Formed in Manchester, England, in 1977, the Fall is the brainchild of the mercurial Mark E. Smith (b. Mark Edward Smith, 5 March 1957, Salford, Lancashire, England). Over the years, Smith has ruthlessly utilised a battalion of musicians while taking the band on a personal odyssey defined by his wayward musical and lyrical excursions. His truculent press proclamations, by turns hysterically funny or sinister, also illuminated their career. Just as importantly, BBC disc jockey John Peel became their most consistent and fervent advocate, with the band recording a record number of sessions for his Radio 1 show.
The first Fall line-up, featuring Una Baines (electric piano), Martin Bramah (guitar), Karl Burns (drums) and Tony Friel (bass), made their debut on "Bingo Master's Break-Out!", a good example of Smith's surreal vision, coloured by his relentlessly northern working-class views. Initially signed to the small independent label Step Forward, the Fall recorded three singles, including the savage "Fiery Jack", plus Live At The Witch Trials, by which the time the line-up featured Smith, Bramah, Burns, Marc Riley (bass), and Yvonne Pawlett (keyboards). In 1980 the unit signed to Rough Trade Records and went on to release the critically acclaimed but still wilfully obtuse singles "How I Wrote 'Elastic Man'" and "Totally Wired".
Further personnel changes followed at an alarming rate, with the band's most stable line-up during this period featuring Riley (now on guitar), Steve Hanley (bass), Paul Hanley (drums), and Craig Scanlon (guitar). The Fall's convoluted career continued to produce a series of discordant, yet frequently fascinating albums, from the early menace of Dragnet (1979) to the chaotic Hex Enduction Hour (1982). At every turn Smith worked hard to stand aloof from any prevailing trend, his suspicious mind refusing to make concessions to the mainstream. An apparent change in the band's image and philosophy occurred during 1983 with the arrival of future wife Brix (b. Laura Elisse Salenger, 12 November 1962, USA), and the departure of Riley to form the Creepers. As well as appearing with the Fall as singer and guitarist, Brix later recorded with her own outfit, the pop-orientated Adult Net. She first appeared on the Fall's Perverted By Language, and her presence was felt more keenly when the Fall unexpectedly emerged as a potential chart act, successfully covering R. Dean Taylor's "There's A Ghost In My House" and later the Kinks' "Victoria". Despite this, Mark E. Smith's deadpan voice and distinctive, accentuated vocals still dominated the band's sound, along with his backing band's ceaseless exploration of the basic rock riff.
On later albums such as the almost flawless This Nation's Saving Grace (1985) and The Frenz Experiment (1988), the Fall lost none of its baffling wordplay or nagging, insistent rhythms, but the work seemed more focused and accessible. The line-up changes had slowed, although more changes were afoot with the arrival of drummer Simon Wolstenscroft and keyboard player Marcia Schofield. Proof of Smith's growing stature among the popular art cognoscenti was the staging of his papal play Hey! Luciani and the involvement of dancer Michael Clarke in the production of I Am Kurious Oranj. Any suggestions that the Fall might be slowly heading for a degree of commercial acceptance underestimated Smith's restless spirit.
By the turn of the decade Brix had left the singer and the band (he maintains he "kicked her out'), and Schofield followed soon afterwards. A succession of labels did little to impair the band's 90s output, with the Fall's leader unable to do wrong in the eyes of their hugely committed following, which now had outposts throughout America. Brix returned in time to guest on 1995's Cerebral Caustic, although Smith had persevered in her absence, recording four strong albums, with 1993's The Infotainment Scan even reaching number 9 in the UK album charts. 1997"s In The City featured a live set recorded the previous year, and was followed by Smith's thirtieth album, Levitate, which experimented with dance rhythms. A glut of compilations of unreleased, live or alternative material flooded the market during this period, swelling the band's discography.
Long-term bass player Steve Hanley walked out, along with two other musicians, following an onstage fight at a show in New York in April 1998. True to form, Smith assembled a new band and returned with a series of excellent, thoroughly contemporary albums, including The Marshall Suite (1999), The Unutterable (2000) and Fall Heads Roll (2005). He also collaborated with Andi Toma and Jan St. Werner of electronica duo Mouse On Mars on the Von Südenfed project, and recorded two solo spoken word albums. Smith published his typically challenging and entertaining autobiography in 2008.
Unpredictable and unique, the Fall under Smith's guidance remains one of the UK's most uncompromising bands.
