Editing The Fall (band) (section)

== History ==

=== Late 1970s: early years ===
The Fall were formed in [[Prestwich]], England in 1976 by [[Mark E. Smith]], [[Martin Bramah]], [[Una Baines]], and [[Tony Friel]]. The four friends met to read their writings to each other and take drugs.{{sfn|Reynolds|2006|pp=175–76}} Their musical influences included [[Can (band)|Can]] (which the band would later pay tribute to on the track "[[I Am Damo Suzuki]]"), [[the Velvet Underground]], [[Captain Beefheart]] and garage rock bands like [[the Monks]] and [[the Stooges]].{{sfn|Reynolds|2006|p=176}} The members were devoted readers, with Smith citing [[H. P. Lovecraft]], [[Raymond Chandler]] and [[Malcolm Lowry]] among his favourite writers.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Kielland |first=Aksel |year=2008 |title=Mark E. Smith – repetitiv originalitet |journal=Vinduet |issue=3 |pages=30–36 |language=no}}</ref> After seeing the [[Sex Pistols]] play their second gig at Manchester's [[Lesser Free Trade Hall]] in July 1976, they decided to start a group. Smith wanted to name the group "the Outsiders", but Friel came up with the name "the Fall" after [[The Fall (Albert Camus novel)|a 1956 novel]] by [[Albert Camus]].{{sfn|Reynolds|2006|p=174}} Smith became the singer, Bramah the guitarist, Friel played bass guitar and Baines bashed biscuit tins instead of drums; unable to afford to buy a drum kit, she then switched to keyboards.<ref name="1977 gigography">{{cite web |url=http://thefall.org/gigography/gig77.html |title=The Fall Gigography <nowiki>|</nowiki> 1977 |work=thefall.org |access-date=25 May 2013}}</ref> Their music was intentionally raw and repetitive.{{sfn|Reynolds|2006|p=176}} The song "Repetition", declaring that "We dig repetition in the music And we're never going to lose it", served as a manifesto for the Fall's musical philosophy.<ref name="50,000 sleevenotes">{{cite book |last=Eslea |first=Daryl |year=2004 |title=50,000 Fall Fans Can't Be Wrong |type=CD sleevenotes|title-link=50,000 Fall Fans Can't Be Wrong }}</ref>{{sfn|Reynolds|2006|p=193}}

The group played their first concert on 23 May 1977, at the North West Arts basement.<ref name="1977 gigography"/> Their first drummer was remembered only as "Dave" or "Steve" for thirty-four years,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2006/jan/05/popandrock |title=Dave Simpson Tracks Down Everyone Who Has Ever Been a Member of Mark E Smith's Band <nowiki>| Music |</nowiki> The Guardian |last=Simpson |first=Dave |date=5 January 2006 |work=[[The Guardian|guardian.co.uk]] |access-date=25 May 2013}}</ref> until music writer Dave Simpson discovered that he had almost certainly been a man named Steve Ormrod.<ref name=davesimpson>{{cite web |url=http://thefallenblog.blogspot.com.au/2010/10/revealed-after-34-years-identity-and.html |title=The Fallen Blog: Revealed After 34 Years: The Identity and Full, Sad Story of "The Unknown Drummer" |last=Simpson |first=Dave |date=27 October 2010 |work=thefallenblog.blogspot.com.au |access-date=25 May 2013}}</ref> Ormrod lasted just one show, at least in part due to political differences with the other members of the group.<ref name=davesimpson /> He was replaced by [[Karl Burns]], whom Friel played with in a band called Nuclear Angel. The Fall soon caught the attention of [[Buzzcocks]] manager Richard Boon, who funded their first recording session, and in November 1977 they recorded material for their debut EP, ''[[Bingo-Master's Break-Out!]]''<ref name="50,000 sleevenotes"/> Boon planned to release the EP on his New Hormones label, but after discovering that he could not afford to do so{{sfn|Reynolds|2006|p=174}} he gave the tapes back to the group. Thus, the Fall's debut on vinyl came in June 1978 when "Stepping Out" and "Last Orders" were released by Virgin Records on ''[[Short Circuit: Live at the Electric Circus]]'', a compilation of live recordings made at the Manchester venue The Electric Circus in October 1977 just before it was closed.

