I submit that the best Fall lineup ever was the one with Gavin Friday

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"Stephen Song", "Copped It" and "Clear Off", from The Wonderful and Frightening World Of... (although my old vinyl copy doesn't have the latter).

It's not even my favourite Fall album as a whole, but there's something really special about these three songs. Somehow they resist that habituation process whereby even tracks by my favourite bands start to sound like "a Fall song" for example. They always sound as fresh and odd as the first day I heard them, and the common factor is Friday's guest vocals.

Anyone know if he recorded any other tracks with them?

― scriblerus (mike lynch), Friday, 15 September 2006 00:13 (twenty years ago)

I take your point, but

a) you're wrong; and
b) as you admit yourself, it's not like Gavin Friday was ever a member of Teh Fall.

― Why does my IQ changes? (noodle vague), Friday, 15 September 2006 00:17 (twenty years ago)

oh and

c)I'm pretty sure the answer's no, he didn't record any other official tracks with them (but he probly rolls up on some live stuff somewhere.)

― Why does my IQ changes? (noodle vague), Friday, 15 September 2006 00:18 (twenty years ago)

gavin friday is pretty classic, though

― gear (gear), Friday, 15 September 2006 00:22 (twenty years ago)

Hell yeah.

― Why does my IQ changes? (noodle vague), Friday, 15 September 2006 00:24 (twenty years ago)

I think I'd prefer to be wrong, because it makes no sense, and you're right, he's not actually a member.

But even if I were persuaded otherwise, I know that the next time I listen to 'Copped It' I'll just change my mind back again.

― scriblerus (mike lynch), Friday, 15 September 2006 00:30 (twenty years ago)

It's not just Friday's vocals, I think the three tracks in question have some of MES' best songwriting.

The keyboard lines in "Clear Off!" and all of "Stephen Song" - damned if I know what it's about, but it's lovely.

And "You don't last long on a diet of tea, tar and toast!"

― scriblerus (mike lynch), Friday, 15 September 2006 00:40 (twenty years ago)

gavin friday is pretty classic, though

Goddamn, yes. I will brook no argument otherwise.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Friday, 15 September 2006 00:50 (twenty years ago)

I'm a lazy man. What's the story on Gavin Friday?

― Jouster (Jouster), Friday, 15 September 2006 03:43 (twenty years ago)

One of the singers in Virgin Prunes, released some pretty great but underappreciated sophisto-pop type albums. Highly neat (also keen).

― Telephonething (Telephonething), Friday, 15 September 2006 03:50 (twenty years ago)

his soundtrack for 'the boxer' is the best thing about that movie (which in itself is fairly underrated)

― gear (gear), Friday, 15 September 2006 04:08 (twenty years ago)

It's true, those are three of my favorite Fall songs. Virgin Prunes also indescribably classic. You may have a point.

― sleeve version 2.0 (sleeve testing), Friday, 15 September 2006 06:13 (twenty years ago)

Actually, the version of "Copped it" recorded for a session without Gavin was better.

― mark grout (mark grout), Friday, 15 September 2006 06:35 (twenty years ago)

He ruins all three songs

― Oh No It's Dadaismus! (Dada), Friday, 15 September 2006 08:07 (twenty years ago)

I don't even believe you believe your wholesale dismissal dadaismus. How in the world does Friday destroy the songs by providing a colorful counterpoint that invigorates the motion, meaning, and harmonic depth of the songs? How could you say Friday ruins "Copped It" with his perfectly shifting, from swimming underneath to dominance seizing, "Hey Hey Hey He-yahhh" and then, "it ain't what you do, but the way you do it." The whole thing is melodic-dissonant-self-reflexive brillance without too much pointing at itself or wallowing in anything but the beat. It probably would have turned shticky pretty quickly, but Mark E. having a perfectly just-slightly-different-sounding doppleganger who makes his snarling, vague cultural observations challenge themselves inwardly at the same time as they're taking on Elvis Costello, or whatever, gives it, I don't know, an undeniability. And "Copped It" following up with the "I wanna be a dog" ripoff is, at the least, more than cute.

― Wilhelm Dilthey (Hungry Turtle In an Orange Box), Friday, 15 September 2006 12:53 (twenty years ago)

His stupid hammy Gothy voice sounds stupid, hammy and Gothy, that enough for ya?

― Oh No It's Dadaismus! (Dada), Friday, 15 September 2006 12:55 (twenty years ago)

"Over the hilllllll..."

― mark grout (mark grout), Friday, 15 September 2006 13:01 (twenty years ago)

"I wanna be your dog" obv. Roof-roof.

― Wilhelm Dilthey (Hungry Turtle In an Orange Box), Friday, 15 September 2006 13:02 (twenty years ago)

You don't think he interacts with Mark's hammy, observations-through-a-CB vocals in a somewhat dynamic way? It seems like the thick, but not-thick-or-proficient-enough throttle of the band really uses well the gothy challenge.

― Wilhelm Dilthey (Hungry Turtle In an Orange Box), Friday, 15 September 2006 13:10 (twenty years ago)

Mark E. Smith hammy?

