The Fall were an English post-punk band, formed in 1976 in Prestwich, Greater Manchester. They underwent many line up changes, with vocalist and founder Mark E. Smith as the only constant member. The Fall's long term musicians have included drummers Paul Hanley and Karl Burns; guitarists Marc Riley, Craig Scanlon and Brix Smith; and bassist Steve Hanley, whose melodic, circular bass lines are widely credited with shaping the band's sound from the early 1980s to the late-1990s. First associated with the late 1970s punk movement, the Fall's music underwent numerous stylistic changes, often concurrently with changes in the group's lineup.
1980-1982: Classic line-up
The Fall released their fourth single "Fiery Jack", their last for Step Forward, on 13 January 1980. In March, Mike Leigh left the group and went back to the cabaret circuit. According to Leigh, the band would have to wait for weeks without work while Smith came up with new lyrics, as opposed to regular weekly gigs in cabaret. Leigh's replacement was Paul Hanley, Steve Hanley's younger brother. He first played live with the Fall on Friday 21 March at Electric Ballroom, London - he was only 16 and was actually still at school. Meanwhile, the Fall quit Step Forward and signed with Rough Trade; the first release on a new label became Totale's Turns in May 1980. This, with the exception of two tracks, was a live album documenting the band during various appearances in 1979, with Smith announcing last orders at the bar [responding to a request for the song "Last Orders"] and berating band members and audience throughout.  In November 1980, the Fall released their third full-length album Grotesque (After the Gramme). Preceded by a couple of acclaimed singles "How I Wrote 'Elastic Man'" and "Totally Wired", the album went to #1 on the UK Indie Chart. It was co-produced by Rough Trade's Geoff Travis and Mayo Thompson of Red Krayola and showed a significant improvement in production, which was to continue throughout the period. Smith, however, was unhappy with Rough Trade's politics, which showed when Slates came out in April 1981. Intentionally made too long for a single and too short to be considered an album, it was released as a 10" EP for a price of just 2 pounds. The Fall eventually quit Rough Trade by the end of the year, and instead signed with a small indie label Kamera.  As the Fall were going to tour America after the release of Slates, Paul Hanley was denied a visa as he was too young to play American "21 and over" clubs, so Smith invited Karl Burns back into the group, initially as a temporary replacement. Select recordings from this tour were released in 1982 as A Part of America Therein, 1981. After their return to the UK, Burns stayed in the group as a second drummer alongside Hanley. The first record to feature both Burns and Hanley became the "Lie Dream of a Casino Soul" single, produced by Richard Mazda and released in Australia and New Zealand in November 1981.  On 8 March 1982 Hex Enduction Hour, also produced by Mazda, was released on Kamera Records, the Fall's seventh single ("Look, Know") was released 19 April 1982 on Kamera. On 27 September the Room to Live album was released on Kamera. Marc Riley was sacked at the end of the year, following several arguments, one of which resulted in a fist fight during the Australian tour. In response, Riley's band "The Creepers" wrote the track "Jumper Clown", which directly references Riley's dismissal, while also satirising Smiths dress sense.

Q: What happened in 1980?
A: The Fall released their fourth single "Fiery Jack", their last for Step Forward, on 13 January 1980.

Q: What/who was the classic line up?
A: Mike Leigh left the group and went back to the cabaret circuit.

Q: Did any other people leave the band?
A: Leigh's replacement was Paul Hanley, Steve Hanley's younger brother.
Is it known why they left?
According to Leigh, the band would have to wait for weeks without work while Smith came up with new lyrics, as opposed to regular weekly gigs in cabaret.
According to Leigh, the band would have to wait for weeks without work while Smith came up with new lyrics, as opposed to regular weekly gigs in cabaret.