The Fall were John Peel’s favourite band…they recorded no less than 24 Peel Sessions the greatest number by any one act. With 49 members the one constant was the driving force of Mark E Smith who is the focus of the documentary below throughout which he attracts comments along the lines of “Exceptional but awkward git”…”mystifying and erratic”. The opening comment by Smith maybe hits home with a wry chuckle “It’s good being a Smith sometimes, you get away with murder you know.”
When Ken Garner released The Peel Sessions: A story of teenage dreams and one man’s love of new music book following John’s death in 2004 he said this of the sessions that were released on Sanctuary Records:
“If there is one CD collection someone who wants to remember the Peel show should buy, this is it. Listen to a session a day before meals. You won’t necessarily like it all, but you’ll never forget it.”
You never knew what was coming next…