The Usher

Written by:

Mark E Smith, Rob Barbato, Orpheo McCord, Elena Poulou

Initial release:

Reformation Post TLC

Date:

12 February 2007 (CD); 5 March 2007 (LP)

Group on initial release:

Mark E Smith – vocals ; Rob Barbato – bass; Elena Poulou – keyboards; Orpheo McCord – drums & vocals; Tim Presley – guitar; Dave Spurr – bass; (additional guitars by Pete Greenway and Gary Bennett)

Commentary:

Review from The Pseud Mag. no 14 (March 2007):

“It has some nice jazzy bass roaming about…and MES just has a spoken vocal…The listing that goes on within the track will no doubt remind many of Dr Buck’s Letter. ”

Tim Cumming, in an interview with MES published in The Independent (22 February, 2007):

His advice to young bands? Well, that’s what “The Usher”, one of the album’s quirkiest gems, is about. He laughs. “I did an A-to-Z for some music magazine of how to be in a group. Things like A: count your money. B: do not mention The Fall in any shape or form.” That laugh again. “It won’t do you any good at all.”

This track didn’t appear on the US version of the album, despite appearing on promo copies and on the US i-tunes edition of the album.