Exactly a year ago today on 24 January 2018, the world lost a true legend.Mark E. Smith taught me that you can become recognised as a hero, a genius and an icon without having to play the fame game. He had a complete disregard for mainstream trends and always fought against the bland and mediocre. He taught me that there was a lot more interesting things in music than hit singles.
Smith and the many incarnations of The Fall created music that was frightening, intelligent, bizarre, sometimes hilarious, and highly addictive. His band didn't sell huge amounts of records during their 40 year existence. Their biggest "hit" reached number 30 in 1987, and it was a cover version. Yet The Fall's influence on alternative music was massive.
I was lucky enough to see MES and his band twice, in 2010 and 2013. Both extraordinary, bewildering, chaotic experiences that left a lifelong impression on me. The last time I watched MES leave the stage in Bristol was the night that I filmed this excellent performance of 'Chino', with Smith buggering off halfway through the song and delivering the rest of his words while hiding behind an amplifier.
"When I'm dead and gone
My vibrations will live on
In vibes on vinyl through the years
People will dance to my waves" - from 'Psykick Dancehall', 1979.
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