Mark E. Smith and the Fall: Art, Music and Politics

These essays penetrate the fathomless depths of the Fall's sound and Mark E. Smith's Vision bringing back fresh perceptions that do not `explan' so much as enhance and expand the inexhaustible mystery of this singular band. Simon Reynolds, author of Rip It Up and Start Again: Postpunk 1978-84 and Totally Wired: Postpunk Interviews and Overviews

The strength of this book draws ultimately on the complexity of The Fall, with its cosmic library of `screwed up' lyrics to unfold, and its vast conurbation of psychic soundscapes to drift through. There is bound to be controversy over whether the band is a legitimate subject for academic study. The best response to the sceptics can be found in the pages of this brilliant collection. Simon Ford, author of The Wreckers of Civilisation and Hip Priest

This volume offers a comprehensive range of approaches to the work of Mark E. Smith and his band The Fall in relation to music, art and politics. Mark E. Smith remains one of the most divisive and idiosyncratic figures in popular music after a recording career with The Fall that spans thirty years. Although The Fall were originally associated with the contemporaneous punk explosion, from the beginning they pursued a highly original vision of what was possible in the sphere of popular music. While other punk bands burned out after a few years, only to then reform decades later as their own cover bands, The Fall continue to evolve while retaining a remarkable consistency, even with the frequent line-up changes that soon left Mark E. Smith as the only permanent member of the group. The key aspect of the group that this volume explores is the invariably creative, unfailingly critical and often antagonistic relations that characterize both the internal dynamics of the group and the group's position in the pop cultural surroundings. The Fall's ambiguous position in the unfolding histories of British popular music and therefore in the new heritage industries of popular culture in the UK, from post-punk to anti-Thatcher politics, to the `Factory fiction of Manchester' and on into Mark E. Smith's current role as ageing enfant terrible of rock, illustrates the uneasy relationship between the band, their critical commentators and the historians of popular music. This volume engages directly with this critical ambiguity. With a diverse range of approaches to The Fall, this volume opens up new possibilities for writing about contemporary music beyond traditional approaches grounded in the sociology of music, Cultural Studies and music journalism---an aim which is reflected in the variety of provocative critical approaches and writing styles that make up the volume.

Michael Goddard is Lecturer in Media Studies, and Benjamin Halligan is Director of the Graduate School, both in the School of Media, Music and Performance at the University of Salford, UK.