The Fall's line-up had its first drastic changes in 1977–78. Kay Carroll, Una Baines's friend and colleague at the psychiatric hospital, became the group's manager and occasional backing vocalist, as well as Smith's girlfriend.{{sfn|Reynolds|2006|p=193}}<ref name="members">{{cite web |url=http://visi.com/fall/bio/biography.html |title=The Fall Online – Biography |work=visi.com/fall |access-date=25 May 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130926071152/http://www.visi.com/fall/bio/biography.html |archive-date=26 September 2013 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Friel, unhappy with Carroll's management, left in December 1977 (he went on to form [[The Passage (band)|the Passage]] with [[Richard Witts|Dick Witts]]). He was briefly replaced by Jonnie Brown, and later by Eric McGann (also known as Eric the Ferrett).<ref name="members"/> The Fall were filmed on 13 February 1978 for the [[Granada Television|Granada TV]] show ''What's On'', hosted by [[Tony Wilson]], performing "Psycho Mafia", "Industrial Estate" and "Dresden Dolls", featuring the brief line-up of Smith, Bramah, Burns, Baines and McGann. Baines left in March 1978 after a drug overdose and subsequent nervous breakdown, and was replaced by Yvonne Pawlett; McGann quit that May, in disgust at the group's van driver Steve Davies wearing a Hawaiian shirt as he ferried them to the recording of their first-ever [[Peel Sessions|session]] for influential radio DJ [[John Peel]]. (The Fall would record a total of 24 sessions for Peel, who became a devoted fan of the group.)<ref name="members"/> Martin Bramah blamed the dissolution of the original line-up on Smith's style of leadership, together with Carroll's favouring of her partner: "The break-up wasn't so much about the music, though; it was more how we were being treated as people on a daily basis."{{sfn|Reynolds|2006|p=193}} [[Marc Riley]], the group's roadie was 16; eventually he was recruited to be in the group and play bass guitar.<ref name="members"/>

[[File:Mark E. Smith.jpg|thumb|160px|left|Smith in Tokyo, 1990]]
''Bingo-Master's Break-Out!'' finally was released in August 1978 on Step Forward Records. The single "It's the New Thing" followed in November 1978, and in December the Fall recorded (in a single day) their debut album ''[[Live at the Witch Trials]]'',<ref name="Dragnet sleevenotes">{{cite book |last=Eslea |first=Daryl |year=2004 |title=Dragnet |type=CD sleevenotes|title-link=Dragnet (album) }}</ref> which was released in March 1979.<ref name="Witch Trials AllMusic">{{cite web |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/live-at-the-witch-trials-mw0000664356 |title=''Live at the Witch Trials'' – The Fall : Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards : AllMusic |last=Raggett |first=Ned |work=[[AllMusic]] |publisher=[[AllRovi]] |access-date=25 May 2013}}</ref> Burns quit the group shortly after the album was recorded, and was replaced by Mike Leigh from Rockin' Ricky, a [[cabaret]] band. In April 1979, Burns was followed by Martin Bramah, co-writer of most of the songs on ''Live at the Witch Trials''<ref name="Witch Trials AllMusic"/> and, according to writer Daryl Eslea, "possibly the last true equal to Smith in the group";<ref name="Dragnet sleevenotes"/> he went on to form [[Blue Orchids]] with Una Baines.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-blue-orchids-mn0000086293 |title=The Blue Orchids – Music Biography, Credits and Discography : AllMusic |last=Sutton |first=Michael |work=[[AllMusic]] |publisher=[[AllRovi]] |access-date=25 May 2013}}</ref> Marc Riley switched from bass guitar to guitar, and [[Craig Scanlon]] (guitar) and [[Steve Hanley (musician)|Steve Hanley]] (bass guitar), former bandmates of Riley and members of Fall support act Staff 9, joined the group.<ref name="Dragnet sleevenotes"/> Hanley's melodic basslines became a vital part of the Fall's music for almost two decades.<ref name="The Fallen">{{cite book |last=Simpson |first=Dave |year=2008 |title=The Fallen |publisher=[[Canongate Books]] |chapter=Chapter 4: After a While in The Fall You're No Longer Normal. |chapter-url=http://www.thefallenbook.co.uk/extract.html |access-date=25 May 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120526003442/http://www.thefallenbook.co.uk/extract.html |archive-date=26 May 2012}}</ref> Smith praised his playing in ''[[Melody Maker]]'': "The most original aspect of the Fall is Steve&nbsp;... I've never heard a bass player like him&nbsp;... I don't have to tell him what to play, he just knows. He is the Fall sound."<ref>{{cite journal |date=18 June 1983 |journal=[[Melody Maker]]|title=The Fall}}</ref> Yvonne Pawlett left in July 1979 to look after her dog. She later appeared in a band called Shy Tots.<ref name="members"/>

