Mark E Smith, lead singer with the Fall, dies aged 60

Mark E Smith, the irascible frontman of Manchester post-punk band the Fall, has died at the age of 60.

Smith formed the Fall in 1976 in Prestwich and was the only constant member of the band. He was known for his tempestuous relationship with his bandmates, and frequently fired them – there have been 66 different members over the years, with a third of them lasting less than a year. Smith famously once said: “If it’s me and yer granny on bongos, it’s The Fall.”

He was a famously prolific musician. Last year the Fall released their 32nd studio album, New Facts Emerge, and had been fitfully touring in recent months when Smith’s health would allow. The band played London’s 100 Club in July, while Smith performed from a wheelchair in Wakefield in October.

News of his death was reported on the Fall’s Twitter page and on the website of the band’s record label, Cherry Red Records.

In August, the band cancelled shows in New York and Louisville, Kentucky, after Smith was hospitalised for issues relating to his throat, mouth and respiratory system. At the time the Fall’s manager, Pamela Vander, issued a statement saying: “Unfortunately, it would be a gamble on his health to fly anywhere over the next couple of months.” It would have been the Fall’s first US dates in a decade. In late December further US dates were cancelled, with Vander citing “a full year of bad health” as the reason.

Among the tributes paid to Smith were from writer and Haçienda DJ Dave Haslam, who said: “The death of Mark E Smith is news I’d been dreading. One of my heroes, and a man I was proud to call a friend.”

BBC Radio 6 Music’s Lauren Laverne described him as “one of my biggest heroes”. She added: “Had a nightmare interviewing him (of course) but then he put me in a song. So sharp, clever and untouchably cool.”

Another 6 Music DJ, Marc Riley, joined the band as a teenager and played guitar with them from 1979 to 1983. Hearing the news while on air, he told listeners that Smith “taught me a lot about life and he taught me a lot about music... The Fall were my favourite band when I joined and they were still my favourite band when I got kicked out.”

Tim Burgess, of fellow Manchester band the Charlatans, said Smith was “a true uncompromising musical maverick. A genius, a curmudgeon and someone whose company it was an honour to share.” Mancunian presenter Terry Christian called him “a colossus - the rest just chancers and careerists in comparison.”

Comedian Vic Reeves wrote on Twitter: “My good friend and my hero. You’ll be so terribly missed by me and millions [of] others. Your words meant more to me than anyone.”

Mark E Smith pictured in the early days of the Fall.

Film director Edgar Wright also paid his respects on Twitter, saying Smith was a “gateway” into indie music, while the actor Paddy Considine said Smith was “an artist that knew no compromise. A total one off and original. What a legend.”

Cedric Bixler Zavala of US punk band At the Drive In said he was “one of the pillars of influence for me as lyricist and trouble maker. I’ve built trust in people based on whether they owned and actually loved Fall records. Thanks 4 making rock literary, and mischievous.” Another US rock band, Garbage, remembered Smith’s famously acerbic humour: “We will never forget you coming to see us play. Especially when you said watching us play was like watching paint dry.”

In 2007, Smith released one of his most highly-regarded late period records, Traumatic Reflexxions, under the name Von Südenfed – a collaboration with German electronic duo Mouse on Mars. The pair wrote on Twitter: “Good-bye dear friend and collaborator.”

The poet Ian McMillan said Smith was the “spiky poet of every awkward moment any of us ever lived through, lit by the metallic glow of the ship canal.”

Smith was born in Salford in 1957, and formed the Fall with friends Martin Bramah and Tony Friel as a teenager. The band’s output included 11 top 40 albums, including 1993’s The Infotainment Scan, which reached No 9. Smith has also collaborated with artists including Gorillaz, Inspiral Carpets and Elastica. His autobiography, Renegade: The Lives and Tales of Mark E Smith, was published in 2008.

In 1983, Smith married Fall member Brix Smith Start; they divorced in 1989. He subsequently married Saffron Prior, who ran the Fall’s fan club. He has been married to his current wife, Eleni Poulou – who was a member of the Fall between 2002 and 2016 – since 2001.

His death was previously wrongly announced by the BBC in March last year, on his 60th birthday.

(THE GUARDIAN)