English Scheme

The Fall, brainchild of Mark E. Smith, are pretty uncompromising. They were obviously inspired by the punk movement, but their true influences were bands like Can. I saw them live in Glasgow about 18 months ago and they are still inventive after more than 30 years.

English Scheme is from the Grotesque album, which must rank as one of their best, both lyrically and musically. The studio version is crisper, but the raw murk of this live version also has its charm. It’s not exactly chartbound fodder…