ON THIS DAY : THE FALL’S PEEL SESSIONS #2

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 #2 was broadcast, not quite on this day, 6 December 1978, having been recorded on 27 November 1978.

After a weekend gig at the Prestwich Hospital Social Club, the group headed south on Monday morning to record this, possibly the most released Peel session to date. With four months to go to the release of ‘Live At The Witch Trials’, newcomer Riley is in hos original role as bassist, complementing Burns as they grapple with the variances in tempo of a definitive version of ‘No Xmas For John Quays’. ‘Put Away’ – here in a wild, formative run-through – didn’t see the light of day until the following October’s ‘Dragnet’, while the 78/79 live favourite ‘Mess of My’ (sometimes referred to as ‘Mess of My Age’) never featured on a contemporaneous Fall release.  The session was broadcast the same month that the group signed off the dole.

DARYL EASLEA, 2005

mp3: The Fall – Put Away (Peel Session)
mp3: The Fall – Mess Of My (Peel Session)
mp3: The Fall – No Xmas For John Quays (Peel Session)
mp3: The Fall – Like To Blow (Peel Session)

Produced by Bob Sargeant, Engineered by Dave Dade & Brian Tuck

Mark E Smith – vocals; Martin Bramah – guitar, bass, backing vocals; Yvonne Pawlett – keyboards; Marc Riley – bass; Karl Burns – drums;

JC