On 30 July 1979, "[[Rowche Rumble]]", the Fall's third single, was released featuring the line up of Smith, Scanlon, Riley, Hanley, Pawlett and Leigh. Pawlett left the group shortly afterwards. ''[[Dragnet (album)|Dragnet]]'', the Fall's second album, was recorded in August 1979 at Cargo Studios, Rochdale, and was released on 26 October 1979. ''Dragnet'' signalled a sparser, more jagged feel in the Fall's music compared to ''Live at the Witch Trials''. The studio allegedly complained about the sound quality and protested against putting its name on the album sleeve, fearing it would put other artists off using the facilities.

=== 1980–1982: Classic line-up ===
[[File:SteveHanley1980.png|thumb|200px|Hanley, live with the Fall, 1980]]
The Fall released their fourth single "Fiery Jack", their last for Step Forward, on 13 January 1980. In March, Mike Leigh left the group and went back to the cabaret circuit. According to Leigh, the band would have to wait for weeks without work while Smith came up with new lyrics, as opposed to regular weekly gigs in cabaret. Leigh's replacement was Paul Hanley, Steve Hanley's younger brother. He first played live with the Fall on Friday 21 March at Electric Ballroom, London–he was only 16 and was actually still at school. Meanwhile, the Fall quit Step Forward and signed with [[Rough Trade Records|Rough Trade]]; the first release on a new label became ''[[Totale's Turns]]'' in May 1980. This, with the exception of two tracks, was a live album documenting the band during various appearances in 1979, with Smith announcing last orders at the bar [responding to a request for the song "Last Orders"] and berating band members and audience throughout.

In November 1980, the Fall released their third full-length album ''[[Grotesque (album)|Grotesque (After the Gramme)]]''. Preceded by a couple of acclaimed singles "How I Wrote 'Elastic Man'" and "[[Totally Wired]]", the album went to #1 on the [[UK Indie Chart]]. It was co-produced by Rough Trade's [[Geoff Travis]] and [[Mayo Thompson]] of [[Red Krayola]] and showed a significant improvement in production, which was to continue throughout the period. Smith, however, was unhappy with [[Rough Trade Records|Rough Trade]]'s politics, which showed when ''[[Slates (EP)|Slates]]'' came out in April 1981. Intentionally made too long for a single and too short to be considered an album, it was released as a 10" [[extended play|EP]] for a price of just 2 pounds. The Fall eventually quit Rough Trade by the end of the year, and instead signed with a small indie label Kamera.

As the Fall were going to tour America after the release of ''Slates'', Paul Hanley was denied a visa as he was too young to play American clubs that serve alcohol, which restrict entry to those age 21 or older. Smith thus invited Karl Burns back into the group, initially as a temporary replacement. Select recordings from this tour were released in 1982 as ''[[A Part of America Therein, 1981]]''. After their return to the UK, Burns stayed in the group as a second drummer alongside Hanley. The first record to feature both Burns and Hanley became the "Lie Dream of a Casino Soul" single, produced by [[Richard Mazda]] and released in Australia and New Zealand in November 1981.

