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> Login to your account > RegisterRENEGADE: THE LIVES AND TALES OF MARK E SMITH Mark E Smith with Austin Collings Peng L.11 . 1 , Viking
From page 50 of Classic Rock Magazine July 2008
Cover of July 2008 issue.
lndie Meldrew rants into print. The Fall's sole original member is a contrary bastard. He espouses a strong work ethic and thinks all journalists are idiots. But his 'autobiography' is ghost-written by a freelance journalist, no less.
The first characteristic Renegade reveals about Smith is that deliberate awkwardness is his MO. He is criticised by his detractors for his traits of world-class obstreperousness and iron-clad, premier-division arrogance, and celebrated for them by his fans. Strictly autonomous, Smith runs The Fall by his own rules and gives short shrift to media and record industry machinations: ''Status Quo used to say that the day you're on the front cover of the NME, that's the time you start worrying. I agree with them."
Renegade is packed with such humourous asides and thought-provoking homilies. It's just a pity that there aren't more of them.
Alex Burrows
