Becks Induction Hour

After a career that has included 26 studio albums, 50 compilation albums, 50 singles and 40 line-up changes, you might think it was hard to know where to begin with The Fall. Not so, says John Doran, 25 years on, Hex Enduction Hour stands as their masterpiece and one of the greatest post-punk albums ever.

"Is this thing on?” he says at the end of the interview, using a slightly yellowed but rocksteady finger to tap loudly on the Dictaphone. Mark E Smith has been charm personified; he has been witty, intelligent and accommodating (he stays for two-and-a-half hours longer than our 30 minute allocation and doesn’t shy from getting his round in either).

His voice, one of the most instantly recognisable North-western accents in popular culture, has the slight slur of someone who has drunk relatively heavily every day of his adult life, but it would be an incorrect leap to assume this reflected on the health or agility of his mind. When reassured that the interview is over, he mentions an improbably glamorous video director who has made promos for several platinum-selling American bands. “He’s doing a video for my mate’s band on a pub roof in Prestwich. I’d love to stay, but my mum’s just phoned and said a freak gust of wind has blown all the amps off the building. I’d better get down there and see what’s happening.”

It may be impossible at a distance to really see what is at the heart of Smith’s lyrics – his post-punk poetry – but it does become slightly less opaque when you spend any amount of time with him. He seems to live in a bubble of surreal occurrences and …

by John Doran
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