Today we look at track 3 on the album. This in some ways is the most interesting of all in how it came together. On Thursday December 28th 1978, The Fall played at The Electric Ballroom with the Monochrome Set and Subway Sect. As The Fall were one of my favourite bands, as were Monochrome Set, it was a big highlight of the year. Myself and a school mate, Pete Conway, had got into punk music and were excited to go. Pete was working as a butcher at Dewhursts, and I was at Orange Hill School. I was sixteen years old, although I felt a lot older, as we'd been going to gigs for well over a year. I was quite tall, so I never had any trouble buying beers. No one asked for ID. As was our way, we had a few beers before the gig in Camden. The gig was notable, as we got chatting to Dave Edwards and Mandy Spokes at the gig. Dave would become our drummer and Mandy our singer/guitarist at our first rehearsal on Feb 14th 1979!
At some point, long before The Fall came on, myself and Pete became separated. This was not unusual. We had different mates and we often got up to all manner of shenanigans. Usually, we'd meet up at the end and get the last tube home. On this occasion Pete had completely disappeared. Next time we met up, Pete told me a tale of woe. He'd drunk too much, maybe taken something he shouldn't have. He'd woken up at 4am in the morning in the Ladies loo. All the lights were off and he didn't know where he was or what was going on. He stumbled out, and found his lighter. As soon as he had light, he saw a gentleman who looked like he wanted to kill him staring at him. In a panic, he punched the man, only for there to be a terrible crash. He'd smashed a mirror. Realising what was happening, he emerged into a dark, empty, locked venue. Eventually he found a fire escape and let himself out. He said an alarm then went off, so he scarpered.
A year later, we had been through one line up of the band. We chucked out all of the old songs and decided to write a new set. Pete presented a song called Reality Ballroom. It was a rather left field look at his experience. I loved the chord sequence, the breaks and the vibe. However I felt that Pete, as he sometimes did, went a bit off on one. There were lines about Vietnam killing its own race, for instance. But there was a line I loved "The mirrors smash dissolve the vein". I didn't tell Pete at the time, but I thought it was overly pretentious and missed the mark. By Xmas 1980, Pete had left the band.
I rewrote the lyrics. I got rid of all the waffle and focussed it on the events at the gig. I then added a third verse. This was based on a different event. Diingwalls used to have a "half price drinks before 10pm" policy. We went to see someone there, and I had six pints of cider and started to feel ill. I left early and got the Northern Line. I fell asleep on the train and woke at Edgware. As soon as I woke up, I realised I had to throw up. I ran up the stairs and around the corner to the alley that runs beside the sidings. I was just about to throw up when three large, aggressive skinheads approached me. I suggested this was a bad idea, but one grabbed me by lapels of my jacket. Bad mistake, a large torrent of vomit covered him from head to toe. Oddly, he seemed to shrink before my eyes. The other two backed off. Having emptied the contents of my stomach, I felt much better and strolled off home. I looked back, to see him picking bits of regurgitated kebab off his jacket. It seemed the logical end to the story.
Last year, I was playing with ideas and decided to slow the song down, with the rewritten words. I asked Tom to sing it, as it had no trumpet on. Tom loved the idea and has brought a whole new dimension. Fans at gigs have taken to holding up lights/lighters during the song. Although the lyrics are 90% changed and the arrangement is different, I still feel it is Pete's song. I am no longer in touch with him, but if he ever hears it I hope he likes it.
Electric Ballroom
@falsedotsrog 8 Days to go until the launch of The False Dots new album, we don’t live in America! Today the spotlight is on Tom Hammond who sings the classic Electric Ballroom! A tale of woe from 1978! ##postpunk##newwave##electricballroom##camdentown ♬ original sound - The False Dots
No comments:
Post a Comment