As part of my How to Move to Australia series, I included a post about those final days before boarding your flight on a one-way ticket to Oz. Nostalgia kind of kicks in, and you find yourself saying goodbye to some places in addition to the obvious farewells to your friends and family.
I found myself driving down to the small park I used to play in when I was a child and also parking outside my childhood family home and taking one last look, and a photo…..
But what I didn’t mention was that four months and five days before my departure from England, I went to the Carling Academy in Islington on Thursday, 19 July 2007 to see my favourite band, The Fall, one last time.
It marked the 11th time I had seen the band live, and as The Fall had only ever toured in Australia on two occasions, first in 1982 and then in 1990, I was pretty sure it would be 11 and out and I’d never see them live again.
Not so.
After 20 years the band are once again heading down under and on 9 December 2010 they play the hi-fi in Brisbane. I’ve already got my tickets.
Good for you, I hear you say, but what’s that got to do with life in Australia? Well, it’s this. Australia is a very long way away from the UK and is easy at times to think, as I did, that “something”, whatever that is for you, will never happen again. But it is easy to be wrong too. Because today’s world is very small.
Never say never.
And really that is all that is relevant to life in Australia. Nothing more to read here. Unless……… maybe, for those who don’t know, you’d like to know who The Fall are?
You really don’t need to know this, it’s not relevant, but if you do….
Who are The Fall?
Glad you asked and it does mean you can now end the week, as is usual here on BobinOz, with a YouTube video (or two).
The Fall are a British band from Manchester led by Godlike Genius, he has a Godlike Genius award to prove it, Mark E Smith. The band were formed in 1976 and are still going strong today. That means they have spanned five decades. Not many bands can say that.
They have released something like 28 studio albums, 35 live albums and 39 compilations. I know, because I’ve got them all bar one or two of the compililations. I think they are easily the best band in the world but so what? My daughter thinks the best band in the world are The Chipmunks. Neither of our opinions are worth anything.
But when the late and great British DJ John Peel, who is still sorely missed six years after his untimely death, rates The Fall as one of the best bands ever, that’s an opinion worth taking note of.
Why?
Well, it is widely believed that John Peel listened to more music from different bands than anybody else in the entire history of the world. Ask Paul Gambaccini, he did the research.
The output of The Fall is probably unmatched by any other band; in addition to all those albums they tour constantly. They are prolific.
Find out more, if you want to, over at the best Fall site online.
Now some videos, hand picked from the 100’s available. First, who is Mark E Smith?
Here he is receiving yet another award, this one from 2005 when he still had his own teeth. His acceptance speech is a gem but after he’s finished it, switch off if you don’t want to hear one or two naughty words.
I saw another acceptance speech of his when he said “I’d like to thank me dad who’s dead, hehe, and err everybody else…………….. who’s not.”
The Fall were also the last band ever to play live at the Hammersmith Palais. It must have been a rough night, because as Mark E left the stage at the end, he said to the audience “Thank you for allowing us into your little security square. We’re off back to civilisation now.”
The band’s music has been used to introduce the football scores on BBC Sport. At some point, they invited MES to read the results one Saturday. I guarantee you won’t get past the Barclays Premiership.
The Fall also did some music for a Vauxhall advert on TV …..
And if you want to hear the whole song……
This from an appearance on the Jools Holland Show 2005 when they did the rather hypnotic Blindness. You just need to wait a couple of seconds whilst the pretentious clapping that ends the previous song by from Robert Plant comes to an end……
The Fall don’t usually like to look back, but I do. From the 80’s and in my view, one of their finest moments. Tempo House…..
There, got that out of my system! Me, writing about The Fall. Hehe.
Hello Bob, how’s things?
Just like to say, I’ve been reading your site and mails for a few months now, and it’s refreshing to read about a normal bloke and what they get up to in Oz.
I’ve just a quickie, if you don’t mind; you mentioned some time ago about a mate that returned to (I think it was the north of) England after some years down under.
Why did he come back? Was it through choice, work, visa?
Cheers Bob. All the best.
Dave
Hi Dave
Yes, I’m pretty good. Thanks for the compliments too.
You’d be talking about my friends who went back to the UK in July, I wrote about their leaving do here. He came from somewhere in the Midlands, near Wolverhampton.
A week later I emailed him to see how it was going and with his permission, printed his reply in a post about returning back to England again.
Anyway, he came here on a two-year recce and always intended to return back to England before making his final decision on where to live. Well, he’s now made that final decision. He and his wife and kids are booked onto a flight back here to Australia, one way of course, early January of next year. They are having one last cold Christmas before returning to Oz.
I think you’ll find it was no contest. The whole family can’t wait to get back here.
Cheers
Bob