An A-Z of The Fall - B (part 2)

 

B is for...

William Blake

‘Blake, like Smith, was single-minded and eclectic, an autodidact with idiosyncratic spelling and a keen interest in occult and esoteric systems of knowledge. Both found it difficult to establish long-term relationships because of their erratic behaviour and short tempers and both were resolutely anti-commercial.’ (Simon Ford)

The best-known Smith/Blake link is 'Jerusalem'. The hymn, with music written by Sir Hubert Parry, was based on Blake's poem 'And Did Those Feet in Ancient Time'. 'W.B.' from The Unutterable is also about Blake (‘you've heard about mad Blake’), specifically his poem ‘A Song Of Liberty’. In addition, the closing monologue of the ballet version of ‘Yes O Yes’ closely follows a passage from Blake’s 'The Book of Urizen'.

Ed Blaney

A long-standing friend of Smith’s, Blaney played guitar on Are You Are Missing Winner, contributed backing vocals at several gigs and was for some time the group’s manager. He released an album with MES in 2008 (see here).

Bonjela

The baby-pacifying gum treatment is mentioned ('six pm Bonjela complexion') in 'Taking Off' from Ersatz GB. You might have expected this to be the only Bonjela reference in popular music, but it also occurs in ‘Pick Up The Mic’ by grime MC JME.

Paul Bonney 

In 2016 The Fall returned, albeit briefly, to a dual drummer line-up. Paul Bonney was an unlikely choice for the role, given that he was best known for his work with The Australian Pink Floyd Show. He played two gigs: Oran Mor, Glasgow (30 July) and The Lemon Tree, Aberdeen (2 October).

David Bowie

Four Fall tracks contain a direct reference to Bowie:  'Mere Pseud Mag. Ed.' ('a fancied wit that's mere imitation of D Bowie in "Man Who Fell to Earth"'); 'Hard Life in Country' ('D Bowie look-alikes permeate car parks'); 'He Pep!' ('conceptually à la Bowie') and 'Get A Summer Song Goin'' ('who sits à la Bowie'). 

In addition, on 'So What About It?', ‘the work's down the drain’ echoes Bowie’s ‘Suffragette City’; 'waiting so long' from 'Venice With The Girls' is a line that appears in 'Look Back In Anger'. 

But perhaps the best-known Bowie reference comes in 'Shoulder Pads 1#' - 'couldn't tell Lou Reed from Doug Yule'. Bowie, whilst in America in 1971, saw The Velvet Underground in New York and asked to meet Lou Reed backstage after the gig. He ended up chatting to Doug Yule (Reed had left the band the year before) but didn’t realise his mistake until the next day. (You can read Yule and Bowie's accounts of the event here.)

Christophe Bride

Studio engineer on New Facts Emerge, he contributed backing vocals to the album’s title track. The words are adapted from Jacques Brel’s 'Les Bourgeois': the original lyric translates as ‘the bourgeoisie are like pigs, the older they get, the more they become cunts’ (Brel never sang the final 'con' (c*nt), but it was implied by the rhyme).

Brownies

The most famous of all on-stage Fall disasters occurred at Brownies in Manhattan on 7 April 1998. It was Steve Hanley's final Fall gig.

Trouble had been brewing for some time: there'd been a walkout by the musicians at a date in Ireland the previous November; Smith appeared at the first couple of dates of their spring 1998 US tour sporting a black eye (apparently the result of an altercation involving Julia Nagle and a telephone receiver); much of the group's equipment was stolen after a performance in Philadelphia; the next gig in Washington (played on borrowed gear) saw Julia Nagle walk off after a couple of songs, frustrated by the unfamiliar equipment.

There's a fuller account of the Brownies debacle here, but basically Smith messed with Karl Burns' drum kit, Burns wrestled Smith across the stage, Steve Hanley separated them, Smith tried to grab Tommy Crooks' guitar, Crooks kicked him up the arse, Smith launched into a slurred rant in which he called Burns an animal and Hanley an idiot.

The full set is here; the video below captures the altercation.

Post-gig events led to MES being charged with third-degree assault and harassment. A week later, he appeared in court and was ordered to undergo an alcohol treatment programme and anger-management counselling. 

Brownies was later re-named The Hi-Fi Bar, which then closed in 2017.

Lee Brilleaux 

'Brillo De Facto' from New Facts Emerge was, according to MES, some form of tribute to the Dr Feelgood front man: ‘It’s Lee Brilleaux out of Dr. Feelgood, but this track’s better than Dr. Feelgood. Imagine it played by Motörhead, with Pete’s guitar.’

Anthony Burgess

MES expressed admiration for Burgess' work on several occasions. 'To Nkroachment: Yarbles' used the Nadsat language of A Clockwork Orange (yarbles = testicles). The name of Brix's first group, Banda Dratsing, was Nadsat for 'fighting band'. 

In 2017, Smith was due to appear in No End of Enderby - a film installation project for Manchester International Festival to mark the centenary of Burgess' birth - but was forced to pull out because of ill health.

Duncan Burndred

Live 23rd June 1981 @ Jimmy's Music Club New Orleans was one of the live recordings released in 2019 on Cog Sinister as part of the Set Of Ten box set. It has a particularly peculiar cover, Marc Riley seemingly transforming into Dobby from the Harry Potter films.

Even more bizarrely, ‘Duncan Burndred’ appears on the sleeve notes, credited with 'the rest'. Burndred was the group’s driver 1980-81. He was also referred to in Slates & Dates (the press release for the group's 1981 US tour): ‘“Totally Wired is not off-hand” – D. Burndread’. 

Paul Hanley explained this in Have A Bleedin Guess: ‘When we were at the cut for ‘Totally Wired’ Mark asked [Burndred] if he could think of something for Porky PC to scratch in the run-out. “Not off hand” he replied, so that’s what he scratched.’ 

A  B (pt1)  B (pt2)  C (pt1)  C (pt2) D  E  F  G  H  I  J  K  L  M (pt1) M (pt2)  

N/O  P/Q  R  S (pt1)  S (pt2) T  U/V  W  X/Y/Z

Fi5 Main Page