Fanzine
Buzzcocks, Joy Division, The Fall, Chris Sievey
Grass Roots Books
15th August 1979

Contributors:
Linder, Nicola, Roaring 80s, Andy, Neil, J.C., Martin, J, John, Eddie Manley, Stanley Knife, John D, Irna and Jayne, D.J. Turner, Hyphen, Roger Mitchell, Agapanther 2, Rupert, Ned the Donkey, Ed Thomas, Richard, New Hormones, Jez, Terry, Nick, Kev, Alan's Friend, M.Clancy, Jack, Volunteer Groupy, C.I.D, Fugue, CEE WEEEZ.
Offices: c/o Grass Roots, 109 Oxford Road, Manchester 1

TRANSCRIPTION:

EVERYBODY'S FALL GUYS
THE FALL / LIGGERS / GLASS ANIMALS
FUNHOUSE 24/8/79
A surprise this one.The grapevine tells us about five days beforehand that The Fall are on at the Funhouse on Friday. So I check the nationwide "Lig" guide to confirm it.
Come Friday and I'm ligging in the pub near the Funhouse when,in walks an agitated "gig promoter" and enquires, to the amusement of all present,where he can lay his hands on some gear to put the show together! "MOVE OVER H. GOLDSMITH." Promoter finally leaves, contented, thanks to intrepid Fall manager.
I rush in another pint so that I don't have to go the bar in the club and make my way inside.The club is half full which isn't surprising since there was no publicity, but still it's a good atmosphere with a good mixture of punks and poseurs.
I forget the first few song titles cos I am too busy enjoying the music to write them down.
Steve Hanley take the deadpan vocal and bass intro into "Popstock" and the band break into smiles. A bouncey pisstake number than makes you never sure whether they're serious or not.Mr Smith spits out the vocals with a smile and laughs at us and himself?This one gets the punks at the front dancing, as does the follow up,"No Xmas".
Intrepid group manager joins the punks to dance.
The pace slows down with "Madness in my Area" offthe new single with its haunting and excellent vocals.
Mike Leigh shows he's settling into the Fall style on "I go to Pieces" with some excellent drumming.
Later,somebody at the front requests "Stepping Out" which is a good idea and lifts the gig out of a short lull. I expect the band to finish on a couple of "classics",but no!, they do a new number last called "Spectre/Spector versus Rector"(?), that sees Mark Smith reading the lyrics and Craig Scanlon kneeling in front of his amp again where he spent most of the gig,for,nodoubt,good reasons. It's a lengthy number which has Craig Scanlon on backing vocals for the only time in the set and has a catchy guitar bit from Mark Riley (I think). The song fades out as each guitarist then Mark Smith leave the stage one at a time leaving the drummer alone.
Then they come back for an encore,as I decide they will get by without Evonne Paulette on keyboards and look forward to the rest of the new stuff that's on the way.
After a lot of pissing around,the LIggers come on and the frontline looks good and the first number is great,but the band are pissed and fuck it up for them,so I go home.
Coxy.
FAST CARS/ THE HOAX / THE INSTAMATICS.
The Funhouse - Friday 7th September.
Fast Cars didn't turn up, much to my regret. Whatsa matta boys? Arn't there enough full length mirrors at The Funhouse.Perhaps they'd better stick to playing The Phoenix....All that denim.....FOR THE BAND THAT DON'T TRY - TOO HARD.
And who was it that got the much envied position of supporting THE HOAX.Yup, The Instamatics burst upon the "Manchester Scene" (as read about in N.M.E.).
Wow. thier guitarist can play just like Jimi Hendrix.Too Much.Pity they didn't play Reading this year,certainly would have given The Scorpions a run for their money.Too much.
Did they do a cover of Headbangin' Man or was I just mistaken.Hey kid, that bass player is a dead ringer for Jackie Fox. Bring back Judas Priest.Whoahh, do I like to 'ear a bit of yer 'eavy metal.Yer, Martin,The IMstamatics guitarist is better than Robin Trower.
This band could rival Sad Cafe as Manchester's prime exponants of musicxxa experimentation.
TOO MUCH.
Mind expanding. Breaking the -barriers of the mind.
TOO MUCH.
Loved the guitar solos,guys.
The lead singer/swinger.Wow,Mark E. Smith eat yer heart out.This guy is the person-ification of COOL.Such a perceptive little soul.Bass player comes with personality and intensity.Guitarist is so ORIGINAL. Drummer boy strips to naked hunk. 'Oh Boy' would him.Cutsie pie.
BASIC/SPARSE/CHALLENGING - My thesurus weeps.
Swingalongabobalula.Whoa.Yar.
Guitar solos a go-go.
They must have had a collective I.Q. of a least - 6.
The bass player reminds me of a tap that has not been fully turned off. Was that 'I'm A Man' I just heard??? Perhaps next time The Instamatics could get V2 to join them on stage.
NICE.
Lead singer takes his shirt off........wonder what cup size he is?
These guys make Private Sector seem like Ornette Coleman on speed.
If only John Paul Hammond were there to witness "I Can Tell".If only.