On 8 March 1982 ''[[Hex Enduction Hour]]'', also produced by Mazda, was released on Kamera Records, the Fall's seventh single ("Look, Know") was released 19 April 1982 on Kamera. On 27 September the ''[[Room to Live]]'' album was released on Kamera. Marc Riley was sacked at the end of the year, following several arguments, one of which resulted in a fist fight during the Australian tour. In response, Riley's band "The Creepers" wrote the track "Jumper Clown", which directly references Riley's dismissal, while also satirising Smith's dress sense.

This era is often regarded as a high point in the band's creative history, as noted by Ned Raggett of [[AllMusic]] who retrospectively described the late years with Riley and shortly after his departure as "three years during which the band couldn't seem to make a wrong step."<ref>Raggett, Ned. [https://www.allmusic.com/album/the-fall-in-palace-of-swords-reversed-mw0000246636 The Fall, In: Palace of Swords Reversed (review)] AllMusic, accessed 31 July 2020</ref>

=== 1983–1989: Brix Smith years ===
In 1983, Rough Trade Records released the Fall's ninth single, "The Man Whose Head Expanded", and on 19 September issued the band's tenth single and double pack "Kicker Conspiracy". Bizarrely, in November Kamera Records released around two- to three-thousand copies of the planned 1982 single "Marquis Cha Cha", the release date having been put back due to Kamera's financial troubles in late 1982, making it the Fall's eleventh single issue.

[[File:Brix Smith.jpg|thumb|left|[[Steve Hanley (musician)|Steve Hanley]] and [[Brix Smith]] during the ''[[Perverted By Language]]'' tour in [[Hamburg|Hamburg, Germany]], April 1984]]
That year Smith's American girlfriend and later wife, [[Brix Smith]] joined the band on guitar. Born Laura Elise Salenger, she was nicknamed after the track "[[The Guns of Brixton]]" by [[the Clash]], a favourite song of hers. Brix's tenure in the group marked a shift towards the relatively conventional, with the songs she co-wrote often having strong [[Hook (music)|pop hooks]] and more orthodox verse-chorus-verse structures. Additionally, Brix's keen sense of fashion gradually influenced the group's members to give more attention to their clothing and styling, though her platinum blonde hair and glamorous style were somewhat at odds to the otherwise working class appearance of the Fall. Brix's first live appearance with the Fall was on 21 September 1983 at the Hellfire Club, Wakefield.

''[[Perverted by Language]]'', released 5 December, was the Fall's final album for [[Rough Trade Records]], but the first to feature Brix. Also released in December was the live album ''In a Hole'', recorded during the Fall's tour of New Zealand in 1982, on [[Flying Nun Records]].

This era, a favourite period amongst many critics and fans, was marked by Brix's effort to find a wider audience for the Fall. They achieved a few modest UK hits with singles, including their versions of [[R. Dean Taylor]]'s "[[There's a Ghost in My House]]" (no. 30, 1987) and [[the Kinks]]' "[[Victoria (The Kinks song)|Victoria]]" (no. 35, 1988) and their own songs "[[Hey! Luciani]]" (no. 59, 1986) and "[[Hit the North]]" (no. 57, 1987),<ref name="betts">{{cite book| first= Graham| last= Betts| year=2004| title= Complete UK Hit Singles 1952-2004| edition= 1st|publisher= Collins| location= London| isbn= 0-00-717931-6| page=271}}</ref> and enjoyed a string of critically acclaimed albums: ''[[The Wonderful and Frightening World Of...|The Wonderful and Frightening World of the Fall]]'' (1984), ''[[This Nation's Saving Grace]]'' (1985), ''[[Bend Sinister (album)|Bend Sinister]]'' (1986), and ''[[The Frenz Experiment]]'' (1988). ''[[I Am Kurious, Oranj]]'' is notable as the fruit of a ballet project between Smith and dancer [[Michael Clark (dancer)|Michael Clark]]. [[Simon Rogers]] and later Marcia Schofield played keyboards. Paul Hanley quit during the tour supporting ''The Wonderful and Frightening World of the Fall'', and [[Simon Wolstencroft]] replaced other drummer Burns after ''This Nation's Saving Grace''. Wolstencroft becoming sole drummer shifted the group's sound; his drumming was described as "nimble" and "funky" when compared to Burns.<ref name="The Fallen"/> In 2014 [[Simon Wolstencroft|Wolstencroft]] published a memoir ''You Can Drum But You Can't Hide'' about his 11-year stint in the Fall.<ref>{{cite book |last=Wolstencroft |first=Simon |url=http://stratabooks.co.uk/book/memoir-5/you-can-drum-but-you-cant-hide/ |title=You Can Drum But You Can't Hide |date=13 November 2014 |work= |publisher=Stata books |isbn=9780957369078 |access-date=6 August 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924110819/http://www.stratabooks.co.uk/book/memoir-5/you-can-drum-but-you-cant-hide/ |archive-date=24 September 2015 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

