / Cowboy George / Bury / I've Been Duped / Cosmos 7 / Latch Key Kid / Greenway / Monocard / I've Seen Them Come / White Lightning / Reformation // Mr Pharmacist

    Reviews and some great photos on the forum.

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    added 23 November

    Thursday, 17 November 2011    Concorde 2, Brighton

    Actual setlist: Nate Will Not Return / Taking Off / Psykick Dancehall / Strychnine / I've Seen Them Come / Age Of Chang / I've Been Duped / Laptop Dog / Cowboy George / Bury / Cosmos 7 / White Lightning / Greenway / Reformation // Theme From Sparta FC / Mr Pharmacist / Latch Key Kid

    Thanks to Mark Howard for the setlist. Reviews and some great photos on the forum.

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    added 23 November

    Tuesday, 15 November 2011    The Junction, Cambridge

    Actual setlist: Nate Will Not Return / Taking Off / Psykick Dancehall / Strychnine / Laptop Dog / Cowboy George / Cosmos 7 / I've Been Duped / Latch Key Kid / Greenway / Monocard / White Lightning // Reformation / Theme From Sparta FC

    Thanks to DJ Hollerbusch for the setlist. Reviews on the forum.

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    added 15 November

    Mojo has a brief interview with MES, Elena & Pete Greenway by Ian Harrison on their online news. MES: "Computers Are Middle-Class!"

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    added 14 November

    There is a lengthy and interesting interview with MES by Robert Chalmers in Sunday's Independent newspaper, 13 November 2011, under the title "Life lessons: Mark E Smith on bullying, the occult and why Stalin had the right idea". Read it here.

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    added 14 November

    Graeme Larmour, one of the members of our forum, will be DJing upstairs at The Rock in Brighton on Thursday, 17 November from 6-9pm, prior to The Fall's gig at Concorde 2. The set will include many Fall favourites, as well as a short reading from Graeme's new book The Leper Colony. For more info, including directions, see the Halfcut Publications website.

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    added 14 November

    Friday, 11 November 2011    Les Indisciplinées Festival, Espace Cosmao Dumanoir, Lorient, France

    Actual setlist: Nate Will Not Return / Taking Off / Psykick Dancehall / Strychnine / Laptop Dog / Cowboy George / Bury / I've Been Duped / Latch Key Kid / Greenway / White Lightning / Mr Pharmacist / Reformation

    Thanks to Alexis Gautier and Julien Gaignard for the setlists and Alexis for the photo. Reviews and more photos on the forum.

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    added 8 November

    Article on The Fall and album review by Sasha Frere-Jones in The New Yorker, 14 November issue.

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    added 8 November

    Saturday, 5 November 2011    Fibbers, York

    Actual setlist: Nate Will Not Return / Taking Off / Psykick Dancehall / Laptop Dog / Strychnine / Cowboy George / Bury / Cosmos 7 / I've Been Duped / Latch Key Kid / White Lightning / Reformation / Mr Pharmacist

    Thanks to "The Question Mark" from the forum for the setlist. Reviews on the forum.

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    added 8 November

    Friday, 4 November 2011    Riverside, Newcastle

    Nate Will Not Return / Taking Off / Strychnine / Cowboy George / Psykick Dancehall / White Lightning / I've Been Duped / Greenway / Bury / Laptop Dog

    Reviews on the forum.

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    added 8 November

    Interview with MES and album preview by Ludovic Hunter-Tilney in the Financial Times dated 4 November.

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    added 8 November; updated 14 November

    Thursday, 3 November 2011    Picture House, Edinburgh

    Actual setlist: Nate Will Not Return / Taking Off / Hot Cake / Strychnine (MES walk-off, vocals from offstage) / Laptop Dog / Printhead / Cowboy George / (MES returns) Bury (MES walk-off) / Latch Key Kid (Elena vocals) / I've Been Duped / Cosmos 7 (instrumental) // The Love Between (instrumental) / Reformation (MES returns) / Mr Pharmacist

    Thanks to Peter Lyon for the setlist. The Love Between is a song by Tim Presley's White Fence project. Reviews on the forum, Coffee-Table Notes blog and this review was sent to me by Oscar:

    Fall Walk-Off! Hobble-Off!

