MARK E SMITH, THE FALL and SHUTTLEWORTH

Smith is a true original who eschews all the usual forms of promotion used by most artists. Against Smith, Liam Gallagher’s posturing merely makes him look like a modern day male equivalent of one of the Nolan Sisters!

Hugely influential to some who admit it and others who don’t. Acknowledged influences include the likes of FRANZ FERDINAND, NIRVANA and PAVEMENT to mention a few.

Whilst remaining largely outside the mainstream, MARK E SMITH and his band THE FALL have maintained a long and loyal following.
There are admirers from different parts of the arts and media and amongst these are noted film producer JONATHAN DEMME who used the Fall’s recording of "Hip Priest" (Smith/Hanley/Hanley/Riley/Scanlan) in the Oscar winning film "SILENCE OF THE LAMBS".

Carefully chosen commercials have benefited from the Fall’s music including the brilliant VAUXHALL UK TV commercial which used the band’s "Touch Sensitive" (Smith/Nagle) and in the USA Mitsubishi used "Blindness" (Smith/Birtwistle) for its Outlander TV commercial. Another classic commercial was for Heineken in Italy also using "Touch Sensitive".

It is well documented that legendary UK disc jockey JOHN PEEL was a fervent admirer of the band and in 2005 a 97 song Box Set of all the sessions recorded for his UK Radio 1 Show was issued.
The same year BBC4 TV Documentary, THE FALL: THE WONDERFUL AND FRIGHTENING WORLD OF MARK E SMITH was screened.

In 2007 the BBC asked to use the Fall’s "Theme From Sparta FC" (Smith/Pritchard/Watts) for its FINAL SCORE TV programme with Smith even making a surprise appearance on the show reading the scores.
The programme continues to use the music.

Over the years band members have come and gone but Smith remains the constant.
A huge body of work has been recorded for various labels with the forthcoming "Our Future Your Clutter" due out in 2010 on Domino Records.

Mark has written a new football anthem to coincide with the World Cup titled "England’s Heartbeat" , co-penned with Jenny Shuttleworth and Ed Blaney and recorded by “Shuttleworth”. Released digitally on 04/05/10, this is available for download at ITUNES and AMAZON and will be released on CD on 07/06/10 by Yip Yop/Minder Records.

Does an MBE beckon ? - we don't think so, but don't rule out a guest appearance on Coronation Street...