The Ritz, Manchester, according to Ticketweb. £15 or £50 for a VIP ticket. This is the scaled-down Salford Music Festival event Ed Blaney is promoting.
Sun 31 Oct
Sinners' Day Festival, Ethias Arena, Hasselt, Belgium, according to their site. The line-up could've been the same in 1981!
Sat 20 Nov
Festival Saint Ghetto, Bern, Switzerland, according to their blog. Quite a lineup: The Residents / The Fall / Steven Stapleton / Charlemagne Palestine.
According to paperclip-agency.com, The Fall will play some gigs in The Netherlands on 29 & 30 October and 1 November.
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added 18 June; updated 30 August
update: The 4-disc set of The Wonderful and Frightening World of The Fall now scheduled for 25 October. One disc will contain the unreleased Saturday Live, Janice Long, and Kid Jensen BBC sessions. Full track listing and artwork on their site.
18 June: From Beggars Archive. The Wonderful and Frightening World box set is due in September and This Nation's Saving Grace by Xmas. WAFWOTF will include an unreleased, short version of No Bulbs but won't include the short version that was released on the 7" or the A-sides compilation.
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added 25 Aug
The lengthy press release for the Auckland, NZ show on Monday, 13 December:
95bFM and The Groove Guide present
The Fall
Monday 13 December 2010
Powerstation Auckland
Pre sales available from Tue 31st August 9am until Thurs 2nd September at 8.59am.
Presale info available by signing up at www.powerstation.net.nz
Public onsale from Thursday 2nd September 9am from www.ticketmaster.co.nz and Real Groovy Auckland.
Seminal English post-punk band The Fall are to return to Auckland, New Zealand – 28 years after playing the shows which Flying Nun released as the peerless live album, Fall In A Hole.
There have been many live albums since Fall In A Hole, but only one further opportunity to bear witness to The Fall’s uncompromising and unforgettable live experience in New Zealand: and that was 20 years ago. But now Mark E. Smith and The Fall are to set it all straight, and bring their bristling brand of social complaint to the Powerstation on December 13.
Now in their 34th year of existence, The Fall are the rarest of anomalies in pop culture: a band whose currency has risen with each successive release. This year saw Your Future Our Clutter – their 28th studio album – issued to acclaim, astonishment, and admiration.
Mark E. Smith has reshuffled the line-up of The Fall countless times over the years, and as a result,
The Fall have remained fresh, vital and energised. Legendary UK DJ John Peel memorably summed up
The Fall with the phrase, “Always different, always the same”. The Fall recorded 24 Peel Sessions
between 1978 and 2004 – a feat unequalled by anybody else.
Additionally, Smith has lent his inimatable vocal approach to many other artists over the years, including Coldcut, Mouse On Mars, Edwyn Collins, and most recently, Gorillaz on their album Plastic Beach.
The Fall return to New Zealand for the first time in 20 years, this December at the Powerstation.
Make sure you don’t miss out on witnessing this band’s legendary scorn and energy on this very rare appearance.
Media enquires: John Baker Email: actionman67@paradise.net.nz Ph: 027 366 0801
www.muchmoremusic.co.nz
www.powerstation.net.nz
Scattered observations on The Fall, on the occasion of the release of the 28th LP, Your Future Our Clutter.
Every LP by The Fall is the greatest LP by The Fall. Simultaneously.
*
The Fall do not exist on the ordinary evolutionary continuum upon which pop culture is routinely mapped. Conceivably, any of the albums could have been released at any point in the group’s history, in any order, by any of the line-ups.
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The Fall have never played any music that could be considered “of its time”. All configurations of The Fall played Fall music, which is neither a category or genre. No other group play this music.
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If The Fall do not exist, it is necessary for Mark E. Smith to reinvent them. Over and over. Again and again.
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The three R’s are repetition, repetition, and repetition.
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It is possible there is a secret lottery system by which one is called up for service in The Fall. It works like the draft, and your number could be drawn at any time. In 34 years, about 49 have served: and as Mark E. Smith famously stated, “If it’s me and your Nan on bongos, it’s The Fall”. No matter who the musician is, whatever their skill level or experience, once they are in Smith’s orbit, they become part of The Fall: literally, metaphorically, and -- arguably -- magically.