=== 1990–2000 ===

With Brix's departure in 1989 – both from the band and her marriage to Smith – Bramah returned briefly for 1990's ''[[Extricate]]'', the first of the Fall's three albums for [[Phonogram Records]]. In the early 1990s the band continued to have modest success on the UK chart with singles including "[[Telephone Thing]]" (no. 58, 1990), "[[White Lightning (The Big Bopper song)|White Lightning]]" (no. 56, 1990), "[[Free Range (The Fall song)|Free Range]]" (no. 40, 1992) and "Why Are People Grudgeful" (no. 43, 1993).<ref name="betts"/> Bramah and Schofield were sacked in advance of 1991's ''[[Shift-Work (album)|Shift-Work]]''. Dave Bush joined on keyboards for 1992's ''[[Code: Selfish]]'', followed by the band's return to an independent record label for ''[[The Infotainment Scan]]'' (1993), ''[[Middle Class Revolt]]'' (1994), and ''[[Cerebral Caustic]]'' (1995). These albums featured varying degrees of [[electronica]] and [[Intelligent dance music|IDM]], courtesy of Bush's keyboards and computers. ''Caustic'' saw the unexpected return of Smith's ex-wife Brix, who recorded ''[[The Light User Syndrome]]'' before departing in 1996. When Dave Bush went to join [[Elastica]], Scanlon was sacked after sixteen years, an unpopular decision which Smith would later regret. In November 1994 [[Julia Nagle]] joined to help promote the release of ''[[Cerebral Caustic]]'', playing keyboards, guitars and computers. Nagle went onto contribute to ''[[The Light User Syndrome]]'' in 1996. That year also saw the start of a [[List of compilation albums by The Fall|torrent of compilations]] of live, demo and alternative versions of songs on the Fall's new label Receiver Records.

In 1994 and 1996, the Fall played at the [[Phoenix Festival]] in [[Stratford-upon-Avon]], England–the 1996 appearance being one of much surprise to many fans as they were not scheduled to play. The next album, ''[[Levitate (The Fall album)|Levitate]]'' (1997), toyed with [[drum and bass]] and polarised opinion (long-serving drummer Simon Wolstencroft left halfway through the recording sessions, and was replaced–again–by Karl Burns). [[Seething Wells|Steven Wells]] in the ''[[NME]]'' (11 October 1997) wrote, "Imagine pop without perimeters. Imagine rock without rules. Imagine art without the wank. If you've never heard the Fall then ''Levitate'' will be either the best or the worst record you've ever heard." The group was temporarily reduced to Smith and Nagle when a short US tour ended in April 1998 with onstage rows in New York, which resulted in Smith unplugging the amps during songs and lashing out at the other members, leading Burns to physically shove him. This led to the departure of Hanley (bassist of nineteen years), Burns, and guitarist Tommy Crooks. The following day, Smith was arrested and charged with assaulting Nagle in their hotel.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.vh1.com/artists/news/512609/03041999/fall.jhtml |title=VH1.com : Artists : A–Z : The Fall : The Fall's Mark E. Smith |last=Tortorici |first=Frank |date=5 March 1999 |work=vh1.com |access-date=25 May 2013 |archive-date=29 June 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110629145153/http://www.vh1.com/artists/news/512609/03041999/fall.jhtml |url-status=dead }}</ref> Despite this, Nagle remained with the band. The Smith and Nagle line-up would release two albums: ''[[The Marshall Suite]]'' (1999) and ''[[The Unutterable]]'' (2000).

