Renegade: The Lives and Tales of Mark E. Smith

Well they say you should never meet your heroes, I would posit that this has never been more true then in the case of Mr Mark E Smith.

The sight of a young MES fronting The FAll going at full tilt into 'container drivers' would be one of the the most exciting and charming experiences I have had as an alternative music fan.

The sound of an older MES being unpleasant about EVERYTHING and EVERYONE is awful. If you want to know what this book is like without reading it, Get on YOUTUBE and watch the clip when He's 'interviewed' on Newsnight about John Peel's death. On the occasion of a mild mannered and well loved Fall-Championing legend dying, MES has a stunning lack of insight, and uses the opportunity to ramble incoherently and acts bizarrely, until the producers start to wonder why the hell they had him on!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The book is full of irrelevant rantings and thoughts, most of which is ill considered, sounds unfair or very immature. Reading it is an interesting though slightly sad experience, and I felt like I was trapped in the corner of a pub - trying to be polite to an old drunk who only made sense when he's abusing someone.

I'd recommend buying it, just for the bizarre experience

Save your money (3/3 people found this helpful)

Would suggest die hard Fall fans put their uncritical acclaim for M.E.S to one side & have an objective look at this book - its a bit of a stinker... sorry folks whilst he may be a left field British institution you're left with the feeling of someone cashing in on a publishing advance.

Smith spends the early part of the book going on about how much he loves writing - after 20/30 pages you start wondering then why its ghost written. Actaully its just a seris of repetetive monolues stiched together. As another reviewer has already said he obviously has no talent for prose - just as likely he lacks the ability or inclination to order his thoughts into anything much more than a megalomanics blinkered rant.

Strip way the rants about ex band members & you're left with a series of incohernet monlogues about nothing of any consequence cobbled together into a little more than a set of extended interviews that someone not under pressure to deliver a book would have heavily edited . Not being a massive Fall fan but having maintained a passing interest in M.E.S over 30 years or so mainly for his dogged intransigence I found this hugely dissapointing and didn't add anything to what anyone would have already known about him.

You can find an opiniated beligerent drunk with very little charisma in any pub you choose to walk into so you don't need to spend £15 to encounter one from the comfort of your armchair. Hope person who bought me this as a present isn't reading as don't want to appear ungrateful - there are many more books on offer far more deserving of your hard-earned.

Excellent biography (0/0 people found this helpful)

I have to declare an interest here - I'm named in the acknowledgements by the ghostwriter of this book, Austin Collings. As far as the book goes, it's good stuff; I suspect that Mr Collings has contributed more to it that Mr Smith, but that's the drawback to writing someone else's story for them.

The book confirms what I'd long thought: my admiration for Mark E Smith, leader and creative mainspring of The Fall, is still in place. The man has stuck to his vision of that band, weathering the storms of umpteen lineup changes, bankruptcy, drugs and alcohol as he's gone. The book even made me laugh out loud, not what I expected at all.

Unfortunately, the book also confirms that Mr Collings has had a hard ride himself trying to produce this book - what's the betting that Mr Smith couldn't tell you what's in it?

Entertaining - but not easy going.

Aspalls and The Fall, a deadly brew. (7/7 people found this helpful)

Ive just come in from the garden on a particularly lovely May evening having finished both this biography and three bottles of Aspalls dry cider. (sorry if this lacks coherence)

I'm quite partial to both of them in moderation. Whilst the cider was very good but nothing new I must admit that I was hoping I gain something new fom reading this book.....a different insight and to world of the Fall and Mr Smith. Sadly that didn't happen.

Somewhere around the half way point I couldn't help reading between the lines about all the musicians he's sacked, voting tory, etc, etc. At this he starts to become the grating, misanthropic, reactionary drunkard in the corner of the pub strungling with his false teeth. This side of him soon wears thin and my subsequent interest in the book started to wain. However in the second half there are enough interesting anecdotes of him pulling himself out of impending oblivion and serious scrapes to keep most readers hooked. I also enjoyed his Lady Di, Beckham, Elton John, New-Labour bashing.

I can't forget that this is the man who has given us Sparta, Hit the North, Mr Phamacist and dozens of other stunning, witty, and insightful records over years and years. The over-riding power of this book is that M.E.S is rather like the character of Johnny in the film Naked: the down-trodden, intelligent, dissatisfied outsider looking in on society and commenting on the obvious broken mess around us that most people accept or don't even see. The Fall made really wonderful music. There's much about the tenacity in his life lived through the tough times pretty well described in the book that informs and often powers the music of the Fall.

No great revelations here but it will be a very sad day when he stops.

Smell the whisky tang (3/4 people found this helpful)

This is undeniably an entertaining read but the memory has taken a battering over the years. He comes out with some ridiculous stuff like "I paid all the band the same as U2 were getting" etc and banging on about others being sloppy and unprofessional. Half the the Fall concerts I've seen he's spent the gig forgetting words, walking off stage and twiddling amp knobs to no effect.
If you take his ramblings with a pinch of salt you'll find some hilarious moments; Japanese camp guard, Dad's advice and Vic and Bob's unexpected cameo.
Love the guy's music and glad he's doing what he's doing. Also glad I don't have to work with him.

Renegade: The Lives and Tales of Mark E. Smith

Mark E. Smith

Reader Reviews:

You're not up to much (0/0 people found this helpful)

Save your money (3/3 people found this helpful)

Excellent biography (0/0 people found this helpful)

Aspalls and The Fall, a deadly brew. (7/7 people found this helpful)

Smell the whisky tang (3/4 people found this helpful)

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