    Who would be Mark E. Smith’s wife? Last night Fall fans were treated to simultaneously one of the worst and best gigs of the year, as the majority of the proceedings were left to Mrs. I Smith to fill in the gaps after Mark exited the stage.

    Things started promisingly: the band in great form and the new songs (we heard perhaps two of them) sounding excellent. Then Smith disappeared off stage (nothing unusual about that); spookily however, his voice remained. Was he perhaps paving the way for his own demise, when the band will have to tour to backing tapes of his lyrics? Soon the voice disappeared too, leaving us to endure the longest ever version of ‘I’ve Been Duped’, sung without apparent irony by Mrs. Smith.

    As far as a group of people in their 40s and 50s could be said to be restless, there was a certain fractious mood abroad in the crowd: a few squidgy plastic pint glasses were thrown towards the stage (emptied of the £4 contents); Mrs. Smith ill-advisedly greeted this with outstretched arms in a ‘come-ahead’ gesture. She explained before walking off that “Mark has terrible voondz (wounds) on iz feet and haz to walk up five flights ov stairs to get to zee stage” when this with greeted some derision from certain elements in the crowd, she replied “What? Are you a doctor?” before leaving to boos. Suddenly we were reminded just how young Mrs. Smith really is: her possibly misguided loyalty deserves the highest praise.

    To their credit the band took to the stage again to launch into an instrumental ‘Reformation’; Mrs. Smith was about to offer the mic to the crowd when suddenly, a fellow wearing a combat jacket, silk scarf and a handlebar moustache, leapt to the stage; at first it seemed to be all part of a huge practical joke, as the uninvited lead singer with admirable chutzpah, extemporized lyrics about going to see The Fall and Mark not being there. This was brought to premature end as he was approached by a large shaven headed bouncer. Before we could chorus “he’s behind you” our unknown Bob Calvert impersonator was led away, looking crestfallen. On the back of the bouncer’s neon-yellow t-shirt was the ominous message: ‘Stage Security, here to assist you’. More boos followed, but immediately gave way to cheers as none other than Mark E. Smith was led on stage supported on either side like King Lear by two stage hands. He sang the rest of ‘Reformation’ (sort of) before delivering a superb version of ‘Mr. Pharmacist’, complete with key-board solo. Then it was all over.

    Did I ask for a refund on my ticket? Did I throw a pint glass? No. My only thought was ‘I hope his feet get better.’ Misguided loyalty is clearly infectious.

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    added 8 November; updated 15 November

    Wednesday, 2 November 2011    Stylus, Leeds

    Actual setlist: Werewolves Of London / Nate Will Not Return / Hot Cake / Taking Off / Strychnine / Laptop Dog (MES walk-off) / I've Been Duped / Latch Key Kid (Elena vocals) / (MES returns) Cosmos 7 (MES walk-off) / Printhead (MES vocals from offstage) / (MES returns) Greenway (MES leaves half way through) // Bury (MES vocals from offstage)

    Thanks to Dan from the forum and Keith Morris for the setlists. Werewolves Of London is a cover of the Warren Zevon classic. Bit of a rough start to the UK tour, with MES offstage for about half of the 50 minute performance. Reviews and some photos on the forum.

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    added 31 October

    Tim Presley returns to The Fall on guitar for the November UK tour in place of Pete Greenway. Pete is taking time off on paternity leave. Congrats and best wishes on behalf of all our readers.

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    added 31 October

    Dave Milner has been up to a few things lately. He has been doing the sound for an iPhone app which looks truly genius - the Brian Blessed alarm clock! The app should be available from 18 November on the iTunes store, with an Android version to follow. Here's the youtube promo video:



    Dave has recorded the track An Englishman's Home under the name Skinnybrain - listen/purchase here. It won the British Amateur Recording Competition (multitrack recording) 2010, but has been added to and remixed since. Ben Pritchard plays lap steel guitar on the choruses.

    And a free plug for Dave's Pint-Sized P.A. Company. Anyone needing a PA system from Manchester to Liverpool to Sheffield to Leeds to Birmingham, get in touch with him through his website - here.

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    added 31 October

    Corporate tax avoidance scheme or Fall song title? Take the quiz.

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    added 27 October

    Remember the Perverted by Mark E tribute album that was put together by Woog Riots in 2004? They've just uploaded a promo video to youtube that was filmed in 2004.