*
Mark E. Smith begins every show with the greeting, ‘Good evening, we are The Fall,” and he has never lied about this. As yet, nobody’s Nan has been playing bongos when he has said it.
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Some of The Fall’s album sleeves display photos of the personnel playing on the album within. Your Future Our Clutter is one of these: strangely, in this case, Mark E. Smith is absent. In his place appears to be a cropped photo of Robert Mugabe, who has never been in The Fall.
*
Smith has explained the necessity for changing the composition of The Fall by using the analogy of a sports team. While many people have a lifelong favourite sports team, whoever happens to be playing in it, Mark E. Smith once said he thought The Fall would be a favourite band for people who don’t have favourite bands.
*
If Mark E. Smith’s fellow Mancunian songriter Morrissey can be said to possess a “literate wit”, then Smith may display a “withering lit”. Despite many journalists investigating, it remains unknown whether either of these individuals are as prickly as their lyrics suggest they are, or whether they just can’t stand journalists.
*
Scholars, academics and sundry weird people have attempted to interpret the lyrics of Mark E. Smith and The Fall. A study of these papers and articles seems to indicate that this field of endeavour is generally inadvisable, except for when a) The Fall are covering other artist’s songs; b) the songs are instrumentals; or c) when the song being interpreted is Hey! Luciani, which is most likely related the play of the same name that Mark E. Smith wrote about the death of Pope John Paul I.
*
Smith’s research for Hey! Luciani was reading the investigative book In God’s Name by David Yallop, which presents a good case that Pope John Paul I was murdered. With this as source material, Hey! Luciani presented an even better case. To those who could understand it.
*
Shakespeare might not have written his own plays. Mark E. Smith drafted in a ghost writer for his autobiography. Ghosts appear frequently in the writings of Shakespeare, and in the songs of Mark E. Smith. Unfortunately, no Fall fan alive at present will still be here to discover whether Smith is as lauded in five centuries time as Shakespeare is nowadays.
*
Of the 150 or so Fall releases, some are legitimate, some semi-authorised, others are of dubious origin. However, the usual rules of engagement do not apply. Some of the more questionable releases contain live material, different takes or edits of somgs, and some contain entirely different songs by the same name. There are also entirely official albums that are a mix of live, studio and demo recordings of lesser sonic quality than cheapo bootlegs. It is up to you to navigate your way around.
*
There are many live Fall albums, but the long-playing debut Live At The Witch Trials was a studio effort.
*
Furthermore, Mark E. Smith “spoken word” releases often contain music. Instrumental music.
*
The Fall frequently re-record or otherwise reinvent songs; for example, Hip Priest begat Big New Prinz and New Big Prinz; and there are four different released versions of Sparta FC. This is nothing to do with running short of ideas or being “crippled by nostalgia”. Consider these sitiations as being akin to a genetic remix, with the DNA altered at a sub-molecular level.
*
The Fall do not seem to be designed for high fidelity, low fidelity, or anything in between. As with most aspects of the group, ordinary considerations are out the window. “Fall Sound” can be as accurately reproduced by the memory or in dreams as in any other format of playback.
*
After The Fall song Powder Keg was released mere days before a bombing in Manchester, Mark E. Smith was beseiged by the media bemused by the song’s prescient description of Manchester City Centre brought to a standstill. Mark’s statement was simple: “What can I say? I’m fucking psychic”.
*
In recent years, Smith has stated he is “no longer psychic”, having “drank his way out of it”. There is plerntiful evidence to suggest that this statement may well be the absolute truth. At least the drinking part.
*
The Fall has existed just over a decade less than the Rolling Stones.
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added 25 Aug
Saturday, 21 August 2010 For Noise Festival, Pully, Switzerland
O.F.Y.C. Showcase / Strychnine / What About Us / Cowboy George / Chino / Bury / Psykick Dancehall / Slippy Floor / Weather Report / Funnel of Love / Blindness / Hot Cake
Review of the Paintwork conference book in The Wire, thanks to Kyle.
