1976–1982 Mark E. Smith,
Martin Bramah,
Tony Friel and
Una Baines formed the Fall shortly after attending a
Sex Pistols show at Manchester's
Free Trade Hall in July 1976. The band played their first show on 23 May 1977, with Steve Ormrod playing drums for his sole appearance. The group's first permanent drummer,
Karl Burns, took his place. In November the group recorded their debut EP ''
Bingo-Master's Break-Out!'', which was issued the following year. Friel left the band in December, After brief spells with Jonnie Brown and Eric McGann early in the year, Baines had also left in March, following a "mental breakdown triggered in part by the druggy lifestyle she was leading". She was replaced by Yvonne Pawlett in May. Burns left before the end of the year and Bramah followed in April 1979, claiming that "What initially started out as a collective became a dictatorship" dominated by frontman Smith. The new lineup recorded one single, "
Rowche Rumble", before Pawlett also left the Fall. In an interview years later, the keyboardist claimed that she "never fitted in" with the group, leaving to study biology and breed dogs. Pawlett was not replaced, with Riley and Scanlon performing keyboards. In March 1980, Leigh was replaced by Hanley's brother Paul on drums. followed by the EP
Slates early the next year, featuring brief member Dave Tucker on clarinet. After replacing Paul Hanley for an American tour in the summer of 1981, due to the former being under the age of 21, Karl Burns rejoined the Fall in October 1981 to mark the start of the band's first two-drummer lineup. This incarnation issued two studio albums in 1982,
Hex Enduction Hour and
Room to Live, before Riley was sacked after a physical altercation with Smith, playing his final Fall show in December.
1982–1995 After several months with just one guitarist, the Fall added
Brix Smith in the summer of 1983 after she married frontman
Mark E. Smith in July, just three months since they first met. She debuted on two tracks on the 1983 album
Perverted by Language, which was followed by
The Wonderful and Frightening World Of... the next year. In November, shortly after the latter's release, Paul Hanley left the Fall to form Kiss the Blade, and the following month, his brother
Steve Hanley went on paternity leave and was temporarily replaced by Simon Rogers. After a four-month absence, Hanley returned and Rogers joined officially on keyboards and guitar. Before Wolstencroft's arrival, however, Paul Hanley briefly returned to record two tracks for
Bend Sinister, as well as the single "Living Too Late". Shortly after the release of
Bend Sinister, Rogers left the group to focus on his production work, which he continued to do with the Fall for several years. With new keyboardist Marcia Schofield, the band released
The Frenz Experiment and
I Am Kurious Oranj in 1988, as well as a string of commercially successful singles including "
There's a Ghost in My House", "
Hit the North" and "
Victoria". In July 1989, it was announced that Brix Smith had left the Fall, with original guitarist
Martin Bramah returning in her place. It was revealed later that Brix and Mark E. Smith had divorced earlier that year. Bramah performed on
Extricate and remained until July 1990, Following the pair's departure, keyboards were handled primarily by Wolstencroft, as well as by violinist Kenny Brady, who joined at the same time. After the release of
Code: Selfish and
The Infotainment Scan, Karl Burns returned for a second two-drummer lineup in May 1993. After the release of
Middle Class Revolt, Brix Smith also returned in August 1994, claiming she had "started to miss the artistic freedom that [she] had" in the group. After the band recorded
Cerebral Caustic, Bush was replaced by
Julia Nagle.
1995–2000 After the band spent much of the year touring, long-time guitarist
Craig Scanlon was dismissed from the Fall in late 1995. It has been strongly suggested that Smith regretted his decision, and Scanlon himself said he was invited to re-join the group by Smith several years later, but declined.
The Light User Syndrome was issued in 1996.
Brix Smith left in October, following an argument with
Mark E. Smith at a show in October.
Karl Burns followed in December. The group continued touring until April 1998, when all but Smith and Nagle left the band following two shows in the United States which ended in fighting between band members. Before the planned final show in New York, Smith was arrested after allegedly assaulting Nagle, his girlfriend at the time, which resulted in the show's cancellation. A few weeks later, Smith and Nagle returned for three more shows in the UK, joined by temporary drummer Kate Themen. After several months off, the Fall returned in August 1998 with new bassist Karen Leatham and drummer Tom Head, By the following January, Neville Wilding was the band's new guitarist and Leatham had been replaced by Adam Helal, with both new members joining officially after performing on
The Marshall Suite as session musicians. Head was briefly sacked ahead of the 1999
Reading Festival, with Nick Dewey taking his place for the show, before he was reinstated the following day in time for the Leeds date.
2000–2018 remained the sole constant member of the Fall throughout the band's tenure. Shortly after the release of
The Unutterable in November 2000, Tom Head was replaced by Spencer Birtwistle. By August, keyboardist and guitarist
Julia Nagle had left the Fall after six years with the band. In September 2002, the Fall played one show with two new keyboardists – Smith's girlfriend Elena Poulou alongside Ruth Daniel. Retaining only Poulou on a full-time basis, the group issued
The Real New Fall LP (Formerly Country on the Click) in 2003. Watts was fired that March and replaced by
Simon "Ding" Archer the next month. In July 2004, Watts returned on guitar and Birtwistle returned on drums. The Fall's lineup changed dramatically again in May 2005, after Pritchard, Trafford and Birtwistle all left the band suddenly following a show in the US. The trio were quickly replaced by
Tim Presley, Rob Barbato (both members of American group
Darker My Love) and
Orpheo McCord, respectively. Later in the year, guitarist Peter Greenway, bassist Dave Spurr and drummer Keiron Melling all debuted with the Fall, due to the new members' differing schedules. After the release of
Reformation Post TLC (featuring Greenway and Spurr), the three new additions became full-time members upon the departure of Presley, Barbato and McCord in June 2007. Daren Garratt of
the Nightingales joined as a second drummer between 2013 and 2015, featuring on
The Remainderer,
Sub-Lingual Tablet and ''
Wise Ol' Man''. Paul Bonney of
the Australian Pink Floyd Show took over for tour dates in 2016. The lineup came to an end with the departure of long-time keyboardist Elena Poulou in 2016, after her divorce from Mark E. Smith. Keyboards on the band's final studio album
New Facts Emerge were recorded by Greenway (synthesisers) and Spurr (mellotron), before Mike Clapham joined for the final touring cycle in 2017. On 24 January 2018, Smith died of lung and kidney cancer, marking the end of the Fall. ==Members==