Monday, July 28, 1980 Pickup Bank Free Festival, Blackburn, England 

  1. In My Area
  2. Totally Wired
  3. Gramme Friday
  4. That Man
  5. Underground Medecin
  6. Fiery Jack
  7. The N.W.R.A.
  8. 2nd Dark Age
  9. Choc-Stock

NOTES

31 minutes

Yes …….The Fall did play Deeply Vale in 1980 and here is the evidence, albeit it was not at Deeply Vale but instead in a field somewhere in Blackburn Borough, called Pickup Bank – moved there by several injunctions and other things. Apparently the weather was dire which might explain Mr Smiths health, beset as he is by a hacking cough throughout.

What a great gig. Band tight. Smith grumpy/angry, in your face. Sound is very clear, almost soundboard quality, however there is a touch of tape distortion in places.

Simply put this is the band getting into the groove. Interestingly MES quotes the lyrics from Nervous Norvus’s “Transfusion” in a manic version of “Underground Medecin” which sort of morphs into “Fit and Working Again”.

It would be wrong to single out any one track. The interesting thing is the bile delivered by MES against the music industry and current label bosses. Also the wacky commentary that the gig was too “cabaret” and it was a holiday for the group.

Things are resolved and reduced to the pure nature of the Fall in “NWRA”. Where the cabaret theme is revisited.

Well worth a listen albeit being very short, one of the clearest captures of this iteration of the group.

Unfortunately only 45 seconds of “In my Area” survives.