The Fall (band) - Influence

Influence

Of the group's influence, Stephen Thomas Erlewine wrote that "the Fall, like many cult bands, inspired a new generation of underground bands, ranging from waves of sound-alike indie rockers in the UK to acts in America and New Zealand, which is only one indication of the size and dedication of their small, devoted fan base."

The Fall have influenced groups and artists such as Sonic Youth, Franz Ferdinand, Steve Albini, These New Puritans, LCD Soundsystem, The Long Blondes, The Birthday Party, Nirvana, Meat Puppets, Faith No More, Hole, The Kills, Pavement, and Happy Mondays.

Sonic Youth covered three Fall songs (and "Victoria" by the Kinks, also covered by the Fall) in a 1988 Peel Session, which was released in 1990 as the 4 Tunna Brix EP on Sonic Youth's own Goofin' label. The 1990s indie acts Pavement (who recorded a version of "The Classical") and Elastica (Smith contributed vocals to their final EP and album) showed an influence of the Fall, while Suede parodied the band with "Implement Yeah!", a song found on the cassette edition of their 1999 single "Electricity".

The Fall is referenced in the Jens Lekman song "Maple Leaves" with the lyrics "And when she talked about her fall, I thought she talked about Mark E. Smith". The Electric Soft Parade album No Need to Be Downhearted is named after a lyric from the Fall song "15 Ways". The German rock band Tocotronic has a song called "Ich hab geträumt ich wäre Pizza essen mit Mark E. Smith" (German for "I've dreamed I ate pizza with Mark E. Smith"). Scottish Band Belle and Sebastian also reference the Fall in their song, "Nice Day for a Sulk." The Dutch indie band Seedling refers to the Fall in their song "The Upshot", singing "You make it sound so sexy, as if you're Mark E. Smith from the Fall". U.S. indie singer-songwriter Barbara Manning's song "Mark E. Smith & Brix" describes running into "the man of my dreams" (and his then-wife) while out walking. Homestead/Merge indie rock band Volcano Suns recorded a song called "Sea Cruise". The song is about the Fall attempting to sell records in America. It was written after touring with the Fall. The lyrics "why did the chicken cross the road when there ain't no other side?" refers to the This Nation's Saving Grace tour of 1985. The Jazz Butcher's first single in 1983 was the oxymoronic "Southern Mark Smith." Jeffrey Lewis wrote the song and comic The Legend of the Fall, which is a documentary of the Fall and features in The Fallen (Canongate), Dave Simpson's book tracking down all the ex-members of the group.

UK indie rock band The Wedding Present are clearly influenced by the Fall: in the song "Take Me!" (from 1989's Bizarro) Gedge explicitly name-drops the band as he recalls a perfect date: "And can you really have stayed till three/Orange slices and that Fall LP?"

In May 2008 the Communication, Cultural and Media Centre at the University of Salford hosted Messing Up The Paintwork: A conference on the Aesthetics and Politics of Mark E. Smith and The Fall. Papers from the conference were published in 2010 in Mark E. Smith and The Fall: Art, Music and Politics.