r/thefall

​Evening all. Pam here. Pamela Vander. Pam Van Damn. Pammie V. Nickie. And so on.

Here to answer any questions that people may have about Mark E. Smith & The Fall in the last few years of Mark’s life. I was Mark’s fiancé and cared for Mark to the absolute best of my abilities when he was ill and was there from his first cancer diagnosis til his last breath. I was also managing The Fall (alongside Mark) and helping in a lot of other ways too, which means I have a lot of information on the in’s and out’s of Marks life and what was going on with the group. Information no-one else has.

We had a lot of fun together. And we achieved a lot together even though our time together was cut short. This also goes for the lads in the final line up (Keiron, Dave, Pete) who Mark adored, we did it all together. I also did all of the artwork for the REAL & ONLY LAST FALL ALBUM, New Facts Emerge…

I have a lot to say as I kept our unique life & stories quiet/to myself for years as I constantly try to navigate my life without Mark… until recent events woke me from my depressed slumber. If I hate anything at all, it’s corruption and lies. So hopefully some of that can be covered tonight. I’m also up for any other questions if yr curious about something (I own a lot of the things Mark left behind/last tapes/some of his favourite things like record collection etc) and just any general questions people may have be it current situation or beyond… I’ve gone back into the vaults of my memory and had to think about things I had buried for a long time, but I’m coping well with it all. So let’s do this…

EDIT: Just want to add quickly as it didn’t come up but I was also on Mark’s will (under my real name, which the press got wrong and said it was some random ‘neighbour’ uh no, that was me, press are idiots honestly) so I wanted to clear that one up as well. As before this thread on something I did state this but I wanted to say it on this thread also. But I just want to make clear that if it was up to me, the Post-Script Shitshow would never, ever have happened or been approved at all. They would not be using The Fall name, at all, ever. Anyway, that’s all🖤🦇

Hi all

I am getting married and we are selling a small record collection to fund it. We have some Fall records listed on Ebay, not sure how to reach the right audience for them? Would appreciate advice :)

Thanks

His post from Facebook group below.

Here it goes:

Although I’m probably gonna get some verbals at my end for breaching an agreed

marketing approach of keeping very quiet about the details behind the forthcoming

album, I am driven to a point of despair and affront by some of the vile comments being aimed

in our direction. People whom I considered friends have now turned their back on me over this

project, citing rumour mill bullshit about source, provenance & credibility. Currently none of you

know any real details about the material on the album and so the most bored, self-important ones

amongst you have made up your own versions and then stated your fantasies as fact or opinion online.

Thank you though, you have helped create more press than we could have ever afforded.

I’m not putting this up as an invitation to ask me for more details, or indeed to put my head on the

block, whilst I expect the regular trolls to cough and splutter, I think release date is looming and having

last night heard the vinyl test pressing, I know the product is good enough to try and subdue

some of the nonsense I’m reading.

1. Where have these songs come from?

You’ll find my name appearing with various degrees of accuracy about my role on 8

of the last 9 albums [not Reformation] and it’s a similar tale when you look at singles and E.Ps

from 2004 onwards. Yeah I played bass for a year, but after that I had a much happier and creative

time around the band being ‘The Fall’s Producer’ . This moniker was given to me by Mark around the

time we were recording FHR and it was backed up by the fact that I am the guy who recorded most, not all

of Mark’s vocal takes from then on, for 12 years ish. That’s a lot of time spent of just me and him

in the studio recording, arranging & producing the music you all debate so heatedly. There were healthy levels

of trust, respect and input in both directions and some of the most challenging demands from artist to engineer

that I have ever encountered and sorely miss.

During these sessions we would often throw down Mark’s freshest ideas away from the tracks that were

the current workload. These were done at Mark’s request to whatever backing he deemed fit at the time,

to a drone; to a drum beat; to something I had on the go; accapella; down a corridor to check the acoustics;

to him playing guitar - all sorts of ways. They were often just for fun or to catch a moment. They would get saved

and re-loaded at intervals and more stuff would get thrown at them. Some of these then moved on to the band

for development and some were dropped. A small number however, went to a different place, they didn’t fit the

required vibe at the time and went into a ‘vault’ with phrases like ‘Put that one in the safe for now” or “ you can

do what you like with that one cock”.

I’d never had the time to ‘do what I like’, or check the ‘safe’ and Post Script provided an opportunity for these

loose ends to be tied up. Ed and I found some gems in there that were just needing some fleshing out and arranging

up to help them realise a full potential. We did this with love and total respect and perhaps most importantly, the

approval of Mark’s family.

2. It’s not the last lineup , It’s not The Fall !!

I only agreed to attempt this album at the 3rd time of asking . It had been way too soon and I was

not at all confident that we would end up with a quality product. It was only the constant re issuing of albums

that made me want to get involved and try. When we started I had every door open for me to remain

anonymous or walk away if I thought we were doing Mark an injustice or just polishing turds.

That, coupled with knowing the history of the songs and that no band members had been involved in the conception

or recording of the ideas made it an easy decision to keep it all in-house with just me and Ed.

Neither of us are attempting to be the last lineup, The use of the word final in the original statement was meant to

indicate it will be the last studio LP of unheard recordings, as I’m pretty sure Ed And I are the only people with such

material. The last recorded album by The Fall was and always will be New Facts Emerge.

Is it The Fall? Well, I know that when Mark was delivering his vocal takes and directing me in what he wanted,

he was being Mark , from The Fall. He was in charge and being The Fall in his demands and expectations.

I thought long and hard about this and agreed to it because MARK IS The Fall. Even if you played with him

for years and years, the only constant was Mark . So,yes, these are Fall songs and to some degree whoever

else was involved is irrelevant.

3. Who’s on Drums?

If you really need to know, the drums were recorded by several different session drummers and sculpted

into place. The drummers did not know what it was the recordings were to be used for as we were being secretive.

We captured specific beats we wanted and then made them fit the music and vocals as we progressed.

Ultimately no one played the full beats you hear on a track just sections that have been restructured and

built upon. That, plus I played a bit and didn’t want crediting.

Also , just so you know there is no AI employed at all - I hate it !!! .

That’s me done now with what I wanted to say. At the end of the day its a record and it doesn’t come with a compulsory

purchase order. I was won over during it’s conception and am very pleased with what we achieved, If you’re not convinced,

don’t buy it.