Smith was raised in Prestwich, Greater Manchester, a town
famed for its flattened sandwiches, and attended Stand Grammar School for Boys,
an educational establishment that managed to balance its budget by simply selling
all the chairs.
Before finding success with music, Smith’s first job was in
a meat factory, where he assembled cows on the production line. After this, he
became a shipping clerk in Salford. Or at least that was his excuse for going down
to the docks every day.
Although not initially all that interested in music, Smith formed
The Fall after seeing the Sex Pistols’ famous Lesser Free Trade Hall gig in
June 1976. This became dubbed “the gig that changed the world”, because, as
well as Smith, it was witnessed by future members of Joy Division, the Smiths
and Buzzcocks, who all left with a sudden realisation that to form a band, being
interested in music was really just a nice-to-have.
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| "Where do you get your ideas from, Mark?" |
Named after Smith’s favourite season, The Fall’s original line-up soon fell victim to what would prove to be Smith’s signature lyric – “hey band member, you’re sacked!”. In fact, Smith was the only constant member in The Fall, which over the years managed to boast a total of 66 members.
Throughout the changing lineups, The Fall produced songs
showcasing Smith’s biting and caustic wit delivered with a tuneless,
declamatory style. Which apparently people liked. Over the years, The Fall
succeeded in producing 31 studio albums and 32 live albums, not including the
output of his other band Mark E Mark and the Funky Bunch.
Smith wasn’t just a musician though. In 1986, he wrote the
play Hey, Luciani based around the short reign of Pope John Paul I because, why
not? Smith also made an appearance in the BBC Three sitcom Ideal in May 2007,
playing a foulmouthed, chain-smoking Jesus because, why not?
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| "You're fired!" Bandmember's-eye view |
Originally a Labour supporter, Smith later joined the
Socialist Workers Party. That said, when asked what policies he would adopt if
he became Prime Minister, he said "I'd half the price of cigarettes,
double the tax on health food, then I'd declare war on France,” which sounds like
classic UKIP.
As suggested by his inability to hang on to band members, Smith
was not an easy character to get on with. A drinker with a dark side, he was described
by his first wife Brix (who Smith finally wed after aborted dalliances with Straw
and Stix respectively) as a man who "had a chip on both shoulders” and,
apparently no ketchup, which may explain the grumpiness.
Eventually, the booze and the fags took their toll on Smith’s
health, leading him to play some of his later gigs from a wheelchair, leaving
fans wondering if it was some artistic statement or if he just couldn’t stand
up. It was the latter. Smith’s health worsened and finally, he passed away.
If there’s a music heaven, Smith is probably up there now,
trying to sack the angels.