― Oh No It's Dadaismus! (Dada), Friday, 15 September 2006 13:13 (twenty years ago)

I'd say his observational style has more than a touch of the look-at-myself-not-at-what-I-say-but-how-I-say-it. I'd say he holds, repeats, celebrates his words, at times, in a way that has more than anything to do with its declarative-ness. He's kind of a demagogue we can get behind, no?

― Wilhelm Dilthey (Hungry Turtle In an Orange Box), Friday, 15 September 2006 13:26 (twenty years ago)

And there I was thinking he sings that way because he can't actually sing

― Oh No It's Dadaismus! (Dada), Friday, 15 September 2006 13:29 (twenty years ago)

Nope.

― sleeve version 2.0 (sleeve testing), Friday, 15 September 2006 13:32 (twenty years ago)

Is there a thread for Gavin Friday's soundtracks or can we discuss them here? Because I've totally ignored them out of laziness.

― Eppy (Eppy), Friday, 15 September 2006 14:06 (twenty years ago)

'the boxer' is most definitely worth investigating. lovely instrumental passages with--when compared with other soundtracks--reasonably uninstrusive dialogue samples. i have only heard bits of his other scoring work here and there, like the songs he contributed to 'in the name of the father' and the music for 'in america'.

― gear (gear), Friday, 15 September 2006 16:29 (twenty years ago)

he was a friendly visitor

― Tim Ellison (Tim Ellison), Friday, 15 September 2006 16:31 (twenty years ago)

IIRC Gavin Friday is on the live recording of 'And This Day' that's on the Hip Priests and Kamerads compilation.

― robert in SLC (robert in SLC), Saturday, 16 September 2006 14:11 (twenty years ago)

no, that's Kay Carrol

― mark grout (mark grout), Sunday, 17 September 2006 21:43 (twenty years ago)

She sounds like a monster.

― derekerdman (Derek Erdmany), Sunday, 17 September 2006 23:21 (twenty years ago)

Wilhelm Dilthey: OTM and you've managed to express why I love these songs much better than I did.

It's the way the two voices counterpoint each other - three, if you count Brix's descanting "la-la-la-laaaaa" in the last bit of "Stephen Song".

On the other hand, Dadaismus, I can thoroughly appreciate anyone who doesn't care for Friday, he's obviously not for everyone. But I'm very glad that I like him or three of my favourite Fall songs would be stuffed.

Anyway TWAFWOTF is one big slice of camp hammy Goth anyway, from the title onwards (not to mention the opening of "Lay of the Land", or all of it, or "Elves" for God's sake).

MES is hamming it up so much in "Lay of the Land" that he cracks himself up in the final chorus.

― scriblerus (mike lynch), Monday, 18 September 2006 02:18 (twenty years ago)

But...why the hell was Gavin Friday on those anyway? "Friendly visitor" - OK, but on *three* songs? What favour was being returned here?

― Hot Hot Heat (Hot Hot Heat), Monday, 18 September 2006 09:57 (twenty years ago)

I reckon he's on the three tracks which suit him, or require him, the most: "Copped It" is (as near as I can make out) an attack on pop-revisionism and retro, with a big dollop of ironic self-recrimination at MES' habit of nicking riffs thrown in, so Friday's presence takes the retro-irony of "Hey, hey, hey!" and pushes it to the limit.

I've no idea what "Stephen Song" is about but it has that lilting eighteenth-century baroque bounce to it, and Friday's style seems to suit it very well.

I can't really justify his presence on "Clear Off!" except that without him going "over the hillllll" I wouldn't like it half as much.

If he was on every track on the album it would swamp it.

― scriblerus (mike lynch), Monday, 18 September 2006 22:52 (twenty years ago)

Okay wait a minute, wait a minute. Gavin Friday. I know the vocals you mean. But he's not the same guy who used to be in...Virgin Prunes is he? (reads thread) Well fuck me he is!! Holy shit! I never knew it was the same guy, but wait...if you watch the Perverted By Language BIS video, doesn't he show up in there? No...I think I'm mixing him up with this sortof faggy guy on that that reads poetry sometimes in between the songs...so who is the faggy guy then? Anyone know?

This is some fascinating trivia. Thanks ILM.

― Ficky Stingers (Bimble...), Monday, 18 September 2006 23:00 (twenty years ago)

isn't that Alan, or Lanah Pellay on Perverted By Language? He/she was a transgender (or just drag queen? I dunno) who was on a couple of Comic Strip episodes.

I've only seen bits and pieces of PBL on YouTube so can't really say for sure.

― scriblerus (mike lynch), Monday, 18 September 2006 23:34 (twenty years ago)

Yeah, that was Alan Pellay (as was).

― mark grout (mark grout), Tuesday, 19 September 2006 06:50 (twenty years ago)

Best Mark E Smith moment:

MES "See, that's why I like your stuff! Cuz, there's no way it could be seen as glamorous!"

AP (off camera) : "Charming!!"

MES: Convulses in helpless mirth

― mark grout (mark grout), Tuesday, 19 September 2006 06:52 (twenty years ago)

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