The Fall | Tempo House | Live at the Hacienda | Manchester | 27 July 1983
It’s forty years since the Fall released their sixth studio album, Perverted by Language, on the 12th of December 1983. Here’s a live track from the album, synced to live footage from the same show.
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The Fall front-man Mark E. Smith had an abrasive Northern aesthetic. His kitchen sink realism and magic realism was backed up by an ever changing cast of musicians. There were so many iterations of his band, the Fall, that Dave Simpson wrote a book about the 60 or so ex-members, called The Fallen.
I couldn’t get my head around the Fall, until lineup # 16 - Mark E. Smith (vocals), Craig Scanlon (guitar), Marc Riley (guitar, keyboards), Steve Hanley (bass), Paul Hanley (drums), Karl Burns (drums, bass).
In November 1981, the first recorded evidence of the new 2-drummer Fall lineup, was the magnificent single "Lie Dream of a Casino Soul". That year a previous Fall drummer Karl Burns had been substituting for Paul Hanley on a US tour, when the latter was denied a visa for being too young. On the Fall’s return to the UK, Smith had Burns stay on as a second drummer.
Then in March 1982, the Fall released IMO their finest album, Hex Enduction Hour. Something was and still is just so right about Hex for me. The following month saw a new single, Look, Know / I'm into C.B. And then in October, whilst I was still trying to figure out Hex, there was already another album, Room to Live, and it’s bonkers single, Marquis Cha-Cha.
Things went quiet for a while in terms of releases, whilst the band toured extensively.
In March 1983, John Peel broadcasted a new session by the Fall (their sixth with him). It was stunning set of four very long new tracks. Included was Garden, which became my favorite Fall song - a sparse but but powerful drums dominated 10 minute groove, with lyrics so oblique, to this day I still don’t know what the song is about.
I taped that session, and played it to death, until I knew every lyric and note. And then finally my chance came to see the Fall a couple of months later, on 21 May 1983 at the Electric Ballroom, in London. I remember I bought one drink at the bar, and then squeezed myself in at the front of the stage and waited.
The Fall started with a brilliant new song that I hadn’t hear before, Tempo House. Again, a long bare bones double drummer driven groove, with almost no guitar playing, possibly none at all. The set consisted of almost all new songs, including the four aforementioned Peel session tracks. The set finished with a mind blowing version of Garden. And that was it for me, the Fall were my new favorite band for the next 6 months or so.
As the year progressed, the singles The Man Whose Head Expanded / Ludd Gang, and Kicker Conspiracy / Wings were released. And rounding off 1983, was the Perverted by Language LP. IMO, that album isn’t as good as the Peel session versions and the live shows I saw. Then with a more commercial influence coming to the fore, I gradually became less fanatical.
For me, the version of the Fall that I particularly cherish is the double drummer lineups, from late ’81 to late ‘83. And that Electric Ballroom gig remains one of the best live shows I ever saw by any band.
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New Quietus article out today, The Fall’s Perverted By Language Revisited 40 Years On : https://thequietus.com/articles/33698-the-fall-perverted-by-language-review
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The visual source for this video is the 2003 Cherry Red DVD, Perverted by Language Bis. That DVD is mastered so badly, I couldn’t do much to radically improve things. At least by syncing it to the Perverted by language album audio we get great sound.
Thanks for watching, hope you dig it!
Credits
Video:
The Fall | Tempo House | Live at the Hacienda | 27 July 1983 | Perverted By Language Bis DVD | Cherry Red Films | 2003
Audio:
Tempo House | The Fall | Live at the Hacienda | 27 July 1983 | Perverted By Language ℗ 2005 Sanctuary Records Group Ltd., a BMG Company Performance: The Fall Composer: Mark E. Smith Composer: Stephen Hanley
Musicians:
Mark E. Smith | vocals, keyboard
Craig Scanlon | guitar, backing vocals
Steve Hanley | bass
Paul Hanley | drums
Karl Burns | drums
Facts, dates and even some phrases knicked from the brilliant fan site, https://thefall.org
Huge thanks to Gary at Pulse Records, for unearthing the uber-rare Perverted By Language Bis DVD for me. Pulse Records - a great source for rare and sought-after vinyl and CDs http://www.pulserecords.co.uk/
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