Stewart Lee hosts a discussion on The Big Midweek: Life Inside The Fall with Steve Hanley and Olivia Piekarski, plus guests Brix Smith Start and Simon Rogers.
Recorded at Waterstones, Islington Green, 19 September 2014.
For more on The Big Midweek visit: www.thebigmidweek.wordpress.com
Erstwhile members of The Fall reunite after reading Steve Hanley’s memoir
The publication of bassist Steve Hanley’s book – The Big Midweek: Life Inside The Fall – has been the unexpected catalyst to bring former band mates back to play together again. Tracing his time in seminal British band The Fall, Hanley’s book, praised for its novel-like narrative that puts readers in touching distance of the action, has vividly brought the band back to life for fans and former members alike, including Brix Smith-Start, the iconic Fall guitarist throughout the 1980s.
‘A lot of ex-band mates came to the book launch, some I hadn’t seen for over 20 years’ says Steve Hanley, ‘and there was talk afterwards of maybe doing something together again.’
A few meetings later and soon they were rehearsing old songs and new. Demand for a Christmas gig to celebrate the success of The Big Midweek provided the perfect opportunity to play live.
‘When we read Steve’s book, it reminded us how well it could work and how great those songs were,’ says Brix, these days famous for her role as a television fashion expert. ‘It feels so good to be playing again. I love playing with these guys and I’ve missed it. It’s exciting to see where we will go with this.’
The Fall has a reputation as a band with hundreds of ex-members, due to a revolving-door recruitment policy and cantankerous front man Mark E Smith hiring and firing on a whim. This is a stigma Hanley refutes. ‘If you count only the people who made a proper commitment to the band, rather than just playing the odd gig, there was less than a dozen significant members in my time.’
Hanley’s driving bass is synonymous with the band’s unique sound, Mark E Smith describing it as ‘the sound of The Fall’. He is the longest serving member of The Fall apart from Mark E Smith himself. Recruited at the age of 19, he was nearly 40 by the time he left in 1998 following an on-stage fight at a concert in New York. Many fans believe that the spirit of The Fall was lost that night.
‘Many of the ex-band members left The Fall in acrimonious circumstances, and that negative experience has tended to cloud their memories in a negative way,’ says Olivia Piekarski, co-author of the book. ‘This was certainly the case with Steve, but the more we dug away at the past, the more the good times started to resurface and he began to realise he’d had a much better time of it than he thought. The other band members report a similar feeling when they read the book. It shows how powerful the written word can be.’
‘I was twenty years in The Fall but it took writing a book to get interviewed for Bass Guitar Magazine, proof the pen is mightier than the string,’ says Hanley, reflecting on reaction to The Big Midweek. ‘The book is a gift that just keeps on giving, it’s like the Coronation Street version of Searching For Sugar Man.’
The Fall – still going with the only constant Mark E Smith at the helm – is notorious for seldom playing songs from their back catalogue, meaning some classic songs will get their first airing for over 20 years when Brix and The Extricated make their debut at The Ruby Lounge, Manchester, on 13 December. With Brix Smith-Start on guitar and vocals, Steve Hanley on bass and brother Paul Hanley on drums (‘The greatest rhythm section in rock n roll’ – Luke Haines), Steve Trafford on guitar and vocals and Jason Brown on guitar, this is a dream line up for lovers of The Fall sound. The set celebrates music from The Big Midweek, including Fall classics, plus new material.
Gig Reviews:
>>Louder Than War
>>Silent Radio
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Set list: Brix and The Extricated, The Ruby Lounge, Manchester, 13 December 2014
Steve Hanley and Olivia Piekarski do a charity shop sweep and talk about the records they found on Charity Shop Classics radio show on ALLFM with Gavin Hogg.
We were humbled by the array of talent that came to support Steve and Olivia for the launch of their book, and the legions of fans / friends and ex-members who travelled to witness the spectacle. Here’s a selection of photos from the night.
The star attractions Olivia Piekarski and Steve Hanley at the soundcheck
Olivia Piekarski reading
The great Paul Hanley – Compere, Drums, Vocals and all round Master of the Ceremonies
Our question master, the lovely Sarah Walters
On guitar the legendary Colin Burns, an unsung star of the story
A touch of class on the keyboards, a delight: Fall founder member Una Baines
On lead guitar, riff king Jason Brown
A touch of glam from Steve Morris for All The Young Dudes
Our mystery man in balaclava for Container Drivers
Our compatriot, soul and blues sensation Helen Forshaw belting out Mr Pharmacist
The shy and retiring John Robb exploding into Release the Bats and Totally Wired
Yer Granny on Bongos. Totally Wired. The amazing Shirley.Friedman
Can you have a rock and roll book launch without a florescent hula-hoop dancer?
The mighty Tom Hingley burning up The Killing Moon
A Fall reunion party: Si Wolstencroft, Paul Hanley, Grant Showbiz, Marcia Schofield, Brix Smith Start
For more on the book: www.thebigmidweek.wordpress.com
Steve Hanley & Olivia Piekarski signing the 300 numbered edition of The Big Midweek: Life Inside The Fall. These books have now sold out.
You can still order advance copies if you want a copy before the official release date. Place your order here. (Books despatched week beginning 14 July 2014) Official release date 15 September 2014.
Read the first interview with Steve on the Fallnet website.
The first insider’s account of life inside The Fall, Steve Hanley’s story unfolds like a novel; from 1979 when he joined his schoolmates Marc Riley and Craig Scanlon in The Fall, he puts us right in the heart of the action: on stage, on the tour bus, in the recording studio, and up close and personal with an eccentric cast of band mates. These vividly drawn scenes give unprecedented insight into the intense, highly-charged creative atmosphere within The Fall and their relentless work ethic which has won them a dedicated cult following, high-art respectability and a unique place in popular music history.
Foreword by Marc Riley
www.thebigmidweek.wordpress.com
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