The one permanent fixture amidst the Fall's ever-changing line-up was Mark E. Smith (1957 ā 2018). Smith's lyrics are free, unboxed and unpredictable, touching on an extremely wide range of subjects and places, and caring little for being tied down to easily digestible messages.
Smith's singing could put off some people, but others find it a uniquely expressive instrument. Smith was not a conventionally great vocalist, but his keen sense of rhythm, his energy and personality more than made up for this.
The Fall's music changed depending on the line-up at a given time. Always experimental, Mark E. Smith claimed to invent several musical genres, including house music; "we were doing that years ago" and even the internet. "He told me I didn't understand, that we were from the bleak industrial wastes of North England, or something, and that we didn't understand the Internet. I told him Fall fans invented the Internet. They were on there in 1982." One thing that is for sure is that The Fall (and their fans) always pushed the boundaries, and were never afraid to experiment.
The Fall were a favorite group of DJ John Peel, recording 24 sessions for his BBC1 radio program over the years.
The Fall's back catalogue consists of 29 studio albums, and is very fragmented with a seemingly endless number of compilations and semi-official live albums.
In 2006, British music-critic Dave Simpson published an entertaining account of a journalist's attempt to track down all 43 former members of The Fall in the Guardian. Many previous members have been fired, often with little or no notice. Simpson's ongoing effort was subsequently described at greater length in his book "The Fallen" (2008). His effort to track down the final unaccounted stragglers of at least 50 previous members of The Fall - including drummer Karl Burns - continues in his blog. Having decried Simpson's book as a "hatchet job" in the pages of Pseud. Mag., a Fall fan-mag, Mark E. Smith countered in short order with his autobiography "Renegade: The Lives and Tales of Mark E. Smith" (Viking, 2008/Penguin 2009).
Mark E. Smith died on 24 January 2018, aged 60.
Key Albums include:
# Live At the Witch Trials (debut)
# Dragnet
# Totale's Turns (It's Now Or Nevr)
# Grotesque (after the Gramme)
# Perverted By Language
# Hex Enduction Hour
# This Nation's Saving Grace
# Middle Class Revolt
# Bend Sinister
# Extricate
# The Infotainment Scan
# Country on the Click aka The Real New Fall LP
# Fall Heads Roll
# Reformation Post TLC (new)
Compilations/Singles/B-Sides:
# 50,000 Fall Fans Can't Be Wrong: 39 Golden Greats
# The Complete Peel Sessions 1978-2004
# Totally Wired: The Rough Trade Anthology (disc 1) and Totally Wired: The Rough Trade Anthology (disc 2)
# 458489 A-Sides
# 458489 B-Sides
Flat of Angles
The Fall Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The papers had a father
Holding up a picture
His son-in-law killed her
Yes he killed his wife
She was wasting his life
His veins are full of evil serum
Now he's trapped in flat of angles
Hiding in flat of angles
Right down to it's gables
And sometimes bell bust under
The rings from many callers
Coupon and gas-board man
Dragnet for gun-blast man
Who's trapped in flat of angles
Rented cage is flat of angles
Right down to it's gables
And first he started on the floorboards
One-hundred-twenty degrees from window
Doors open to specification
And keeps out stupid neighbours
Very safe is flat of angles
Cheap rent too his flat of angles
Down to it's gables
Here he fights to type
Story of murder in his life
Or soap operas all day
In rooms of dirty laundry
But I'm in flat of angles
Hiding in flat of angles
Right down to it's gables
And the sun dragged him out one day
From his laundry
He saw mercenary eyes
The streets are full of mercenary eyes
Well stretched in flat of angles
Not long left in flat of angles
Down to the gables
There's a big reward for gun-blast man
A big reward for gun-blast man
A big reward for gun-blast man
Let us go up and write stories
Dragnet
Phone in for the dragnet man
The song "Flat of Angles" by The Fall tells the story of a man who has killed his wife and is now holed up in his apartment, which is referred to as the "flat of angles". The song starts with the man being hunted by the police, who have put out a "dragnet" for him. The lyrics suggest that the man killed his wife because she was "wasting his life", and now regrets his actions but cannot undo what he has done. He is trapped in his flat and spends his days watching soap operas and doing laundry, but is always aware of the threat of the police closing in on him.
