“The Classical” by The Fall

"The Classical" comes from Hex Enduction Hour, the Fall's fourth studio album, released on 8 March 1982, with Mark E. Smith and Richard Mazda producing and the writing credited to Smith and the band. Hex kept the lo-fi sound and the acid-tongued words of the English post-punk group's earlier records, lined up 2 drummers and put Smith's abrasive Northern aesthetic front and center; he pitched the record as a deliberate, often satirical swipe at the music scene of the day, Elvis Costello and Spandau Ballet included.

Work on the album began during a three-gig trip to Iceland in 1981, but only "Hip Priest", "Iceland" and a non-album single were cut in Reykjavík; "The Classical" was among the rest, which the band recorded in a disused cinema in Hitchin, Hertfordshire. Even the sleeve rubbed people the wrong way: HMV would only rack it back to front.

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