The Fall

Yes, I belong to the army of white middle class men who worship at the feet of Mark E Smith.

I went to see The Fall this week in a small club in Islington and it was great: a new young band with basic rock n roll chops, working to a very specific formula as defined by the man himself. It made me think of James Brown in terms of the repetitive licks and beats, the tight discipline, the extraordinary voice and charismatic presence.

For the first time in a while (I have now seen the Fall four times over a period of 15 years) Smith actually looked like he was enjoying himself too - a bit, anyway.

My mate Dickie has forward me the URL for the official Fan club site which contains the lyrics to every Fall song ever. It has to be one of the great unsung (and yet sung) collections of experimental lyric writing anywhere.