    And here is the video for a Woog Riots song, Last Beat, from their forthcoming album Post Bomb Chronicles:

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    added 26 October

    Saturday, 22 October 2011    SWN Festival, Great Hall, Cardiff University, Wales



    Nate Will Not Return / Hot Cake / Chino / Cowboy George / Cosmos 7 / Strychnine / What About Us? / Greenway / Bury / Wolf Kidult Man // I've Been Duped / ? / White Lightning

    MES left the stage after 35 minutes, during Greenway, Elena sang the remaining songs. Thanks to Chris Butcher for the ticket and smoking pass scans. Reviews and some photos on the forum.

    Video of Greenway:

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    added 20 October

    Spanish artist Guillermo Rubi has painted this MES piece:

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    added 18 October

    The Joinery in Dublin is hosting a Fall Tribute night on Friday, 11 November 2011 from 8pm. Rebellious Jukebox Yeah! No. 3 is the third tribute night put on by Mick Stanley (from the group Richer Than Astronauts) and Maurice Leahy. Admission 5 euros.

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    added 18 October

    Kill Pretty is a new group featuring ex-Fall drummer Mike Leigh (now on a proper drum kit, I see, instead of the electronic one he had been playing). Some video clips from their debut gig, supporting the Subway Sect, can be found on youtube, on their guitarist Chris Dutton's channel. This song - Black Dog City Blues - was written by Craig Scanlon:



    Craig also co-wrote Babes In The Wood:



    If you follow the youtube link, you'll find several more songs.

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    added 13 October

    Cherry Red is doing a Fall DVD special at the moment. Get both Live At The Hacienda and Kicker Conspiracy Live 1983-1985 for £19.99 direct from the Cherry Red webstore.

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    added 12 October

    Wanda Jackson, the so-called "queen of rockabilly" and original singer of Funnel Of Love, plays The Scala, London on 7 November 2011. Details here.

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    added 12 October, updated 18 October

    Some old video footage found on youtube recently from Chicago TV archives includes The Fall live in Chicago at what is thought to be the Metro, 28 August 1993 (the beginning of the clip features the video montage by Pascal Le Gras that was played on stage):



    Another clip including U.S. 80s-90s live at the Chicago Metro, 17 May 1988:



    Thanks to Scott Coursey.

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    added 10 October

    For fans of Pascal Le Gras and his Code:Selfish cover artwork, Pascal has recently painted a 2011 version of the cover which he is offering for sale for 800 euros. It is 50cm x 50cm (19.68 inches square), unframed on canvas. Contact Pascal via Facebook or Myspace or email me for Pascal's personal email address.




    Pascal has also done the following video for the Si Begg Techno Mix of Von Südenfed's The Rhinohead:

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    added 10 October

    Out now on Tonto Books is Riverside: Newcastle's Legendary Alternative Music Venue by Hazel Plater and Carl Taylor. The book has a number of references to Fall gigs played at the Riverside. The hardback can be purchased directly from Tonto Books for £12.99.

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    added 4 October

    Susan Vale performs "The Fall By Numbers" as part of the 2011 Manchester Comedy Festival - 24 October at Apotheca bar in Manchester. Tickets only £5.

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    added 20 September

    The greatest bass player in the Fall ever and all-round top bloke, Steve Hanley, has come to the aid of the school where he works as caretaker. Suffering from budget cuts, Steve decided to organise a music festival to raise funds for Cavendish Primary School in West Didsbury, Manchester. The festival was held last weekend on the school's playing field and featured some of Steve's friends from The Inspiral Carpets and James. About 1,600 tickets were sold, raising money for musical instruments for the school.

    From the BBC News.

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    added 20 September; updated 21 September

    Sunday, 18 September 2011    Incubate Festival, Tillburg, The Netherlands

    Actual setlist: Nate Will Not Return / Hot Cake / Chino / Cowboy George / Bury / Laptop Dog / I've Been Duped / Taking Off / Greenway / Strychnine / Cosmos 7 / Wolf Kidult Man / Psykick Dancehall / Monocard / White Lightning

    Thanks to Rutger Kruijer for Pete's setlist. Reviews on the forum. A set of photos taken by Astrid van der Meijde is here.

