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Mark E. Smith




Mark E. Smith (born March 5 , 1957 ) is the lead singer, lyricist and hub of The Fall , a renowned and idiosyncratic offshoot from the UK Post-punk / New Wave music scenes.


BIOGRAPHY


Mark E Smith was born to a Working-class family in Broughton , Salford , Greater Manchester , moving to nearby Prestwich , also in Greater Manchester , early in his life. He formed The Fall (named after the novel by Camus ) with friends after dropping out of college at the age of 19. He gave up his job at Salford docks shortly after to devote his full energies to The Fall , and has continued to do so ever since.

The Fall have continued for over twenty-five years to produce unpredictable and challenging music, varying richly in both character and quality, with the abrasive lyrics and half-droned, half-ranted vocals of frontman Mark E. Smith providing the one constant note through a bewildering succession of personnel changes.

As well as his work with The Fall, Smith has released the spoken-word albums ''The Post-Nearly Man'' ( 1998 ) and ''Pander! Panda! Panzer!'' ( 2002 ). He has supplied guest vocals for the Inspiral Carpets , Elastica , Long Fin Killie , Mouse On Mars , Coldcut and others.

Smith has also appeared in an acting role in several television programmes and generally low-budget films. He made a brief appearance as himself in the Michael Winterbottom film '' 24 Hour Party People '' ( 2002 ).

Smith has won much acclaim for his unique lyrical style, which mixes elements of Social Realism , Surrealism , and Absurdism , dwelling on subjects as far removed as Unemployment and Football Violence to Time Travel and Ghosts .

Smith married Californian guitarist (and Fall band member, 1983 - 1989 , 1994 - 1996 ) Brix Smith on 19 July 1983 . They divorced in 1989 . He has since remarried twice. He married his present wife, Eleni (sometimes called Elenor or Elena) Poulou, in 2001 , and she joined The Fall in September 2002 .

When the much-loved English DJ (who championed The Fall), . Regarded by many as a bewildering performance, Smith has made his appreciation for John Peel clear in several subsequent interviews. Neverthless, the two were not friends and met only a handful of times.

In January 2005, Mark E Smith and The Fall (described as "one of the most enigmatic, idiosyncratic and chaotic garage bands of the last 30 years") were the subject of a BBC 4 TV documentary, ''The Fall: The Wonderful and Frightening World of Mark E Smith''.

In August 2005, Mark E Smith received the "Contribution to Music" award at the Diesel-U-Music Awards.


BIBLIOGRAPHY

For more, see entry on The Fall

  • Ford, Simon (2003). ''Hip Priest: The Story Of Mark E Smith And The Fall''. London: Quartet Books. ISBN 0704381672

  • Middles, Mick & Smith, Mark E (2003). ''The Fall''. London: Omnibus Press. ISBN 0711997624

  • Smith, Mark E (1985). ''The Fall Lyrics''. Berlin: Lough Press.



DISCOGRAPHY

''For a detailed discography, see The Fall Discography .''


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