A definitive insight into the ever-influential world of Mark E. Smith and the Fall, bringing together previously unseen artwork, rare ephemera and handwritten material, alongside essays by a slate of fans.

THE LOUDER THAN WAR #1 BOOK OF THE YEAR
A ROUGH TRADE, THE TIMES, MOJO, UNCUT, THE HERALD BOOK OF THE YEAR

‘To 50,000 Fall Fans: please buy this inspired & inspiring, profound & provocative, beautiful & bonkers Book of Revelations.’
DAVID PEACE

‘Mind blowing . . . there is so much to enjoy in this brilliant book.’
TIM BURGESS

‘A container sized treasure trove . . . I strongly advise you to buy it.’
MAXINE PEAKE

‘The most wonderful, unashamedly intellectual, pretentious, ridiculous, exciting hymn to this incredible group.’
ANDY MILLER, BACKLISTED

Over a prolific forty-year career, the Fall created a world that was influential, idiosyncratic and fiercely original – and defied simple categorisation.

Their frontman and lyricist Mark E. Smith spun opaque tales that resisted conventional understanding; the Fall’s worldview was an education in its own right. Who wouldn’t want to be armed with a working knowledge of M. R. James, shipping-dock procedures, contemporary dance, Manchester City and Can? The group inspired and shaped the lives of those who listened to and tried to make sense of their work.

Bringing together previously unseen artwork, rare ephemera and handwritten material, alongside essays by a slate of fans, EXCAVATE! is a vivid, definitive record – an illumination of the dark corners of the Fall’s wonderful and frightening world.