Kevin Buckle: Mark E Smith of The Fall was never bland

Very sad news this week that Mark E Smith of The Fall has died.
The legendary Mark E Smith. Picture: PAThe legendary Mark E Smith. Picture: PA
The legendary Mark E Smith. Picture: PA

Mark of course lived in Edinburgh for a while and I’ll be honest, a bit like when John Peel was in town, I worried he might come in the shop and I would have no idea what to say to him. I’m not his biggest fan but having said that when I had Fred Deakin of Lemon Jelly DJ at my wedding, the first song we danced to was How I Wrote Elastic Man.

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The Fall star Mark E Smith dies at home aged 60

We were upstaged by Andrew Tully, front man for Edinburgh band Jesse Garon and the Desperadoes, manager of Avalanche Records and my best man dancing with the young bridesmaids and it certainly was a lasting memory of the day.

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In these days of bland pop stars and sadly even blander newer artists, Mark E Smith was certainly at the other end of the spectrum. Forming a band after seeing the Sex Pistols in Manchester when he was 19, he seemed to manage without all the seminars and workshops currently available to young folk and went on to become one of the most influential artists of his era.

Having written the song Edinburgh Man in 1991, Mark returned to Edinburgh in 1994 for Granada Tonight (you can watch it here)and among other things sings the praises of Leith. He will be missed by many.

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