The lyrics convey a sense of claustrophobia and paranoia, as the man is trapped in his own home and constantly on guard against the outside world. He has fortified his apartment with multiple locks and doors to keep his "stupid neighbours" out, but this only serves to heighten his isolation. The final lines of the song suggest that the man's time in the flat is running out, as the police are closing in and the sun is beginning to drag him out of his self-imposed isolation.
Overall, the song is a haunting depiction of a murderer's mental state and the loneliness and fear that come with being on the run from the law.
Line by Line Meaning
Dragnet for gun-blast man
Police search for a man who has been involved in a gun-blast
The papers had a father
Newspapers reported that someone's father was involved in a case
Holding up a picture
He is holding a picture of someone, probably a victim
His son-in-law killed her
The picture shows that his son-in-law has killed someone
Yes he killed his wife
The son-in-law killed his wife
She was wasting his life
The killer believed that his wife was wasting his life
His veins are full of evil serum
The killer has a lot of hatred and malice in his body
But what's done is done
What has happened cannot be undone
Now he's trapped in flat of angles
The killer is now trapped inside his flat
Hiding in flat of angles
The killer is hiding inside his flat
Right down to its gables
The flat is small and cramped
And sometimes bell bust under
Sometimes the doorbell stops working
The rings from many callers
Many people have been coming to visit
Coupon and gas-board man
People who come to collect coupons and check the gas board have been coming to visit
Who's trapped in flat of angles
The killer is still trapped in his flat
Rented cage is flat of angles
The flat is a cage that the killer has rented
And first he started on the floorboards
The killer started by fixing the floorboards
One-hundred-twenty degrees from window
The window is at a different angle from the flat's structure
Doors open to specification
The doors were created as per the killer's specifications
And keeps out stupid neighbors
The flat design keeps out unwanted neighbors
Very safe is flat of angles
The flat is safe for the killer to hide in
Cheap rent too his flat of angles
The flat is cheap to rent
Here he fights to type
The killer is struggling to type
Story of murder in his life
He is writing a story about his murder
Or soap operas all day
The killer watches soap operas all day
In rooms of dirty laundry
The killer is living in a room filled with dirty laundry
And the sun dragged him out one day
He was forced out of his flat by the sun
From his laundry
He left his laundry behind
He saw mercenary eyes
He saw threatening eyes of people around him
The streets are full of mercenary eyes
The streets are full of threatening people
Well stretched in flat of angles
The killer is still hiding in his flat
Not long left in flat of angles
He does not have much time left to remain hidden in his flat
Down to the gables
The flat is small and cramped
There's a big reward for gun-blast man
There's a large sum of money being offered as a reward to find the killer
Let us go up and write stories
The lyrics are implying that we should write a story about the case
Lyrics Ā© Peermusic Publishing
Written by: CRAIG ANTONY SCANLAN, MARC RILEY, MARK EDWARD SMITH, MIKE LEIGH, STEPHEN HANLEY
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
William Carmo De Moraes Carmo
Eterno The fall. Musica FANTĆSTICA
MundaneMan
No band or artist in history can match The Fall consistent genius quality over a 40 year time span, NO ONE
Tish Pish
Best song of all time.
TS50ER
In my opinion, and it ain't worth a tinker's cuss, but just this song alone makes The Fall a relevant band.
fritz le cat
You're spot on there. There's certain Fall tracks that are a mix of perfection, but also raw and alive. This will always sound amazing, and have the same effect a hundred years from now, on any fan of decent music, hearing it for the first time.
Genius talent.
book boy
I agree i agree I agree....my favourite /Fall song and a vote 4 best punk song ever.
Neil Wilson
My band played this live back in the day. I felt like I was flying in the air like a bird
Beatnickchick B
MES and the Fall...a total bloody hero of mine and unique Northern Punk band..Genius and best bard along with JCC..Flat of Angles is kinda where I am at the moment..Dragnet a classic..well all Fall tunes are Classic and MES very Perry..
Fermin Damian Lopez
la banda que mas discos tiene... todos buenos
Romantotale Rant77
blackappy +
I married the monster from
outta space.š½š¹