I used to read the weekly music newspapers cover to cover in the late eighties and through the nineties so Mark E Smith was always a character I was aware of long before I paid any attention to his band The Fall. Similarly, long before I really caught on to listening to John Peel on the radio I was aware that he absolutely loved The Fall and believed Mark E Smith to be a criminally under celebrated figure in UK music. Happily as the nineties progressed I grew to absolutely love John Peel on the radio, setting my tape deck to record his show for next day listening should I be out in the evening, leaving strict instructions to whoever might be home exactly when they had to turn the tape over. It is a source of immense frustration to me today that I would re-use the tapes once I had listened rather than saving the programs and building up an archive of shows.

The same can be said, but with a far lesser degree of unwavering devotion, of The Fall. I liked a lot of their stuff and they remain one of those bands who continue to throw up delightful discoveries all these years later. Still, recent BBC4 re-runs of 1994 editions of Top Of The Pops have reminded me that probably my first actual purchase of a record featuring Mark E Smith was the Inspiral Carpets single version of their brilliant ‘I Want You’, on which they invited Mark to add some of his distinctive vocals to. This may also have been the first time Mark had actually appeared on the show and possibly the only time he ever did. I certainly recall watching it 29 years ago and absolutely loving this version (the version that appeared on the bands ‘Devil Hopping’ album a few weeks earlier was just them on their own) and I suspect I was gaping open mouthed at the performance.

Back then Top Of The Pops was still largely acts miming their latest hit single, although it had evolved enough for many performers to actually be singing on live microphones, albeit to a backing track of the rest of the record. The first thing you notice about Mark is that he is holding a scrap of paper presumably as a lyric prompt, which when you consider how off-the-cuff his contribution to the track sounds is actually quite funny. Secondly it is instantly apparent what an unsettling presence he is to the rest of the band, especially singer Tom Hingley who keeps looking over his shoulder at Mark stood there, lurking near the back teasing the front man that he might sabotage the whole charade at any minute. Consequently, Hingley revs his Madchester moves to the max to compensate for the lack of onstage camaraderie with his temporary co-star.

And the remarkable thing is that three decades have not softened the divisive impact of seeing Mark E Smith in such a controlled mainstream setting. There is still that temptation in viewers to dismiss him as some drunk bloke who has stumbled out of the pub across the road, stolen a microphone and wandered to the stage. But if you meet the performance on a musical footing there really is something quite brilliant going on there. The bare bones of the Inspirals song is a declaration of lustful romantic intent, a bold statement of readiness for the white knuckle ride ahead and how this blissful union, based on the singers desire will be “right now and forever”. It is sung and played on that track with utter conviction. Add to that the Mark E Smith element and this onion is immediately shedding multiple extra layers. It suggests this protagonist has a history in relationships that is rather destructive and his inner dialogue knows it is waiting to be unleashed. That passive aggressive “I think you should remember which side you are on” not to mention the insults disguised as banter, especially prominent in this TV performance, “you say you’ve lost two stone in weight so why do you look so fat?” For all his erratic behavior and rough edges, there is no doubt that there was something indelibly fascinating and wonderful happening within the singular work of Mark E Smith. His involvement in this 1994 Inspiral Carpets song turns it into an out-and-out psych rock classic.