So describe ‘Perverted by Language?’"There’s a book I’ve edited called Perverted by Language which is 23 stories inspired by the music of Manchester band The Fall." Why The Fall?"I run a website called Book Munch and I interview a lot of writers for that. And in the course of interviewing, it came up that lots of people who write tend to like The Fall. I think that The Fall’s frontman Mark E Smith is quite cerebral and literary himself. So this idea started to formulate in my mind: different writers taking a song by The Fall and using it for a jumping off point for a short story – and that’s the collection of stories that will be launched at the Manchester International Festival." I take it you’re a Fall fan yourself…"I’ve been a fan of The Fall since I was 14, which is a bit horrific when you think about it!" What do you mean ‘horrific’…?"Well, you tend to think, don’t you, that you outgrow certain things, your tastes change and all the rest of it, and The Fall is the band I’ve been into the longest. I know there are Fall fans who worship at the altar of Mark E Smith and he can do no wrong. Whereas I’m, rightly or wrongly, a bit more critical. So I’ve got Fall albums that I love and Fall albums that I don’t quite like as much but throughout the past 20 years, I’ve been following them more or less." The Fall are very much outsiders, aside from the mainstream. That’s surely a core value of new writing..| "Mark has this attitude that says: ‘I couldn’t care less what you think about me, I’m going to do what I want to do.’ A lot of writers appreciate that." | | Peter Wild, editor |
"That’s a big, big point! I think a lot of writers like the way that Mark E Smith does exactly what he wants to do, and doesn’t make a great deal of money from it either! Certainly, as far as writers are concerned, they see someone who has integrity and purity of vision, which Mark has and this kind of attitude that says: ‘I couldn’t care less what you think about me, I’m gonna do what I want to do.’ I suppose a lot of the writers in the book can very definitely appreciate that." And of course the band takes its name from an Albert Camus novel..."Absolutely! You only have to think of The Fall titles themselves really. Steve Aylett, who’s a counter-culture sci-fi writer, he’s in the book - he chose ‘The Man Whose Head Expanded’. So there’s these great 1950s pulp fiction song titles in The Fall back catalogue that are great starting points for stories." So give us some more examples… | | Peter Wild |
The first story in the book is by Liverpudlian writer Niall Griffiths. He chose Bingo Master’s Breakout. Jeff VanderMeer chose A New Face in Hell. Mick Jackson, who was nominated for the Booker Prize two or three years ago, chose Totally Wired which, as the title might suggest, is about someone who goes a bit crazy after having their drink spiked. There’s a song called Town and City Hob Goblins that an American writer called Carlton Mellick has chosen and that’s just crazy! It’s perfectly straightforward and totally understandable but the things he writes about, you think – Oh my God, this is so in the spirit of The Fall – because you think: What is that??? So they’re all great places to start and great titles to do things with." What has Mark E Smith had to say about the book?"Er... Getting in touch with Mark E Smith is like getting in touch with Osama bin Laden – you have to send notes in satchels on camels through the desert and speak through various ciphers to get to him. To begin with, he was very, very positive and then, as time’s gone on, Mark being Mark has settled into his default position of ‘Yeah, I don’t like it, it’s rubbish!’ Which is fine, because I fully expect that to be the case with Mark E Smith, so it’s water off my back, if you know what I mean. He said in an Irish interview that he didn’t really like the book, but then he’s playing the launch which seems a bit contradictory. But then again, that's the spirit of The Fall, so I’m not over worried." So describe the format of the live MIF performance.."There are three writers from the book – Andrew Holmes, who’s a massive Fall fan – he’s an up and coming writer and he’s read his story at a few rock concerts over the past year or so, so I know he’s strong enough for a rock crowd. Then there’s Rebecca Ray, who’s written a couple of novels so far. And after them, we’re having Stewart Lee, the comedian who’s reading his story out. They’re each going to read an excerpt and then The Fall will come on and do their thing!" The Fall fans amongst them must be looking forward to that..."Stewart Lee was saying he’s a bit afraid. You know what they say about never meeting your heroes. Well, Stewart’s a massive Fall fan, knows every B-side and he’s a bit like: “Oh God, I was going to do a Mark E Smith impression when I read my story out, but now I think he’ll probably come on and punch me.” So there’s a bit of anxiety out there…" And finally, your favourite Fall track and favourite story from the book?"The last Fall song I played was Telephone Thing which is a great tune from a few year’s back – so I’ll say that. And my favourite story at the moment is a story by Michelle Faber called Fortress Deerpark which is about a guy who’s invited on a retreat by a wealthy lass he’s seeing. And on this retreat there are pop stars and African fascist dictators milling around and they all go on this celebrity deer cull. You read it and there’s definitely an exhalation of breath required...! It’s a bit rough, but I like the fact that it hits you quite hard!" 'Perverted by Language' is published by Serpent's Tail. It will be performed as part of the Manchester International Festival at The Ritz on Sunday 1 July. |
