What do you reckon?

I love it.

me too. i think any expectations that mes was going to deliver a comprehensive account of his creative process were always going to be disappointed.

i enjoyed it as the most prolonged "chat" with the man that we've had.

Could anyone?

We've read a bit about that from various sources, MES does still want to keep some cards close to his chest...I've read part of the book so far but I think MES keeping abreast of what's going on, mixing with non musicians, and his 'spanner in the works' approach is all a large part of it.

Not to sound totally up myself I've learnt a bit about writing over the last year...it's life, it just comes to you.

I like the book so far...of course MES is defensive but would you expect anything else? :)

I'll likely give it one of the 'good' votes when I've finished it (maybe over the weekend).

:)

Only two thirds through, so I won't cast a vote just yet, but so far I find it ok/fairly enjoyable.

It's definitely very funny and also interesting in parts, but nothing really new so far. The most annoying thing is this constant 'back in the day bla blah' hangup, how everything used to be great and is now shit.
I also wish he could manage to stay on a subject for more than two sentences, instead of going off on tangents all the time. Yeah, I know it's his style, but whenever he's onto something interesting, we never seem to get any deeper understanding before he's on about something completely different. In effect it touches on a wide variety of subjects, but never gets to the bottom of any.

Hugely enjoyable. The only problem is that it is too short. I expected it to be funny and opinionated, but I'm surprised by how honest Mark is about mistakes he has made and hard times he has been through. This has made for a very fulfilling read.

Maybe it's in the nature of thing's but read it and then re-read it but was still left wanting more.

Enjoyable? Certainly....

Informative? Not really...

Not so much a book as a series of pub conversations, it felt like going into a strange pub and being accosted by one of the characters who looks like he's been sat at the bar all day. At first I was glad of the acceptance and the attention, but after a while felt myself nodding and smiling and saying "yeah,right, ok" a lot, especially when he's getting to the verge of the "What do doctors know? I've smoked 40 a day all me life and it never did me any harm" point of the evening. At that point I found putting the book down (and thus leaving the pub) was a bit of a relief.

(For those with better things to do than follow rather tortuous extended metaphors, I liked the book, but couldn't manage it in one reading.)

Some great stories early on though, I admire his vim in opening the book with an extended rant at the group, and I'm glad he doesn't give away any secrets - they're there to protect the audience as much as the magician.

I'm not sure how secrets protect the Fall Fan. Keeps us guessing and intrigued maybe... but that's all. As for reading the book in sections - I do that with all books.. no author is ever that interesting... ever.

I would say it's fairly entertaining but maybe not as informative as it could be.

It's basically MES's perspective on things and/or what he want to present to the world as his viewpoint. It's an amusing read. I found myself looking up from the page thinking about some of MES's insightful observations on certain things,
yet I also felt it rather self-serving at times. And, as expected, I nodded my head in agreement some of his opinions, and others I couldn't disagree more - he is consistent in his refusal to comfortably reinforce anyone's world view. :D

It's less of an 'autobiography' and more 'a case for the defence'.

Hugely enjoyable, I expected that it would be a pub style monologue and wasn't disappointed.
All I could think of throughout reading it was Alan Bennett's "Talking Heads" series of monologues.
I would have loved to see MES in an episode of "Talking Heads".

I don't think he was shinning over the cemetery wall into Gigg Lane in the early 80's? Must have been the early 70's.

Uninformative for the most part, maybe, & not vastly surprising (tho I'm surprised at how much MES knows about contemporary TV, radio, pop music, etc). Still, a hugely enjoyable read.

I've clicked the 'hugely enjoyable' response - the definitive Fall book will only be written long after MES has left this world and I'm in no hurry for that event. "Renegade' will more than do for now and the way things are going the old bugger will probably get to update it several times over the next few decades.

And well done young Mr Collings, a very able job indeed.

It's not the greatest book that I've ever read, so I didn't know whether I should just put 'Fairly enjoyable'. Nonetheless, I really enjoyed reading it. It took a few days because of other stuff that I had to do (and I'm a slow reader) but I couldn't wait to get back into it whenever I had to put the book down.

So, hugely enjoyable then.

Anybody know if and when this will be out in paperback?

