If (Mark E) Smith was the group’s jabbing index finger, (Steve) Hanley was its heart. Hanley’s voice in this memoir of his two decades in The Fall is as guileless and coolly measured as I would have imagined from his bass playing, even when he’s describing the most chaotic and unpleasant scenarios – of which, unsurprisingly considering Smith’s central role in the narrative, there’s plenty… Hanley and cowriter Olivia Piekarski adopt a weightless present tense style that underlines the book’s major (unwritten, though obvious) caveat – though unflinching in its detail, there are no retrospective judgements or recriminations here. What’s past is past. The present tense approach also highlights Hanley’s sense of bemusement as events unfold around him… The Big Midweek is as vivid and true a picture of band life as I’ve read since James Young’s Nico, Songs They Never Play on the Radio, a similarly candid account.
