An A-Z of The Fall - S (part 1)
S is for...
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| Photo from www.invisiblegirl.co.uk |
Steve Saporito
The lawyer who handled MES's case following the debacle at Brownies in 1998 (see B part 2). Smith was charged with third-degree assault and harassment charges relating to an argument that he and Nagle had had back at the hotel. A week later, he appeared in court and was ordered to undergo an alcohol treatment programme and anger-management counselling.
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Sargeant with Peter Hook & Shan Hira, 2009 (photo by Lauren Hyde) |
Rex Sargeant
Producer on The Infotainment Scan and Middle Class Revolt, he also produced a variety of remixes of Fall tracks, such as the latter LP's title track and 'Surmount All Obstacles'. Perhaps the most interesting one is this version of 'One Day'.
Sargeant also manned the mixing desk for some mid-90s performances. He even got a mention on The Twenty-Seven Points, being warned by MES (after an aborted first attempt at 'Idiot Jot Showland') that he’d better get the sound ‘sorted out’.
Scumech
The 1984 single 'c.r.e.e.p.' provoked some debate as to who might be the subject of the song. Some (inevitably) suggested Marc Riley; others thought it might be Morrissey. Smith denied that it was either: ‘It’s bits of things. A lot of people think it’s about them.’
According to Brix, it was about a tour manager called Scumech, hence the line ‘he is a scum-egg, a horrid trendy wretch’.
Sol Seaberg
Singer in a band called FC Domestos, who also co-wrote ‘The Man Whose Head Expanded’ and was the inspiration behind the 'Jew on a motorbike' line in 'Garden' (see J).
Sedgley Park
'My New House' is a rare beast: a Fall song with a simple, unambiguous subject. The dwelling in question was a semi-detached in Sedgley Park, just around the corner from MES’s parents.
In July 2021, the news that the house had been put on the market caused a bit of a social media kerfuffle, particularly regarding the shots of the rather dilapidated interior. However, it's worth remembering that MES had moved out of the house quite some time before his death to move in with Pamela Vander (which may have been the inspiration behind 'Second House Now'). Pam made her feelings on the matter very clear via Instagram.
Rod Serling
American screenwriter, playwright and television producer best known for The Twilight Zone, MES's favourite TV show (see this playlist post). He was an outspoken anti-war activist and opponent of racism. He died in 1975, aged only 50 - perhaps not unrelated to the fact that he smoked three or four packs of cigarettes a day.
Sex Pistols
MES did not, as is sometimes reported, attend the Sex Pistol's first performance at Manchester’s Lesser Free Trade Hall 4 June 1976 (it's likely only about 40 did, although 'I was there' accounts would suggest there were thousands). He was, however, present when the Pistols returned to the venue on 20 July, an experience that galvanised the first line-up of The Fall into action.
The Fall appeared alongside the Pistols at Denmark’s Roskilde festival in the summer of 1996, the latter's performance being cut short when they walked off after being bombarded with bottles. The Fall recorded a session for a Danish radio station in the backstage area of the festival (it's unclear whether it was ever broadcast) which included a 'No Fun At All' mix of 'U.S. 80s-90s'.
The following month found the two groups on the same bill again, this time for the Phoenix Festival, four of The Fall's songs appearing on a live album.
Another Sex Pistols connection is Bill Grundy's appearance on Seminal Live (see G). You can also hear John Lydon talking about his respect for The Fall here (a clip which also featured on the Fall in Fives Radio show #5).
Shelby
'Trust In Me', the final song on Fall Heads Roll, is one that small set of Fall songs that don't feature MES on vocals (some sources suggest he might appear on backing vocals, but I can't hear it myself).
The vocals are supplied by Simon Archer, engineer Billy Pavone and Kenny Cummings and Phil Schuster from New York band Shelby. Shelby released their sole album, The Luxury of Time, in 2005.
Cummings and Schuster described their experience on a now-defunct website, quoted on Reformation:
'Shelby arrived at the Gigantic Music offices this evening to sign their recording contracts… Hanging out in the lounge of the recording studio were Mark E. Smith and Elena Poulou of The Fall (who were there recording their new album for Narnack Records).
'Enjoying a break from recording their parts, Mark and Elena were happy to join in the signing ceremony acting as official witnesses. One thing led to another, and before the ink was dry, Kenny and Phil were in the recording studio adding vocals to one of the new Fall tracks. Mark christened the song "Kenny and Phil and Billy and Ding"… commemorating vocals added by engineer Billy Pavone and producer Dingo. We don’t know if the track will make the album, but it was a fun experience.’
Adrian Sherwood
Founder of the On-U Sound label; contributed to the production of Slates and Extricate.
'Shiny Things'
The Brix song that MES mangled and embellished with a wide range of outlandishly garish sound effects to create 'Bonkers In Phoenix' - apparently intended to capture the experience of attending a music festival.
You can get a clearer picture of the original song - which Brix herself described as rather ‘girly and sickly’ - from the 'Alt. Mix' that appeared on the 2006 reissue of Cerebral Caustic.
Harold Shipman
You might be forgiven for thinking that 'What About Us?' was the only song that took mass-murder GP Harold Shipman as its subject (‘there was a doctor going around / he was dishing out drugs / he was dishing out left and right / to old ladies’). However, there are several others, including Fat White Family's 'Shipman Decides' and Church of Misery's 'Doctor Death'. Most peculiar of all is music entrepreneur and convicted paedophile Jonathan King's 'The True Story Of Harold Shipman' which suggests, bizarrely, that Shipman was some kind of victim of the media.
'What About Us?' was a popular live choice 2004-08, getting 150 outings and often being stretched out to 7-8 minutes or beyond. The version played in Wigan on 18 January 2006 clocks in at an impressive 15:15 - the group attempt to finish around the 10 minute mark, but MES was having none of it and counted them back in.
Shuttleworth
Shuttleworth were Jenny Shuttleworth (aka Girl Peculiar) and Ed Blaney. 'England's Heartbeat', which featured MES on vocals, was an unofficial World Cup 2010 anthem. Lyrical highlights include 'In 2010 / going to African land / socks up at last / or Brazilian breakfast' and 'There was something in the score / I'd seen somewhere before / on the shirt number ten / it's worn by many men'.
Silence of the Lambs
Jonathan Demme's 1991 psychological thriller included a brief snatch of 'Hip Priest' during the scene where Jodie Foster's Clarice Starling is closing in on serial killer 'Buffalo Bill'.
There's also an interesting link with 'Married, 2 Kids', which contains the line ‘peculiar goatish smell’. The Thomas Harris novel The Silence of the Lambs includes this dialogue: ‘Can you smell his sweat? That peculiar goatish odour is trans-3-methyl-2 hexenoic acid. Remember it, it’s the smell of schizophrenia.’
Last week, I appeared on the The Puritan’s Guide to Fall Songs Guide podcast, talking about 'Couples vs Jobless Mid 30s' amongst other things. You can hear it here.
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