An A-Z of The Fall - M (part 2)
M is for...
Tamsin Middleton
Alongside Simon ‘Ding’ Archer, a member of As Able As Kane, who supported The Fall on several occasions. She contributed backing vocals to ‘Touchy Pad’ from 2013’s The Remainderer.
Midwatch
In 1998, MES appeared in Mark Aerial Waller’s short film Glow Boys (see G). The following year, he featured in another Waller film, Midwatch. It was set in the galley of a ship returning from Operation Mosaic, a series nuclear tests conducted by Britain in 1956. Waller's website describes the film as:
‘…an intensely claustrophobic scenario shot in infrared that depicts the plight of two individuals trapped in the galley of a ship returning from the first British nuclear test… the characters, played by Steve Evets and Mark E. Smith of the band The Fall, act out their frustrations with each other in a comic rambling exchange.’
Presumably inspired by his experience of appearing in Waller’s film, the lyric of 'Midwatch 1953' from The Unutterable consists largely of variations on the chronologically curious question ‘Who could foresee what happened in 1953?’
Moderninity
One of Smith's favourite made-up words. It first appeared in 'The CD In Your Hand' and 'Enigrammatic Dream' from his first spoken-word album The Post Nearly Man. Variations on the latter composition were performed several times in 2001 and 2002, and it features on 2G+2 and Live in San Francisco.
It popped up again in 'Bo Demmick'
Monks
An MES favourite, Monks were a 60s garage rock band, previously known as The Torquays, who were formed in 1964 by five American GIs stationed in West Germany. Their sole studio album was 1966's Black Monk Time.
The Fall covered / borrowed from four of their songs:
- 'Shut Up' (on Middle Class Revolt)
- ‘Higgle-Dy Piggle-Dy’ (The Fall's cover was released as a limited edition 7” single in October 2006 and also appeared on the tribute album, Silver Monk Time; they also recorded it for their BBC Radio 3 Mixing It session , broadcast in February 2006)
- 'I Hate You' (reimagined as 'Black Monk Theme')
- 'Oh, How to Do Now' ('Black Monk Theme Part 2')
The Monocles
Psychedelic band from Greeley, Colorado, formed in 1964, whose chosen mode of transportation was a hearse. 'Kinder of Spine' may have been inspired by their disturbing 1966 single ‘The Spider and the Fly’.
Morrissey
According to Brix, the pre-fame Morrissey wrote many ‘fawning, sycophantic letters’ to Smith, who considered him a ‘twat’. Geoff Travis reported that Smith deliberately and disparagingly called Morrissey ‘Stephen’ whenever he met him.
It is frequently suggested that Morrissey was the subject of ‘c.r.e.e.p.’, but both MES and Brix have indicated that he wasn't.
Motown
During The Fall's second stint on Rough Trade, MES became increasingly dissatisfied with the label, and spent much of late 1983 negotiating with other labels. New label Creation were said to be interested, as, supposedly, were Motown.
The Motown story is a well-known tale: they offered the group a £46,000 advance, but hurriedly withdrew the offer when they listened to Hex and heard the controversial ‘obligatory...’ line, saying that they saw ‘no commercial potential in this band whatsoever’. This version of the story is a rather fanciful exaggeration. The label was, as Mick Middles points out:
‘...Motown UK, little more than a holding company for its American owner and The Fall interest lay rather more in the fact that it was manned by drifters from the British A&R brat pack – all of whom were big Fall fans – rather than some heartfelt desire on the part of Motown boss Berry Gordy to sign the band.’
James Murphy
When Von Südenfed’s Tromatic Reflexxions was released in 2007, several critics noted a similarity in sound to LCD Soundsystem – in particular their debut single ‘Losing My Edge’ – suggesting that Smith was perhaps showing their singer James Murphy how such things should be done. (Smith first heard the song on the radio whilst buying groceries: ‘This sounds exactly like me,’ he told the hapless shop assistant, ‘are you taking the piss?)
Murphy is a Fall fan, even once going as far as to say ‘The Fall are my Beatles’. Curiously, although the multitude of artists listed in ‘Losing My Edge’ includes many MES touchstones - Can, Beefheart, Monks, Lou Reed – the Fall are never mentioned.
‘Irish’ saw Murphy join the long list of artists that have attracted a sardonic glance from Smith: 'James Murphy is their chief / they show their bollocks when they eat'.
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