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added 18 Aug
Saturday, 14 August 2010 Summer Sundae, De Monfort Hall, Leicester
O.F.Y.C. Showcase / White Lightning / What About Us / Chino / Cowboy George / Bury / Slippy Floor / Strychnine / Weather Report / Funnel of Love / Blindness
About a week ago Craig Scanlon recorded three tracks at Ding's studio with Steve and Paul Hanley: Howl and Scream (with Moet of The Hamsters/Sicknurse), NYC, and Portrait in Trash. Rumour has it that Marc Riley will play them soon, and Bob Osbourne will play a track on his Salford City Radio show tonight at 9pm.
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added 20 July
And Tommy Crooks is back on stage for a one-off gig at the Electric Circus in Edinburgh, again with Steve and Paul Hanley backing:
Instruments of Darkness
Art Late - Edinburgh Art Festival, Thursday 26 August, 7.00pm to 3.00am
A night of iconoclastic music and performance featuring artists and their associates from the exhibition Prints of Darkness, presented by Edinburgh Printmakers and curated by Sarah-Manning Cordwell, Norman Shaw and Edward Summerton.
Headlining this event is The Frankensteins who are Tommy Crooks - Ex The Fall (Guitar and Vocals) and Steve Hanley (25 years Bass Player with The Fall) who are getting together with a group of hand picked musicians to deliver a one off special performance which will include a few Fall songs.
Tickets available online from The Electric Circus or over the phone/email from Edinburgh Printmakers T 0131 557 2479 or office@edinburgh-printmakers.co.uk.
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added 16 July
Interview on The Quietus site with Jesus Jones's Mike Edwards on his working with M.E.S. on "Popcorn Double Feature."
Elena makes a cameo appearance in an episode of the new series of IDEAL which starts transmitting on BBC3 at the end of August. She plays a pretentious fine artist alongside Mark Radcliffe and John Robb - and she's excellent in it too. The show also features a guest appearance from Manchester's own Barry Adamson.
The Fall recorded a session for Mike Joyce's Coalition Chart Show at Blueprint Studios in Manchester on 16 June, and it was broadcast on eastvillageradio.com yesterday (17 June), with chat from MES and Mike interspersed between the tracks. It's well worth a listen. You can hear the two-hour show on the show's webpage, or download the Fall bit here or here.
In the "who'd've thunk it" category, Renegade will appear in a French edition, entitled Renegat. It's due to be published in November.
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added 27 May
Claus Castenskiold is offering his Perverted By Language tour poster once again. The posters are thick paper stock 30" x 24", in color. Each poster is hand signed by the artist and dated. The price is $25.00 USD for each poster (including shipping) in the US. The price for one poster to Europe is $30.00 USD (shipping included). The posters are sent in thick, sturdy tubes.
Payment options are; E-check, Paypal, or other pre-arranged payment.
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.
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.
30dec'09 Oct-Nov UK tour +Berlin +Milan; Slippy Floor single; Paintwork #3; Elena int. in La Bouche, Martin Bramah int.; Your Future - Our Clutter announced and delayed; HudLit transcript; Beggars archive update; Fallnet Xmas; Frances Stark; 100 Fall albums; Radio 4 Pick-ups; Factory Star; Pearl Divers (Mike Leigh).
29sep'09 Summer UK/Euro gigs; Factory Star; The Fallen twitter; another Smith/Blaney cd; Huddersfield Q&A; Beggars reissues; Greenwich Sound radio 1983; 1982 photos; Alan Wise; Chris Knox; Palais DVD; Jeffrey Lewis interview.
19may'09 Annual MES Missive; London, Glasgow, Cambridge gig reviews; Domino press release; Paintwork#2 exhibition + photos; Observer int; Nazi cattle; John Robb MCR book; Safi interview; Globo; Monks screenings.
04mar'09 Fall / MES+Blaney gigs; Paintwork#2; Broken Hip#2; Derby punk book excerpt; Huddersfield Lit comp.; Monks DVD; Gene Vincent radio; Lux Interior, Ron Asheton, r.i.p.; Fall rehearsal video; Dick Witts lecture; DNA's "Misery".