=== 2001–2017: later years ===

Further rifts within the band followed in 2001, which led to a new line-up of Smith, Ben Pritchard (guitar), Ed Blaney (guitar), Jim Watts (bass), and Spencer Birtwistle (drums) releasing ''[[Are You Are Missing Winner]]'' that year to mixed reviews. Spencer Birtwistle was replaced by Dave Milner on drums in November 2001. September 2002 saw Elena Poulou–Smith's third wife–fill the vacant position of keyboards player, and that year [[Q (magazine)|''Q'' magazine]] named the Fall one of "50 Bands to See Before You Die". ''[[The Real New Fall LP (Formerly Country on the Click)|The Real New Fall LP]]'' (renamed from ''Country on the Click'' after an earlier mix of the album appeared on Internet [[file sharing]] networks) followed in 2003, with a slightly different mix and some extra tracks for the US version, after which Jim Watts was sacked (replaced by Steve Trafford) and Milner was replaced by a returning Spencer Birtwistle. In 2004 the band released its first [[50,000 Fall Fans Can't Be Wrong|career-spanning compilation]] to positive reviews in June, and a new album, [[Interim (album)|Interim]], in November.{{citation needed|date=June 2019}}

[[File:The Fall-.jpg|left|thumb|200px|Edinburgh, 2011]]
In January 2005, the Fall were the subject of a [[BBC Four]] TV documentary, ''The Fall: The Wonderful and Frightening World of Mark E Smith''. Their twenty-fifth studio album, entitled ''[[Fall Heads Roll]]'', was issued on 3 October 2005. The guitarist, bassist, and drummer all left the group acrimoniously during the US summer 2006 tour after just four dates. In a US radio interview, Smith described their departures as "the best thing that ever happened" to the Fall, although it was some months before he confirmed that they would not be returning.<ref>{{cite journal |last=McNaughton |first=Allan |year=2006 |title=The Fall: Mark E. Smith on Drugs, Fascists, & Lazy Musicians |journal=Maximum Rock'n'Roll |url=http://www.visi.com/fall/gigography/image/06aug_maximumrnr/index.html |access-date=25 May 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081224214010/http://www.visi.com/fall/gigography/image/06aug_maximumrnr/index.html |archive-date=24 December 2008}}</ref>

Early in 2007 the Fall released the ''[[Reformation Post TLC]]'' album, recorded with the same lineup that salvaged the 2006 US tour. Yet another lineup released ''[[Imperial Wax Solvent]]'', in 2008; this lineup would hold for the following three albums, and the core of Peter Greenway (guitar), David Spurr (bass), and Keiron Melling (drums) for the remainder of the band's existence. In April 2009, the Fall signed with UK-based independent record label [[Domino Recording Company|Domino Records]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://thequietus.com/articles/01427-the-fall-s-nex-album-will-be-on-domino |title=The Quietus <nowiki>| News |</nowiki> Fall Sign to Domino, Says Mark E Smith |date=3 April 2009 |work=[[The Quietus]] |access-date=25 May 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://pitchfork.com/news/35038-the-fall-sign-with-domino/ |title=The Fall Sign with Domino  |last=Breihan |first=Tom |date=10 April 2009 |work=[[Pitchfork Media|Pitchfork]] |access-date=26 May 2013}}</ref> A new studio album, titled ''[[Your Future Our Clutter]]'', was released on 26 April 2010<ref>{{cite web |url=http://thequietus.com/articles/03758-news-quietus-exclusive-the-fall-announce-album-release-date-your-future-our-clutter |title=The Quietus <nowiki>| News |</nowiki> Quietus Exclusive: Details of New Album by The Fall Revealed |last=Hewitt |first=Ben |date=18 February 2010 |work=[[The Quietus]] |access-date=26 May 2013}}</ref> and followed in November 2011 by the album ''[[Ersatz GB]]''.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cherryred.co.uk/shopexd.asp?id=3339 |title=Cherry Red Records – The Fall–''Ersatz G. B''–Cherry Red Records |work=cherryred.co.uk |access-date=26 May 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130523130431/http://www.cherryred.co.uk/shopexd.asp?id=3339 |archive-date=23 May 2013}}</ref> In March 2012, the band were chosen by [[Jeff Mangum]] of [[Neutral Milk Hotel]] to perform at the [[All Tomorrow's Parties (music festival)|All Tomorrow's Parties]] festival he curated in Minehead, England.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.atpfestival.com/events/jeffmangum.php |title=ATP Curated by Jeff Mangum (Neutral Milk Hotel) – All Tomorrow's Parties |work=[[All Tomorrow's Parties (music festival)|atpfestival.com]] |access-date=26 May 2013 |archive-date=8 December 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111208083940/http://www.atpfestival.com/events/jeffmangum.php |url-status=dead }}</ref> The Fall released their twenty-ninth studio album, ''[[Re-Mit]]'', in 2013.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://pitchfork.com/news/50281-the-fall-announce-new-album/ |title=The Fall Announce New Album |last=Battan |first=Carrie |date=11 April 2013 |work=[[Pitchfork Media|Pitchfork]] |access-date=26 May 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nme.com/news/the-fall--2/68989 |title=The Fall's Mark E Smith Says He Doesn't Like 'Any' of the Songs on Their Last Album <nowiki>| News |</nowiki> nme.com |date=2 March 2013 |work=[[NME]]|access-date=26 May 2013}}</ref>

