Portugal

Writtten by:

Mark E Smith

Initial release:

The Real New Fall LP, Narnack Records NCK7018 LP NCK7018 CD; (US version of album)

Date:
15 June 2004 (CD)
13 July 2004 (LP)

Subsequent release:
Theme From Sparta F.C. #2 TAKE23 7”; TAKE23 CD; 28 June 2004 (the track was available on this record on early pressings only as a hidden track, Portugal (aka Debacle (For The Record)), in wav. and 192kbps MP3 file formats, and only playable on a computer.
The Fall Box Set 1976-2007 – Castle CMXBX1558, September 2007
The Real New Fall LP; Narnack Records 12″ coloured vinyl; 16 April 2016

Group on initial recording:

Ben Pritchard – guitar, vocals; Jim Watts – bass, guitar, computers; Dave Milner – drums, vocals, keyboards; Elena Poulou – keyboards

Commentary:
In an interview with Tim Cumming (Mark E Smith Interview, Malmaison Hotel Bar, Manchester, 14th May 2004; published in The Independent, 28 May 2004) MES had the following to say about the track: “I wanted to put this song Portugal on the B-side, which we put on the American thing. And they were going, no, no you can’t do it, it’s libellous. Last time we played in Portugal there was this road crew. It’s completely surreal. We arrived and they sort of pissed off on the day of the show, saying we behaved really badly and all this. Somebody threw a bit of paper at them, like a plane or something. It was quite funny; they wrote, like, their excuses for running off. But if you saw these blokes you’d laugh your head off, because they were four big blokes with long hair and leather jackets, and like, I’d knocked on the door at 12 o’clock at night to ask what time they’re going down to the show. Just banging on the door. And they wrote, ‘he was banging on our door at 12 o’clock at night,’ and I got the group to read all their letters out. And a few more. It’s a good track. I’m quite mad they didn’t put it on the B-side. It would’ve fitted great, Sparta with Portugal. It would’ve been good.” [MES is right in his praise for the song, which rocks along in splendid fashion.]

Dave Milner, paraphrased in Dave Simpson’s book ·The Fallen”: [“the group] were employing road managers and crew whom Smith became convinced were trying to rob the band. He complained about this so much that two managers finally resigned in exasperation – taking some money with them. As payment, perhaps?”

The gig in question was on 29 September 2003 at the Centro Cultural de Belém, Lisbon. According to contemporary reports, MES wasn’t in the best of moods on this occasion, spending even more time than usual fiddling with the amps and disappearing off stage for lengthy periods.

The majority of the vocals in the song are by Dave Milner, apart from the following which are the work of Ben Pritchard:

“Firstly, may I take this opportunity to apologise to you all for the situation which developed. I at least owe you an explanation. Both myself and the crew were subjected to both verbal and physical abuse.”

“They were swearing. Throwing newspaper with snotballs

Snotballs !

And spit at us across the plane and physically slapping round us on the van. I had to threaten him and then I told him that if this continued I would have to review my position.”
This is of a small number of Fall tracks on which MES doesn’t sing. Others include The City Never Sleeps, Birthday, Trust in Me and Stay Away (Old White Train)