Mark E Smith, 1957 - 2018

R.I.P. Mark

 

Drink a long draft down for the Hip Priest!

 

I couldn't let this chap's passing go unremarked on EE. Throughout its manifold manifestations spanning 4 decades The Fall remained a truly exceptional band. Ever uncompromising and fiercely independent, Mark E Smith's eschewal of music biz expectations endured as a signature of the Prestwich Wizard. Commenting late last year on the BBC's erroneous announcement of his passing (on the occasion of his 60th birthday - fellow Pisceans he and I), Mark remarked: 'obviously it was the BBC, the idiots. It was stopped in minutes by Fall fans'. Well now Fall fans Earthwide will greatly mourn the death of a true legend. As a mark of respect to this maverick genius I'm posting here an entertainingly combative Fall interview, irascibly conducted by Charles and Jon and presented in After Hours fanzine (#2, 1979)…Hip Hip Hip Hip, Hip Priest!      

  



Anti Climax #1, 1979

All this stuff is copyright so don't rip anything off ok?

Seriously, I was contacted recently by Digital Rights Management hawks hassling about an article in an issue of Grinding Halt - apparently the DRM folk were operating on behalf of Vice Squad and it seems they'd adopted a scatter gun approach - they backed off as soon as it became apparent that I did in fact have full blessing from the creators of the zine - - fucking chancers.

Anyroad, here for your delectation is Anti Climax #1 serving up on a vintage paper platter delights such as: articles on The Adicts, Crass' Feeding of the Five Thousand, Metal Urbain, and Running Dogs; interviews with the UK Subs venerable frontman, Charlie Harper, The Buzzpops; live reviews of The Damned/UK Subs/The Specials, and Penetration/Cowboys International; and some product under scrutiny, namely recordings by The Specials, The Shapes, Wot's for Lunch Mum, Stiff Little Fingers, The Skids, XTC, and The Leyton Buzzards. Short & Sweet & Neat Neat Neat.

Single sided A4 scanned at 400 dpi

Anti Climax #1

Cool Notes #5, 1982

If things go as planned you should find a balloon on this page. It’s a Christmas gift from me, what you do with the bloody thing is up to you. But have fun anyway. (If there’s no balloon hard luck)

Being a lover of the Ranting style of poetry Richard Edwards' Cool Notes always chimed nicely for me. Here in issue 5 there’s a focussed interview with the ever entertaining Atilla The Stockbroker and The Alarm too are given the third degree. There are mini features on Wall of Voodoo, The Insane Picnic, Johnny 7 Combo plus news on Special Duties, The Members, The Chefs, The Gas, David Rodigan, Steel Pulse, The Mood Elevators, B Movie, Talkover, The Assassins of Hope, and Ranter extraordinaire, Seething Wells (RIP). Richard and Cool Notes co-conspirator Kev cast their ears over effusions by Zeitgeist, Twisted Nerve, Living in Texas, Felt, The Monochrome Set, Joe Crow, Thomas Leer, The Nightingales, New Criminals 2, Twelve Cubic Feet, and The Apostles. There are reviews of gigs featuring Stiff Little Fingers/The Alarm, Talkover/Michael Smith, Dead Kennedys/Millions of Dead Cops/Serious Drinking/Peter & the Test Tube Babies. At the Hop is part 2 of a feature on ‘Roots’ music and homes in on luminaries such as James Brown and the Flames, The Harptones, The Spaniels, and The Mascots. A Brief Guide into Africa does as it proclaims. A number of cartoons are sprinkled throughout and there’s the near mandatory fanzine round-up and staff playlists plus some tips for those wishing to make their own LP, write a play, have a bash at seeing Haley’s Comet, or start up a brewery. Finally, there’s the, Those That We Left Out…and Why section telling of missed opportunities with Haircut 100, Flux of Pink Indians, Victor Romero Evans, UB40, Roman Holiday, and Dennis Bovell. Oh well, you can’t have it all I suppose.

 

A4 scanned at 400 dpi (slightly eccentric page numbering retained from the original)

Cool Notes #5  

 

Thomas (Tommy Ramone) Erdelyi, 1952-2014

 

R.I.P. Tommy

Trees and Flowers #2, 1980

Is the future going to be a Nightmare?

This was a great fanzine - always fairly choc full of decent interviews, articles and interviews. Steve Toxin was at the helm with contributions in this issue from Gary Blatch, Kes, Ian Newton, Joe Bridge, Aggro Moore, and Vengeance. Just the one interview in #2 - that's with the Nuclear Socketts. Along with reviews of The Clash and Sex Pistols films (Rude Boy / The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle) there are shed loads of vinyl reviews: Crisis - Hymns of Faith, UK Subs - Brand New Age, Nuclear Socketts, Crass / Poison Girls - Bloody Revolutions / Persons Unknown, Siouxsie & the Banshees - Christine, Sham 69 - Tell the Children, Sex Pistols - Stepping Stone, Discharge - Realities of War, Angelic Upstarts - We Gotta Get Out of this Place, The Plasmatics - Butcher Baby, Dead Kennedy's - Holiday in Cambodia, Slaughter & the Dogs - I'm the One, The Cockney Rejects - Greatest Hits Vol 1, Stiff Little Fingers - Nobody's Heroes, and Toyah - The Blue Meaning. Just a couple of gig to report: UK Subs / Liquid Stone, and Slaughter / Cockney Rejects / Crisis / Manufactured Romance. There are 2 brief articles on Stranger Still, and The Prams + a handful of fanzine review and a couple of letters. I've got a fair pile of T&Fs to work through - good stuff the lot of 'em. 

A4 scanned at 400dpi

Trees and Flowers #2

Anti System T Shirt, 2014

 
Absolutely not my usual way of doing things as you will know if you've been paying attention - but I do like these T shirts so I have no qualms about breaking the ee code to plug them. If you're wondering about provenance, whilst it would be wrong to term them 'official', I can vouch for the fact that all contactable ex-members of Anti System were given the heads-up about this project and there resolutely were no objections. If you're interested in scoring one please follow the link below.

http://soapandspikes.bigcartel.com/product/anti-system-t-shirt-pre-order-available-may23rd

While I'm at it I'd like to recommend another Soap & Spikes product - namely the long -delayed release of Flowers in the Dustbin LP - it's a beautifully produced piece of vinyl housed in a very attractive screen printed sleeve with a snazzy booklet tipped-in. Highly recommended indeed.

http://soapandspikes.bigcartel.com/product/flowers-in-the-dustbinko-lp

To be absolutely clear - I am on no commission from S&S at all - got that?