UNDISPUTABLE SLANG TRUTH!
OLD US IDEAS
SUMMER–AUTUMN 1981. The Fall and producer/sound engineer Grant Showbiz tour the United States. Drummer Paul Hanley (17) is too young to play American clubs, so remains in the UK. He is replaced by 1978’s Fall drummer Karl Burns. On returning, the band keep both players and travel to play (and record two songs) in Iceland…
GRANT SHOWBIZ (sound engineer/producer, Dragnet; co-producer, Slates; Hex Enduction Hour): Coming down those steps at JFK the first time, seeing New York, as ludicrous as it may seem, it felt like we were in The Beatles, in my mind. It was astonishing that we got there. Did we even have guitars? I think we turned up and borrowed shit.
STEVE HANLEY (bass, 1979–1998): That was quite a long, intensive tour – a lot of driving. We were fans of The Fall before we joined, so to play with Karl was a great thing. Karl had an effect on my playing. He knew how to build a song up and take it down again. The rest of us were just learning our instruments. He could be a total pain, but he was great.
MARC RILEY (guitar, 1978–1982): We knew we were out on our own – the release of Slates had taken us up another notch. We were a confident unit and we knew we were capable of great things.
CRAIG SCANLON (guitar, 1979–1995): As a band we were very rehearsal-averse, so working songs out on the stage was always the preferred method. You can always eliminate bits that don’t work at the next gig. I think, from Hex…, “Deer Park” and “Jawbone And The Air Rifle” got the most live outings, then “Winter” and “Fortress”.
I didn’t go to America. I don’t know, still, if it was a legal thing or Mark just didn’t think I was up to it. I was only 17. They went off and