30nov'08vII - 2nd lyrics book; David Luff, r.i.p.; UK tour + 3 Euro gigs; The Fallen press; Smith & Blaney album; 2 Smith ints.; David "Bumble" Lloyd; Shiftwork & Holidays on DVD; Unutterable 2CD reissue; 2008 Fall Albums League results; Martin Bramah solo; Marcia Schofield's Private Passions; Orpheo on tour; Adam Buxton's Mojo promo; Globo
07aug'08 UK gigs and Euro festival reviews; Renegade & IWS reviews; MES Q&As; The Story of the Fall; Mojo Maverick award and auction; MES/ Blaney project; Bo Diddley RIP; Annual Bulletin from the Desk of MES; Scotland on Sunday, MCR Evening News, and BBCR4 Front Row interviews; WPRB review of 4/4/98 gig; Bard of Salford documentary; Maxwell Hall debacle
27apr'08 March UK tour / Renegade excerpts / The Fallen book / Imperial Wax Solvent / Squirrelgate / Daily Telegraph, MusicOMH, Uncut, Word interviews / Hex on Radio 4 / Blaney on Voiceprint deal / Messing up the Paintwork programme & abstracts / Fall news feed
21jan'08 VS / Fall gig reviews, Vice TV's "Soft Focus" int., Messing up the Paintwork conference, message from MES, MES reads Lovecraft, "Latch Key Kid", Suzanne Smith & Claus Castenskiold prints for sale, Flying Nun documentary, Dave Day r.i.p., Renegade preview, MES on BBC radio sitcom "Start", Unofficial Fall site now The Fall Online
16oct'07 Fall / Von Südenfed gig reviews, Zone / Jungle World / Chord / Taz interviews (mainly VS-related), Independent Q&A, Fall Box Set reviews, Hammersmith Palais DVD, Mick Middles' Complete Guide, Wyndham Lewis, myspace MES imposter, Fall Cup 2007, Derek Erdman Fall nights, Intermittent Signal (Simon W.), MES fabric doll.
3jul'07 Newsnight Review int., Independent Q&A, Barcelona gig, Von Sudenfed reviews & interviews, Fall box set, Julia Adamson, Hurdy Gurdy Man video, Word of Mouth, John Leckie TapeOp int., Reformation video, Ideal TV clip, Record Collector / Manchester Confidential / Harp Magazine ints., Lee on I'm Into CB, official site problems, Foggy Notions letters, PBL fiction collection.
12apr'07 UK tour, RPTLC reviews, Narnack edition, Reformation single, Von Sudenfed, MES's 50th, Uncut Q&A, Foggy Notions / Telegraph / Liberation / Rock & Folk interviews, Renegade delayed, Saturn 5, Universal reissues, Culture Show / Transmission TV spots.
22feb'07 RPTLC UK released, Malaga gig, MES interviews: Independent, Welt am Sonntag, Stool Pigeon, The Times, Fantastic Man; Johnny Vegas' Ideal preview, Memorex of the Krakens, Anjulireeves on youtube, Packing a Gun, 7 Wives of MES, Saturn 5, Grayson Perry, Brix's "Star," Frank Sidebottom.
30dec'06 Reformation Post TLC announcements, NYC & Strangeways gigs, Julia Adamson photos, Dave Milner songs, Gusgus Not Clean remix, Fall forum crash, Sonic Arts Network cd, PBL book, Mitsubishi Blindness, Monks live session, MES on Dylan.
30oct'06 Silver Monk Time & Monks gigs, Oct. UK & Ireland gig reviews, Ben Pritchard interview, "Renegade: The Gospel According to MES," MES DJ set on Radio 1, Environmental Health News, Stewart Lee in Sunday Times.
21sep'06 Simonfb, r.i.p., Bournemouth & London gigs / UK festivals, Silver Monk Time, Sunday Herald & Maximum RnR interviews, Julia Nagle's latest projects, another Peel tribute CD.
