Far Out: "When Mark E. Smith reviewed Morrissey’s first solo album" by Tom Taylor (August 21, 2021)

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When Mark E. Smith reviewed Morrissey’s first solo album

"There’s misanthropy, and there’s whatever you’d call Mark E. Smith. If the late Fall frontman gave any less of a shit, then he’d be in dire need of a colonic. He was a monolith of sadism tearing down the icons of all the filthy Bolshevist and backstabbing bastards that he perceived to be in his merry way as he went slashing through the norm like some demented daemon of the demimonde.

In short, he is not necessarily the kind of iconoclast that you’d want to review your work in a hurry. He once even dismissed every single one of his musical cohorts in one fell swoop, stating: “The thing with me, is I can’t stick musicians. I’ve thought about this. I can’t stand them, and being stuck in a studio with them I think that’s my strength, I can hear what they can’t.”"



Regards,
FWD.
 
I remember a comment from one of the books that stated that Mark E. Smith was very torn about The Smiths. He was jealous that they had overtaken him critically and commercially, but he was also proud to see someone from Manchester doing well.
 
Come to think of it, pretty sure I heard that Moz was
originally gonna call The Smiths, The Smith Family,
on account of all the folks he liked who had the last
name of Smith.
There was Patti Smith, Mark E. Smith, Fred "Sonic"
Smith, Huey "Piano" Smith, Stan Smith, Bessie
Smith, Jimmy Smith, Vivian Smith, Parrish Smith
and probably some other folks I'm forgetin'.
 
Come to think of it, pretty sure I heard that Moz was
originally gonna call The Smiths, The Smith Family,
on account of all the folks he liked who had the last
name of Smith.
There was Patti Smith, Mark E. Smith, Fred "Sonic"
Smith, Huey "Piano" Smith, Stan Smith, Bessie
Smith, Jimmy Smith, Vivian Smith, Parrish Smith
and probably some other folks I'm forgetin'.
Here's the real origin of the name of the band...

 
Come to think of it, pretty sure I heard that Moz was
originally gonna call The Smiths, The Smith Family,
or The Walking Wounded !

According to Marr .....

“Occasionally I’d go over to see him at his mother’s house. It was after one of these afternoon visits, when we were standing on the pavement as I was leaving, that he held out his hand and presented me with a small white card. On the card were three names written in blue biro: ‘The Smith Family’, ‘The Smiths’ and ‘The Walking Wounded’. I took a moment to consider as I didn’t know if I liked any of them, but I decided that ‘The Smiths’ was the one I disliked least, so I pointed to it. ‘OK then,’ said Morrissey with a smile and a bow of the head, ‘The Smiths it is.’ I said goodbye and walked down the road towards Old Trafford train station. I thought about the new band name for a minute and it sounded like a family, and I liked how simple it was, then I thought about it some more and decided that it was great. The Smiths – it fitted. The Smiths it was.”




on account of all the folks he liked who had the last
name of Smith.
There was Patti Smith, Mark E. Smith, Fred "Sonic"
Smith, Huey "Piano" Smith, Stan Smith, Bessie
Smith, Jimmy Smith, Vivian Smith, Parrish Smith
and probably some other folks I'm forgetin'.

add poet ... Stevie Smith.
 
I saw the Fall in NYC in about 2005. Mark was on crutches by then and was so low on the stage we couldn’t see him at all.
 
or The Walking Wounded !

According to Marr .....

“Occasionally I’d go over to see him at his mother’s house. It was after one of these afternoon visits, when we were standing on the pavement as I was leaving, that he held out his hand and presented me with a small white card. On the card were three names written in blue biro: ‘The Smith Family’, ‘The Smiths’ and ‘The Walking Wounded’. I took a moment to consider as I didn’t know if I liked any of them, but I decided that ‘The Smiths’ was the one I disliked least, so I pointed to it. ‘OK then,’ said Morrissey with a smile and a bow of the head, ‘The Smiths it is.’ I said goodbye and walked down the road towards Old Trafford train station. I thought about the new band name for a minute and it sounded like a family, and I liked how simple it was, then I thought about it some more and decided that it was great. The Smiths – it fitted. The Smiths it was.”






add poet ... Stevie Smith.


It kinda woulda made things different.

The Walking Wounded - Leg In Cast 2 (COVER).jpg
 
Come to think of it, pretty sure I heard that Moz was
originally gonna call The Smiths, The Smith Family,
on account of all the folks he liked who had the last
name of Smith.
There was Patti Smith, Mark E. Smith, Fred "Sonic"
Smith, Huey "Piano" Smith, Stan Smith, Bessie
Smith, Jimmy Smith, Vivian Smith, Parrish Smith
and probably some other folks I'm forgetin'.
David Smith.
 
Speaking of Mike, wasn't the last time he and Johnny were in the same room together at a Magazine concert?

Mike sensibly didn't approach Johnny as he didn't want to embarrass him in public.
 
I love the fact Mark E Smith always, always referred to Morrissey by his Christian name. "Stephen used to follow us around town. You couldn't miss him, with the smell of spray paint coming of his newly painted mismatched shoes'.
 
I've watched a lot of docs on Mark E Smith and he always mentions The Smiths or Morrissey at some stage. MES and Moz are my two favourite artists, but I came to recognise Mark E Smith's genius too late to see him live, which is a bitter regret.
 
Wow. A Review of a Review.

Mark liked The Smiths, but at arms length. He considered them to be South Manchester & Roman Catholic, which he felt at odds with is North Manchester, Protestant self. I never quite understood what he meant by that, which I suppose is because I’m a Catholic from North Manchester.

Smith was Grammar School educated, which perhaps helps to explain his apparent superiority complex when it came to how he saw contemporary bands. Some suggest it explains why The Fall had so many members. If you go in a local pub near me, there is a very good chance you’ll be drinking alongside a former band member.

I was drinking with one such person not long after Mark’s funeral. He told me about a huge scrap at the post burial reception, which involved half of the pub. He smiled at me and said “Mark would have f***in loved that”.
 
Anyone got the actual review? I think MES quite liked Your Arsenal too (from memory.)
 

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