Standing next to The Instamatics,The Hoax and Outrage seem like Kevin Coyne. Their own songs featuring strongly in the set.
The next number was "I'm a hog for you". Well, sure thought they were This Heat till I was told otherwise.
I feel sure they'd get a spot on "WHAT'S ON" .Mike Riddoch would love them.They'd go down a bomb at The Golden Garter. The audience were neutral.They knew the christian names of the band.
Tell me, Instamatics,what is the true meaning of life.......
OH,SORRY...YOU ALREADY DID.
Imagine Gary Glitter minus shirt.-That's IT,the lead singer to a "T"
Goodbye Instamatics.
Listen,The Instamatics,Private Sector and their ilk are just Showaddywaddy,Rocky Sharpe etc.No better,No worse. They are excessive,redundant ,hopless. Why the fuck bother playing songs the original artists did better.
Bring back hanging.AT ONCE.
much love,and sincere hope for music
H.N. xxxxxxxxxxx
P.S. WILL SOMEONE INFORM THE HOAX THAT IT'S 7th SEPTEMBER 1979
THE FALL: FUNHOUSE,25th August.
Arrived too late to catch Glass Animals left for another appointment before the Liggers come on.Ashamed to say this was my first visit to The Funhouse. I was impressed. The atmosphere is much less arty/intellectual than The Factory,where everyone sits,usually upstairs,slagging off the bands - why do they go?Most of the audience I had never seen before,and most were much younger than the Factory audience generally is. They also seem to be very punky.....black leather and mohair type punky.Wether they were there specific-ally to see The Fall or because it was The Funhouse I couldn't tell.The punky element were certainly the only element energetic enough to get up and MOVE. (The Factory contingent sat at the back and made cryptic comments as usual - "Not as good as when I saw them back in the begining,or in other words-I've been into this scene longer than you maaaannnnn.)
I saw the Fall a few weeks ago at The Factory.The music was great then,but I came away hating Mark Smith. That was self-defence. I got the impression that he hated the audien-ce, and I was one of them.Here though, probably because of the atmosphere, I really enjoyed it.The whole group seemed less hostile and arrogant,without losing any of the hostility in the music.Now that they are minus keyboards the sound has certainly changed.Neither for better or worse.In some places you felt that there was something missing.Maybe only becuase you expect the keyboards to come in where you've heard them before.But all the guitarists seemed to make up for the loss by being more,um, I don't know - into it,or happy or something. 'Rebellious Juke Box';'No xmas for John Quays';'Rowche Rumble', 'In My Area'., and 'The Contest' stood out from the rest of the set.
I can't tell whether it was technically good or not,but it was one of the most enjoyable and revealing gigs I've been to. The Fall are one of the few groups I listen to and bother to decipher the lyrics.
Mark Smith had his hair cut. I feel sorry for the drummer,who's really fantastic,and you couldn't even see the poor bloke till he stood up at the end.
Comments overheard on Glass Animals: Emotional ,ughh,great and interesting.
Boreilly O'arenzeau,the corpse.
xxxxxxxxxxxx
CLARK KENT WAXES POETICAL
I had blue eyes once
So aware and afraid of femininity. I shrink back when you move, feel alone when you smile
My eyes run from any glance. I want to feel softness you portray close to my hard wall of fear. My imagination will survive any vortex
I could not.
..........and theres this girl with green eyes
..........I see her through a glaze of drunken smoke. I wish. I see. I hear.
Nothing surrounds me slowly closing in on me, taking me round and round and round god hold [obscured] I arrive.
"Hello""Hi""Howare you""great"(really smashing walk walk upstairs downstairs.
"You havent got a spare cig"(have you)
Go to the toilet, stares, stares, stares- dont talk to me please I dont want to talk I cant talk I'm so scared of tones in your voice [obscured] -aughing eyes, you scare me, please don't talk to me. Exit. Eyes. I cant fly.
She turn and looks, my eyes flicker, my body jerks, people push distract. I go and sit. Music is beautiful.....and theres this girl with green eyes.....I drift about chasing thoughts, clinging on to my chair. My chair cling on, Think Think Drink Drink Watch, moving mouths darting eyes, hands floating in inadequate expressions. Liquids. Necessity. My mind drifts into peace, trying to hide. No, people are reasonable. But my reasons dissapear with the days that pass through me.
I long to be at home with my four strings of electricity. My own turntable of beauty.
C. KENT
WITH REGARD TO THE LIGGERS GIG (FUNHOUSE, 24 Sept) COMMENT FROM FUNLOVING, SLAPSTICK, FALLABOUT DRUMMER, ANDY ZERO, "WE WASN'T THAT FUCKIN' PISSED"
(interview by MARTIN. X.)