17aug'06 Brooklyn Vegan / Arena Homme Plus interviews, Oya Festival, Tesla-K, The Blimp, Tycoons Follies, Artrocker review, Tony Friel archive, PBL book update, KFNY poster, Billboard, more Voiceprint CDs.
13jun'06 US tour (second leg), more US press (NYT, The Pitch, SLC Weekly, Stop Smiling), Manchester gig (inc. MEN preview & FT review), What Sven Could Learn from Me (Guardian int. from last year)
23may'06 US tour (first leg), US press (LA Alternative, LA City Beat, SF Chronicle, OC Weekly), Smog Monsters, Morley on MCR/L'pool
1may'06 Berlin gig, Reclaimers' footy song, MES "In Their Own Write", Praxis Hagen exhibit.
6apr'06 UK tour, Greek/ Swiss gigs, "The Two-Year Gap" announcement, John Peel Fall intros/ outros mp3, Wire's Fall Primer, Q's Manchester special, Monks Beat Club clips, Fallnet's "Dr. Buck's Letters", Fall album survey results, Nikki Sudden / Ivor Cutler r.i.p., Brix's new house, cult musicians, Gavin Esler.
21feb'06 Official Fall site now Unofficial, Guardian ex-Fall members article, Mojo interview and poll results, IS, IAH, MCR & CC remaster details, Mixing It session, Antwerp & Wigan gigs, Ding's two new bands, Ghostigital, New Year's Honours, fashion corner: Brix interview & Lagerfeld show, Blue Orchids new album, history of Salford bands.
3jan'06 Word MES interview, ticket refund information, Festive 50, misc. year-end press roundups and Fall forum poll results, preview of Guardian's ex-Fall members article, MES lego minifig, Armitage Shanks & Necropolis Fall-related songs, Ghostigital's "Not Clean" & "Codomatopoeia," Corsa ad back on TV, John Peel's Record Box.
8nov'06 Fall Heads Roll reviews, UK tour, Incendiary, Rock Sound & Pitchfork interviews, PBL book preview, Commercially Unfriendly cd.
30sep'05 Fall Heads Roll details, MES to read footy scores, Peel tribute CDs, ChronicArt preview, Blast Off DVD sampler, Frank Skinner, Jacob's Cream Crackers, Stewart Lee, Deisel-U-Matic award.
18aug'05 Paul Hanley BBC radio int., MES Metro "60-second" & Kitchen Sink ints., 1979 Jamming! int., Deisel U Matic award, Paul Wilson's Fall Mix, Stewart Lee's favorite things.
26jul'05 Berlin & Paris gigs, Fall site news, Diesel-U-Music & Mojo awards, Live from the Vaults: the "real" story, Sanctuary / Slogan Records announcement, Mayo Thompson, Commercially Unfriendly CD, links to loads of Peel box reviews.
14jun'05 UK & Lyon gigs, Conway's guitar tab and Adult Net pages, Jools Holland, Deeply Vale cd, MES int. w/BBC on Peel, Lime Lizard 1993, Festive 50 book, Live from the Vaults delayed, Wake Up in the City, Cuz'n Roy's yard sale on ebay, Jahn Rhondos.
27apr'05 UK gigs, Left of the Dial & Scotland on Sunday interviews, Deeply Vale CD preview, Bingo Masters press release, Scherzo Schist, Live from the Vaults, Simon Reynolds, Simon Armitage, Prenzlauer Berg, Fall Cafe, Poloraoids special offer, Brix & Gromit, MES on Funhouse, Fall documentary transcript, the Fall wants your photo.
25feb'05 BBC4 Fall doc, Hex reissue, KFNY gig, Fall Forum's TNSG, Ice Magazine (UK) MES int., Sun Zoom Spark articles, Playlouder appreciation, unofficial Sparta FC video, Peel set postponed 1 month, MES's New Years Honours list, 9may81 photos, Hunter S. Thompson, RIP.
7jan'05 Jim Watts resigns, UK gigs, Pseud Mag, Festive 50, Deeply Vale, documentary, City Bar "fall-out", Polaroids on the Fall, Wipe That Sound, Narnack sampler.
Fall news on Twitter
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