Uncompromising

As posted by me on Twitter, this evening:

A few years ago, I went into Manchester for a Tweet up. We ended up in a pub in, I think, the Northern Quarter. After we'd been there a while, someone pointed out that Mark E Smith was there.

I have over the years made a bit of a (drunken) habit of going over to shake hands with people who I admire (and also Chris Serle). It became obvious to me that I was going to have to go and say hi to MES.

And that made me feel a bit nervous.

But, inevitably, I went over. He was with a younger guy who seemed to be a sort of combination friend and bouncer. Anyway, I stuck my hand out and said how much I admired The Fall and, specifically, 'Extricate'.

MES took my hand and shook it and asked if I wanted to take a seat. He sent his friend/bodyguard/butler to get us a couple of pints and, later on, I bought a round back.

Against all my expectations, he was friendly and chatty, and I had a great time talking to him.

I only have a few Fall albums but I have always admired him as an artist (and I recommend Dave Simpson's 'The Fallen'). I feel blessed that I had the chance to chat to him. 


RIP, Mark E Smith.

(I didn't have a photo, today, so I asked Dan and Abs if I could take one of them. Dan appears to be channelling the uncompromising spirit of MES.)

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-13.7 kgs
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Reading: 'Set The Boy Free'.