In 2014, former members [[Brix Smith|Brix Smith Start]], [[Steve Hanley (musician)|Steve Hanley]] and Paul Hanley formed a new group called [[Brix & the Extricated]].<ref>O'Hagan, Sean. "[https://www.theguardian.com/music/2016/may/01/brix-smith-start-interview-rise-fall-rise-mark-e-smith-nigel-kennedy-philip-start-the-extricated Brix Smith Start: ‘Mark E Smith? He’s complicated’]". ''[[The Guardian]]'', 1 May 2016. Retrieved 26 May 2017</ref> In addition to new original material, the group also performs songs that the members had written or co-written during their tenure with the Fall.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Fall girl: Brix Smith Start on new memoir and re-embracing The Fall|url=http://www.irishnews.com/arts/2016/05/05/news/the-fall-girl-brix-smith-start-on-new-memoir-and-re-embracing-the-fall-507794/|website=The Irish News|date=5 May 2016|access-date=2 February 2018|language=en}}</ref> Smith Start and Steve Hanley also both released autobiographies covering their tenures with the Fall around this time frame; 2016's ''The Rise, the Fall & the Rise'' and 2014's ''[[The Big Midweek: Life Inside the Fall]]'', respectively.<ref name=uncut>{{cite news|url=https://gb.zinio.com/readnow/SLANG-QUEEN!/ar-5c044c13-0039-3fdc-8a0a-8c721a5494f5/#/|title=Slang Queen!|last=Hughes|first=Rob|work=[[Uncut (magazine)|Uncut]]|date=May 2016|access-date=12 April 2016}}{{Dead link|date=November 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref><ref>Lee, Simon. "[https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/fall/ After The Fall] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612142447/https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/fall/ |date=12 June 2018 }}". [[Los Angeles Review of Books]]. Preview: 11 December 2014</ref>

