ON THIS DAY : THE FALL’S PEEL SESSIONS #23 & #16

A series for 2025 in which this blog will dedicate a day to each of the twenty-four of the sessions The Fall recorded for the John Peel Show between 1978 and 2004.

It was inevitable that, at some point, a day would dawn when more than one session was broadcast on a particular date across different years. And it happened more than once as you will see in due course!!

Session #23 was broadcast on this day, 13 March 2003, having been recorded on 19 February 2003.

And, the longest period between Peel Sessions reflected the turbulence within the group in this era (it had been four-and-a-half years since Session #22). However, the session represents an incredible rebirth.  The recording is detailed in the Smith/Middles book, ‘The Fall’, reporting Smith continually railing against band complacency and BBC-supplied material from the forthcoming ‘Country On The Click’ album. ‘Contraflow’ is here with its false ending, and after a snatch of Mr. Bloe’s No.2 1970 hit ‘Groovin’ with Mr. Bloe’, there’s an appropriately relaxed version of ‘Green-Eyed Loco Man’, with its refrain of ‘say goodbye to Glastonbury’.  ‘Mere Pseud Mag. Ed’ makes a surprise reappearance given it was 21 years old at the time, and given Smith’s mistrust of the look back bores.  “He thought he was a mster of double-entendre, Carry On etc” replaces long obsolete critical references to Not The Nine O’Clock News.  Middles himself is rewarded by adding his ‘fevered and reptilian’ vocals to the Greek World-Cup victory-predicting ‘Theme From Sparta F.C.’, one of the finest, punchiest Fall songs of recent years.

DARYL EASLEA, 2005

mp3: The Fall – Theme From Sparta F.C. (Peel Session)
mp3: The Fall – Contraflow (Peel Session)
mp3: The Fall – Groovin’ With Mr. Bloe – Green-Eyed Loco Man (Peel Session)
mp3: The Fall – Mere Pseud Mag. Ed (Peel Session)

Produced details unknown

Mark E Smith – vocals; Ben Pritchard – guitar, backing vocals; Jim Watts – bass, backing vocals; Dave Milner – drums, backing vocals; Eleanor Poulou – keyboards, backing vocals

Session #16 was broadcast on this day, 13 March 1993, having been recorded on 28 February 1993.

Freed from the constraints of major label Phonogram, The Fall recorded some of their best-ever music for their debut Permanent album. ‘The Infotainment Scan’. With Dave Bush now fully established on keyboards and machines, the band performed some of their strongest material for years.  Bush was able to incorporate modern dancefloor techniques (is that a sample from ‘Stakker Humanoid’ at the end of ‘Paranoia Man?) into the group’s material without it in any way sounding gauche.  The performances on ‘Paranoia Man in Cheap Shit Room’, the then-latest chronicle of Smith’s ageing process, are watertight.  ‘Service’ continues this melancholy over slowed down Italio-house keys.  However, The Fall’s garage punk roots have not been abandoned with the stomping cover of The Sonics’ ‘Strychnine’.

DARYL EASLEA, 2005

mp3: The Fall – Ladybird (Green Grass) (Peel Session)
mp3: The Fall – Strychnine (Peel Session)
mp3: The Fall – Service (Peel Session)
mp3: The Fall – Paranoia Man In Cheap Shit Room (Peel Session)

Produced by Mike Robinson, engineered by James Birtwistle

Mark E Smith – vocals; Craig Scanlon – guitar; Steve Hanley – bass; Dave Bush – keyboards; Simon Wolstencroft – drums

JC