Thank you, sir, thank you for everything...
MARK E SMITH FUNERAL TRIBUTES
MUSICAL mastermind Mark E Smith – frontman of post-punk band The Fall – has been laid to rest.
Mourners said farewell to the singer and lyricist with a service at Blackley Crematorium, followed by a wake at the Woodthorpe Hotel in his home town of Prestwich yesterday.
Friends and musical icons posted tributes to Smith on social media following the emotional farewell.
Former Hacienda DJ Dave Haslam tweeted: “Farewell Mark. Thank you, sir, thank you for everything.”
Smith’s death was announced by his girlfriend and The Fall’s manager Pam Van Damned last month.
The music icon had suffered from a prolonged spell of ill-health, forcing the band to cancel a number of gigs.
Last October, Smith, 60, performed in a wheelchair at a gig in Wakefield and in August the band cancelled a short American tour after he was admitted to hospital.
The Fall’s last gig took place in Glasgow in November, when he was also in a wheelchair.
Born in Broughton in Salford in March 1957, Smith moved to Prestwich at a young age and lived there for the rest of his life.
He formed The Fall, named after a novel by Albert Camus, with friends Martin Bramah and Tony Friel after dropping out of college in his late teens.
Influence by Can, Captain Beefheart, The Stooges and The Velvet Underground, Smith gave up his job as a shipping clerk at Salford docks to concentrate on the band.
The Fall would go on to record 32 studio albums.