The Fall's thirtieth album, ''[[Sub-Lingual Tablet]]'', was released in 2015. This would be Elena Poulou's last album with the band: in a 2016 interview with ''[[Mojo Magazine]]'', Smith announced that she had resigned;<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Harrison|first=Ian|year=2016|title=The 40 Years War|url=http://thefall.org/news/pics/2016-09_Mojo.pdf|journal=Mojo|volume=274|pages=66}}</ref> they would divorce that year.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://inews.co.uk/culture/music/mark-e-smith-fall-ed-sheeran-jeremy-corbyn-evil-twins/|title=Mark E Smith – the last interview|last=Curran|first=Shaun|date=11 December 2017|website=iNews|access-date=9 October 2018}}</ref> The Fall's thirty-first and final studio album, ''[[New Facts Emerge]],'' was recorded as a four-piece and released in July 2017. Michael Clapham joined in May 2017 on keyboards, but never recorded with the band. Following Smith's death, Greenway, Spurr and Melling recruited singer and guitarist Sam Curran to form a new band, [[Imperial Wax]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://thequietus.com/articles/26410-imperial-wax-the-fall-interview|title=The Quietus &#124; Features &#124; Escape Velocity &#124; The Fall And Rise: An Interview With Imperial Wax|website=The Quietus|access-date=26 August 2021}}</ref>
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===Death of Mark E. Smith===
Early in 2017, there were reports that Smith was ill, and over the year numerous live dates were cancelled or postponed for reasons of health, including a week's dates in New York.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://thefall.org/news/fallnews.html|title=The Fall online - latest Fall News|website=Thefall.org|access-date=28 January 2018}}</ref> Having become weak due to a change in medicine, he performed some shows in a wheelchair. His final performance and last appearance in public took place at the Queen Margaret Union, [[Glasgow]], on 4 November 2017. Another show was scheduled for the Fiddlers, [[Bristol]], on 29 November; Smith travelled to Bristol but was then too unwell to leave his hotel room. The other members of the group made a brief appearance on stage and apologised to the people who had come to see the Fall.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.instagram.com/p/BcGI2hDlhFc/ |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/iarchive/s/instagram/BcGI2hDlhFc |archive-date=26 December 2021 |url-access=registration|title=Instagram post by 👯Wendy 👸 • Nov 29, 2017 at 10:33pm UTC|website=Instagram|access-date=28 January 2018}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

On 24 January 2018, Smith died at his home in [[Prestwich|Prestwich, Greater Manchester]] after a long illness. He was 60 years old.<ref name="nytobit">{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/25/obituaries/mark-e-smith-of-the-fall-dies.html |title=Mark E. Smith, Uncompromising Leader of The Fall, Dies at 60 |first=Jon |last=Pareles |author-link=Jon Pareles |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |page=B14 |date=25 January 2018}}</ref> Smith had been diagnosed with terminal [[lung cancer|lung]] and [[kidney cancer]], which his family confirmed had contributed to his death.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Snapes|first1=Laura|title=Mark E Smith's family disclose cause of death|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2018/feb/13/mark-e-smith-family-disclose-cause-of-death-the-fall|newspaper=[[The Guardian]]|access-date=23 February 2018|language=en|date=13 February 2018}}</ref> The announcement of Smith's death was made by his partner and Fall manager Pamela Vander. Smith had been an alcoholic and periodic drug user for much of his adult life,<ref name="Brix">[[Sean O'Hagan|O'Hagan, Sean]]. "[https://www.theguardian.com/music/2016/may/01/brix-smith-start-interview-rise-fall-rise-mark-e-smith-nigel-kennedy-philip-start-the-extricated Brix Smith Start: ‘Mark E Smith? He’s complicated’]". ''The Observer'', 1 May 2016. Retrieved 27 January 2018</ref> and had undergone treatment several times. His condition led to him falling and suffering bone fragmentation several times from the mid 2000s, leading to his performing several dates in a wheelchair and cast. A heavy [[cigarette|smoker]], Smith had long suffered from throat and respiratory problems; yet his work ethic or output never declined and he continued to release a new album close to once a year.<ref name="NSm">Harrison, Andrew. "[https://www.newstatesman.com/culture/music-theatre/2018/01/mark-e-smith-sudden-end-forty-years-prole-art-threat Mark E Smith: A sudden end to forty years of prole art threat]". ''[[New Statesman]], 25 January 2018. Retrieved 27 January 2018''</ref>{{clear}}

===Posthumous projects===
In August 2018, [[Cherry Red Records]], the Fall's final label, announced they had purchased the rights to 40 Fall albums from Smith before his death and plan to release a reissue series and box set sometime in the future.<ref>{{cite web |title='We never fell out with Mark': Cherry Red's Iain McNay on The Fall reissues campaign |first=Andre|last=Payne|url=http://www.musicweek.com/labels/read/we-never-fell-out-with-mark-cherry-red-s-iain-mcnay-on-the-fall-reissues-campaign/073452 |website=[[Music Week]] |access-date=11 August 2018 |language=en|date=9 August 2018}}</ref>