Rowche Rumble
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"Rowche Rumble" is a 1979 song by British
post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of music that emerged in late 1977 in the wake of punk rock. Post-punk musicians departed from punk's fundamental elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a broader, more experiment ...
band the Fall, written by
Mark E. Smith Mark Edward Smith (5 March 1957 – 24 January 2018) was an English singer-songwriter. He was the lead vocalist, lyricist and only constant member of the post-punk group the Fall. Smith formed the band after attending the June 1976 Sex Pistol ...
,
Craig Scanlon Craig Antony Scanlon (born 7 December 1960 in Manchester) is an English guitarist, best known as a member of the Fall between 1979 and 1995. During his tenure he was a stalwart member for 17 albums and co-wrote over 120 of the group's songs; s ...
and
Marc Riley Marc Riley (born 10 July 1961) is an English radio DJ, alternative rock critic, musician, and former music businessman. He currently presents on BBC Radio 6 Music. Formerly a member of The Fall, he co-owned a record label, In-Tape, and also w ...
. Released as the band's second single, it was the first record by the Fall to reach a recognised national chart when it reached number 31 on the indie chart in January 1980, the first month of that chart's existence. The song was recorded at
Cargo Studios Cargo Studios was a recording studio located on Kenion Street, off Drake Street, Rochdale, Greater Manchester, England. It was opened in 1977 by John Brierley (who had gained notoriety in the early 1970s as producer of Tractor's first two albums) ...
in
Rochdale Rochdale ( ) is a town in Greater Manchester, England, and the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale. In the United Kingdom 2021 Census, 2021 Census, the town had a population of 111,261, compared to 223,773 for the wid ...
in June 1979 by the band, at that time comprising Smith (vocals), Scanlon (guitar), Riley (guitar), Steve Hanley (bass), Yvonne Pawlett (keyboards), and Mike Leigh (drums). It was produced by Oz McCormick and the band. Its lyrics reputedly reference an incident when Smith worked as a shipping clerk dealing with the
Roche F. Hoffmann-La Roche AG, commonly known as Roche (), is a Switzerland, Swiss multinational corporation, multinational holding healthcare company that operates worldwide under two divisions: Pharmaceuticals and Diagnostics. Its holding company, ...
pharmaceutical company, and as a result of a clerical error acquired a supply of
barbiturates Barbiturates are a class of depressant drugs that are chemically derived from barbituric acid. They are effective when used medically as anxiolytics, hypnotics, and anticonvulsants, but have physical and psychological addiction potential as ...
which he attempted to hide around
Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...
. "Rowche Rumble", ''The Fall Tracks A-Z and The Fall Live''
Retrieved 2 March 2018
According to Riley, the music is loosely based on "Tight Pants", a 1977 b-side from American band Iggy & The Stooges. The record received positive reviews, with Ned Raggett at
Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...
describing it as "both a highlight of the young band's career and a clear signpost toward much it would do in the future". It was placed at number 21 among the year's top tracks by the ''
NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...
'', and number 40 in
John Peel John Robert Parker Ravenscroft (30 August 1939 – 25 October 2004), better known as John Peel, was an English radio presenter and journalist. He was the longest-serving of the original disc jockeys on BBC Radio 1, broadcasting regularly from ...
's "
Festive Fifty The Festive Fifty was originally an annual list of the year's 50 (though the exact figure varied above and below this number) best songs compiled at the end of the year and voted for by listeners to John Peel's BBC Radio 1 show. It was usually do ...
" in 1979.


References

{{Authority control The Fall (band) songs 1979 singles Songs written by Mark E. Smith 1979 songs Songs written by Craig Scanlon Songs written by Marc Riley