The Fall – Bingo Masters Breakout / Psycho Mafia // Repetition (Step Forward) 1978. So I’m not the biggest fan of the Fall. I mean I love a lot of the stuff they have done and do consider myself a fan but I understand that true Mark E. Smith followers are pretty fanatical. Me, I think some of their material is a tad boring. But when the Fall get it…they get it fucking right. This 45, the first thing they ever released, was definitely a case of getting it right. It has many of the trademarks of The Fall. The Mark E. Smith wordplay for instance is in full effect. On the other hand, musically this is unlike anything they did later (except for some early Peel Sessions). This was largely due to the fact that in the early days of The Fall, it was definitely more of a collaborative affair consisting of Smith, electric piano player Una Baines and guitarist Martin Bramah.
The song most of us may be familiar with off of this single is Bingo Masters Breakout. It was on the classic Burning Ambitions comp released back in the day. But the true winner here is Repetition. It is truly one of the greatest art punk songs ever recorded. So sit back and let Mark E. Smith and company teach you about the “Three R’s”. If ya dig it as much as I do, order yourself a copy of the Live At The Witch Trials reissue. It covers the first two years of The Falls existence (including this) and is completely brilliant.