    Videos of Nate and Psykick Dancehall thanks to Martin K:

    More videos found on youtube - Chino and Cowboy George:

    -------------------

    added 20 September

    Sunday, 11 September 2011    The Electric Frog, Glasgow

    Actual setlist: Mask Search / Hot Cake / Laptop Dog / Cowboy George / Bury / Greenway / I've Been Duped / White Lightning / Psykick Dancehall / Monocard

    Thanks to Peter Climie for the setlist and ticket. Reviews on the forum.

    Videos of Greenway and Monocard thanks to Declan R:

    -------------------

    added 9 September

    Friday, 2 September 2011    End of the Road Festival, Larmer Tree Gardens, North Dorset

    Setlist unconfirmed, but included Laptop Dog, Cowboy George, Bury, White Lightning, Mr Pharmacist, I've Been Duped and Psychik Dancehall.

    Reviews and photos on the forum.

    Video of Laptop:

    -------------------

    added 1 September

    Mojo magazine reports that the new studio album, Ersatz GB, is due out before Christmas. Produced by MES and Simon "Ding" Archer. Song titles include: Nate Will Not Return, Greenway, I've Seen Them Come, Laptop Dog, Cosmos, Change, Taking Off, Monocard (all have featured in recent live sets). A scan of the full Mojo article, featuring pics of MES and Ding, is here.

    -------------------

    added 1 September

    [Sic] Magazine has an interview on its website with Anthony Frost, in which he talks about the artwork he has done for The Fall - link.

    -------------------

    added 1 September

    Thursday, 11 August 2011    Terraneo Festival, Sibenik, Croatia

    Setlist unconfirmed, but included Bury, I've Been Duped and Psykick Dancehall.

    Brief review on the forum.


    22 December 2011

    This is the latest news and gossip off the message board, Fallnet, and elsewhere. If you have something to contribute, please email Stefan at fallnews@gmail.com.

    To subscribe to Fallnet, send mail to:
    fallnet-subscribe@yahoogroups.com.

    ta to biv for this


    Recent news...

    22dec11 Ersatz GB + reviews + press + interviews, summer festivals in Europe and UK, Nov UK tour, Live at the Hac pt. 2; Kill Pretty (Mike Leigh); Perverted by Mark E. promo vid; Brian Blessed Alarm Clock + Skinnybrain (Dave Milner); Uncut w/MES on old Fall lineups; Julia Adamson int.; Steve Trafford album; Pascal's "Blue Christmas" video; Simon Wolstencroft's forthcoming book; Ian Willey's 40th birthday cake.

    31aug11 Live at the Hacienda DVD; MES Guardian Q&A; Timekode & MES video clips; Fall sign to Cherry Red; Marshall Suite, Wonderful & Frightening World and TNSG reissues; Before the Fall compilation

    28apr11 TNSG Omnibus; Danny Baker; Euro/UK/OZ/NZ/Israel gigs; Don Van Vliet, Rex Sergeant, Steve Ormod, r.i.p.; Before The Fall comp; White Lightning promo vid; Pop Fiction; Marshall Suite 3xCD; FoF's "Hex Enduction Ours"; Bracewell & Wilde "The Art of The Fall" (1992); Middles' "Story of The Fall" doc; The Fall in Iceland press; Sex, Drugs & HIV; M.E.S. I.P.A.; MES Quietus interview; Factory Star's "Enter Castle Perilous"

    25oct10 East Village Radio session; Ideal; new Scanlon demos; UK/Euro festivals; NZ/Aus tour preview; Eat Y'Self Fitter redux; Susan Vale; Quietus, Vice & Brag ints; Mike Joyce, Adrian Sherwood ints.

    03jun10 YFOC reviews; UK tour + Primavera; Times (London & New York interviews); "worker bees" interview; Bury, England's Heartbeat videos; caption comp.; Beleaguered Fall Fan; Paintwork conference book; Bury/Cowboy Gregori 7"; Mojo, Tim Cumming Q&As.

    02apr10 Berlin gig; FIGFALP; Domino YFOC press release; Tate's "Sound & Vision" series; Gorillaz' Glitter Freeze; Gavin Friday int.; Beggars archive update; #1 Cult Figure (Alex Chilton, rip); MES as Narrative Lyric Writer; Quietus, Independent interviews; couple of Youtubes.


    Fall News archive