''Bingo-Master's Break-Out!'' is the debut EP by English
post-punk
Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of punk music that emerged in the late 1970s as musicians departed from punk's traditional elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a variety of avant-garde sensibilities and non-r ...
band
The Fall. It was released on 11 August 1978 through record label Step-Forward.
The EP failed to chart in either the
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...
or the
UK Indie Singles Chart.
Background
''Bingo-Master's Break-Out'' is the only studio recording by the original Fall line-up (
Mark E. Smith,
Martin Bramah
Martin Beddington (born 18 September 1957 in Manchester),[The Fall online – biography](_blank)
,
Tony Friel and
Una Baines, plus
Karl Burns
Karl Burns (born Carl Birtles,1958 in Manchester, England) is a British musician best known as the drummer for the Fall, featuring in many incarnations of the band between 1977 and 1998.
Although several musicians have rejoined the Fall havi ...
who replaced the short-lived original drummer Steve Ormrod). The recording was financed by the
Buzzcocks
Buzzcocks are an English punk rock band formed in Bolton, England in 1976 by singer-songwriter-guitarist Pete Shelley and singer-songwriter Howard Devoto. They are regarded as a seminal influence on the Manchester music scene, the independe ...
manager
Richard Boon
James Richard Boon (born 6 July 1953) is the former manager of Buzzcocks and boss of the record label, New Hormones.
Boon, a Leeds Grammar School friend of Howard Devoto, became the manager for seminal punk group Buzzcocks by default, after ...
, who planned to release it on his New Hormones label; unable to afford it, he gave the tapes back to the band. The EP remained unreleased for almost a year, finally coming out in August 1978. By that time, both Friel and Baines had already quit the band, as did Friel's brief replacement Jonnie Brown who designed the cover art.
A fourth track, titled "Frightened", was set to appear on this EP, but it was not deemed up to scratch by frontman
Mark E. Smith.
A different recording later surfaced on the band's debut album, ''
Live at the Witch Trials'', and the original is now believed lost.
Critical reception
''
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music
''The Encyclopedia of Popular Music'' is an encyclopedia created in 1989 by Colin Larkin. It is the "modern man's" equivalent of the ''Grove Dictionary of Music'', which Larkin describes in less than flattering terms.''The Times'', ''The Know ...
'' called the EP "a good example of Smith's surreal vision, coloured by his relentlessly northern working-class vigil."
Track listing
Personnel
; The Fall
*
Mark E. Smith – vocals, production
*
Martin Bramah
Martin Beddington (born 18 September 1957 in Manchester),[The Fall online – biography](_blank)
– guitar, backing vocals, production
* Tony Friel – bass guitar, backing vocals, production
*
Karl Burns
Karl Burns (born Carl Birtles,1958 in Manchester, England) is a British musician best known as the drummer for the Fall, featuring in many incarnations of the band between 1977 and 1998.
Although several musicians have rejoined the Fall havi ...
– drums, production
*
Una Baines – keyboards, production
; Technical
* Jonnie Brown – cover artwork
* Phil Hampson - engineer
References
External links
*
{{The Fall
1978 debut EPs
Post-punk EPs