ON THIS DAY : THE FALL’S PEEL SESSIONS #24

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.

Session #24 was broadcast on this day, 12 August 2004, having been recorded on 4 August 2004.

The Fall’s final ever Peel session.  The renaissance of the previous year’s workout is continued here with another crackling performance.  All of the tracks – apart from the addition of The Move’s ‘I Can Hear The Grass Grow’ to the revival of ‘Wrong Place. Right Time, appeared on the late 2004 album of demos and live tracks, ‘Interim’. The storming ‘Blindness’ here comes out as the clear winner, while ‘Clasp Hands’ provides another return to The Stooges’ sound. Eleanor Poulou, the third Mrs Smith, adds noteworthy keyboard texture to these fantastic tunes.

DARYL EASLEA, 2005

mp3: The Fall – Clasp Hands (Peel Session)
mp3: The Fall – Blindness (Peel Session)
mp3: The Fall – What About Us? (Peel Session)
mp3: The Fall – Wrong Place, Right Time – I Can Hear The Grass Grow (Peel Session)

Production details unknown

Mark E Smith – vocals; Ben Pritchard – guitar; Jim Watts – guitar; Steven Trafford – bass; Spencer Birtwistle – drums; Eleanor Poulou – keyboards; Ed Blaney – guitar, vocals

JC