September 1986 had seen The Fall finally hit the Top 75 with Mr Pharmacist. Surely the next single would be the one to take them into the hearts and minds of the record-buying public?
"Tell you what" said the record company, "We'll get in that great producer Ian Broudie who has worked his magic with so many other indie-bands over the years. What you got for us Mark?"
"This," he replies, " a cheery little number about the life and death of a religious leader":-
mp3 : The Fall - Hey! Luciani
To be fair....it almost worked. The song is part of a soundtrack to a play centring around the mysterious death of Pope John Paul I in 1978 just three weeks after he has assumed the position. It was a play which ran for two weeks in London....it was written by and featured a certain Mark E Smith and he described it as a cross between Shakespeare and 60s cult TV series The Prisoner. As modest as ever our Mark....
I say almost worked because in reaching #59 it was the biggest hit to date for The Fall in mid-December 1986. Just think where it could have reached if it hadn't been competing for that prestigious Xmas #1 (taken that year by a re-release of Reet Petite by Jackie Wilson).
C'mon ctel......listen without prejudice. This is a great bit of music.
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1 comment:
I'm ah indiffah rentah
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