ABSTRACT
Mark E. Smith and The Fall have always occupied an ambiguous and contentious place within popular culture and the music industry. Continually playing against expectations and refusing to play by the unwritten rules of the culture industries, The Fall have largely disdained scenes, trends and fashions and, by continually reinventing themselves, looking forward and avoiding looking back or playing up to past glories, have continued to produce vital new work. This has made them one of, if not the most important group to evolve out of the British punk scene. It could also be argued that this refusal of, or war against, conformity has damaged the band’s commercial and critical appeal. Equally, it could be argued that it is precisely this combination of obtuseness and a principled stand that has allowed Mark E. Smith and The Fall to continue to create and innovate consistently over a period of three decades, when many other artists have fallen by the wayside, found themselves and their music compromised or have simply become another cabaret act on the punk revival circuit.
