Mark E Smith RIP

cranks · 24-01-2018 08:52PM #1

A true Great gone to make noise in other places. A sad day for old codgers like me.
RIP Mr. Smith.

loyatemu · 24-01-2018 10:03PM

RIP MES

I've only ever listened to the Fall fairly casually, but they had some great tunes, and Smith was always entertainingly contrary.

Pavement may have heard this one at some point:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bx48npNkabM

pumpkin4life · 24-01-2018 10:35PM

Dragnet to Bend Sinister might be one of the most insanely brilliant run of albums ever to bless a band.

All from a tone deaf mad fella who had absolutely no (at first glance) musical talent whatsoever.

Holy fùcking **** lads.

RIP.

Hex Enducation Hour was always my angry album lol.

Favorite song?

A JEW ON A MOTORBIIIIIIKKKE!

emo72 · 24-01-2018 10:40PM

never really got them, always remember them being hyped or great reviews. i bought the single freerange though, that was great. he was well respected.

Max Headroom · 25-01-2018 09:03AM

Another great loss...JP,s favourite band....

R.I.P

kunst nugget · 25-01-2018 09:41AM

A truly unique talent. I adored the Fall and tried as much as I could to turn those around me on to them. I failed completely but that didn't matter to me. I got to keep them all to myself. The Classical, Fit and Working Again, A Touch Sensitive, Hey Student, Spoilt Victorian Child... So many amazing songs.

NapoleonInRags · 25-01-2018 10:31AM

Weird....For some reason I decided to listen to the Fall on my train to work this morning...used to listen to them a lot during the 90's but hadn't given them a spin in years. So I'm listening to 'Bill is Dead' from Extricate - one of my favourite Fall songs and I fire up the BBC site to see that the great man had passed.

RIP

lordgoat · 25-01-2018 10:52AM

Never appreciated them fully. Loved how much he hammered bands he didn't like. Retarded Irish folk music. One of the last who truly gave no ****s.

Badly Drunk Boy · 25-01-2018 02:22PM

RIP Mark. I've probably been to more Fall gigs than any other band (Nick Cave would be close), and I've more Fall albums than any other band (although with their output, that wasn't hard). First saw them live in 1993, in The Tivoli (I'm fairly sure). I went down to Cork alone in 2008 to see them in The Spiegeltent and walked by Mark, by himself, in the Merchants Quay Shopping Centre but I didn't approach him. Never meet your heroes (just in case...)

A friend from school (late 8os) who is still a friend, always hated them no matter how strongly or sneakily I tried to get him to like them, he never came around. Until...last year he rang me from his English home and said "I absolutely love The Fall now!"

Badly Drunk Boy · 25-01-2018 03:29PM

I posted this in the Music forum but I'll copy'n'paste here.

I don't know if they still do, but on the Final Scores on BBC, they used to use Theme From Sparta FC as their theme. On November 19th 2005, they got Mark E Smith to read the final scores. After the first bit, if you don't want to got through all the scores, fast forward to 4:36. Funny stuff!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EBUiPs1PxKo

Declan A Walsh · 25-01-2018 07:18PM

What can you say about Mark E Smith? He certainly had a unique style of vocals. The music of The Fall was a kind of avant-garde post-punk nightmare... in the best possible way! It could be pretty discordant and challenging at times, not unlike Smith himself!

I was not overly familiar with The Fall's material but I did hear some songs by them and see some performances on the television, including a memorable appearance on Later with Jools. It is clear that over time the music did become a bit (only a bit, mind you!) more mainstream. My personal favourite has always been Totally Wired.

It is sad to see the passing of Mark, but, given his chaotic lifestyle, there was something almost inevitable about this.

R.I.P. to Mark E. Smith, a truly unique talent.

McTigs · 30-01-2018 09:32AM

Declan A Walsh wrote: »

television, including a memorable appearance on Later with Jools.

I love that his contract to appear on Jools contained the the clause that "under no circumstances is Holland to play boogie woogie piano anywhere near The Fall"

loyatemu · 08-02-2018 04:47PM

loyatemu wrote: »

RIP MES

I've only ever listened to the Fall fairly casually, but they had some great tunes, and Smith was always entertainingly contrary.

I've now been listening to them almost continuously since he died, I've only scratched the surface really but what I've heard is bloody great! If you haven't really given them a chance previously I strongly recommend starting with the 45-84-89 compilation - every track is a winner.

I've had this one pretty much on repeat (also Rowche Rumble - how had I not heard these songs before?):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ot3Bdtqq7fo

cranks · 08-02-2018 09:28PM

loyatemu wrote: »

I've now been listening to them almost continuously since he died, I've only scratched the surface really but what I've heard is bloody great! If you haven't really given them a chance previously I strongly recommend starting with the 45-84-89 compilation - every track is a winner.

I've had this one pretty much on repeat (also Rowche Rumble - how had I not heard these songs before?

I've pretty much done the same and, truth be told, it's hard to find a bad track - Even the duds are leant something by Mr. E Smith. This one has been my repeater

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mTKCKBu8CLI

Big Vern · 12-02-2018 04:47PM

Did anyone watch the wonderful and frightening world of the fall documentary on BBC4 Saturday night? Its been on before but was great to watch it again, The Fall had some really great songs.

Extricate would have to be my fav Fall album.

MES will be missed.

Mark E Smith RIP

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