Tend to agree with most of the points (plus and minus) already expressed here.

I've not finished it yet. About half way through. I've so far found his refusal to give credit to others a little contrived. It's like he's playing a role a lot of the time: the grumpy git that the music papers love to promote. As such there's few real insights into the man. more a series of things you'd expect him to say/think.

Some of his childhood recollections, although often very funny, do at times suggest a slightly darker Peter Kay. I'm half expecting him to go into a diatribe against garlic bread at some point.

some of his thoughts on Factory records are interesting, but hardly that original.

I'm so far enjoying a lot. But as someone here has already said, MES is never going to give the most insightful and honest account of himself and his work.

Hugely enjoyable.
Page 45 : "I liked the Sex Pistols,but except for the lyrics they were only the same as the Sabbath and Zep-like bands we were playing with. It was the same sort of music. Not bad when it's good: Sabbath and Zeppelin, they weren't bad."
:applaud: :beer:

I can't say I did anything but enjoy it, though it was different than I thought. I thought he'd talk more about the band and the music, but not really. I think it's entirely authentic, not in Mark's candor, but in his personality. I've known people like this.

Someone said, it's the kind of ramble you'd expect if you were in a pub having a few with him.

As far as giving others credit, I don't think it's that kind of book, but it was very telling where he says basically, what are you gonna do, you need them. Mark knows he can't do this on his own, but like a lot of supremely visonary talents he can't imagine everyone else is not as hooked in to his vision (the Fall) as he is. He doesn't realize that the Fall is HIS life, his vision, and that all these other musicians are supressing themselves to hook into that mostly because the really do belive in his genius.

He does say he should have never gotten rid of Scanlon, which seemed to be a random move to shake things up, while he's less kind to Hanley, who he sees as betraying him.

Anyway, I dug the book.

I can't say I did anything but enjoy it, though it was different than I thought. I thought he'd talk more about the band and the music, but not really. I think it's entirely authentic, not in Mark's candor, but in his personality. I've known people like this.

Someone said, it's the kind of ramble you'd expect if you were in a pub having a few with him.

As far as giving others credit, I don't think it's that kind of book, but it was very telling where he says basically, what are you gonna do, you need them. Mark knows he can't do this on his own, but like a lot of supremely visonary talents he can't imagine everyone else is not as hooked in to his vision (the Fall) as he is. He doesn't realize that the Fall is HIS life, his vision, and that all these other musicians are supressing themselves to hook into that mostly because the really do belive in his genius.

He does say he should have never gotten rid of Scanlon, which seemed to be a random move to shake things up, while he's less kind to Hanley, who he sees as betraying him.

Anyway, I dug the book.

I had similar thoughts having read half the book, but then I got interested again. I guess I was
getting drunk (howabout that for a "tortuous extended metaphor"). It was really interesting
and very funny, especially when he discussed the various line-ups.

I learnt a new word, too: Whathavya :D

enjoyed it a lot and have read it now several times

I mainly just like the pictures. Good book, though.

£5 in HMV (under the shelves).
£7.99 in Brighton Bookshops (Formerly Sussex Stationers).
Thank you.

They should let you just cut the pictures out and give them like a pound or something.

Couldn't finish it. Too much "In my day...." or "When I was a lad..."

Do you think MES is a 'look back bore'?

I've seen a lot of this.

Yes I do.

Do you ever stop fucking moaning, Jesus Christ you must be tough to live with.

He's Hanley's reason for living :)

I'm not moaning you daft cunt. The book was crap. That's not moaning, that's a statement of fact.

Yes. It's an autobiography. :rolleyes:

there was a lot of "things were better back then" and i am not surprised but i would have preferred that he believed it were not so

Yes, but he should have written it about someone else. :angry:

Surely it's not right to be wrong and talk to people like shit... :rant:

I don't think he wanted to do the book, but decided to do it when he heard Simpo was doing his.
Like Marlon Brando did.

Brando did a book cos MES did.

wow.

Good point.

He got rid of Scanlon.

Hanley chose to leave him / The Fall.

I'm sure the Mick Middles book (my favourite) was conceived as a spoiler to the Simon Ford one as well...