- The Wonderful and Frightening World of Mark E. Smith

I love the Fall, though to be honest, despite some brave efforts in my teens, I didn't really get what it was all about until much later in life. I think my story is like that of many Fall fans: there's a damascene moment when it all seems to make sense, and then you know that you're really in trouble. Comedian Frank Skinner has come as close as anyone to describing what it's like being a fan, suggesting that it's something like being a member of a cult. I've never tried to get my wife, or any of my friends for that matter, to listen to the band. I don't know if you could make somebody like the Fall, I think, like a skin rash, it's something that you find yourself afflicted with rather than going out and looking for it.




Anyhow, this excellent documentary was screened on BBC Four a few months ago (lots of sightings of Peel as you'd expect). I'm sure that anyone who loves the group would have found this on their own, but anyway, here are the links, in nine parts:

part one, part two, part three, part four, part five, part six, part seven, part eight and part nine.

This is quite a lot of HTMLing for me to have done in one go, so please let me know if I've cocked up any of the links.