“Hit the North (Part 1)” by The Fall
There’s a whole lot going on in The Fall’s “Hit the North”, some of which we would presume you would have had to be resident in the UK at the time of its dropping to fully appreciate. But on the surface, this classic does read a lot like a social commentary piece. Put simply, the vocalist is criticizing the system, which is something that British artists are more or less known for, especially perhaps during the 1980s.
But that noted, it’s not like this piece is actually easy to understand. In the first verse, Mark seems to imply that perhaps the justice system is too stringent. And later on he appears to diss fashion, in the context of the masses being caught up in the latest fads as opposed to more important matters.
But both of these notions are theoretical interpretations on our part. In fact by the looks of things, there is only one line featured in this entire song that isn’t metaphorical. And that is when the vocalist refers to MPs, i.e. the Members of Parliament in the UK, as being “useless”.
Meaning of the Title (“Hit the North”)
According to Mark E. Smith’s own explanation, the titular phrase “has a dual meaning – punish it or go there”. That explanation itself leaves much to be desired in terms of truly understanding this song.
He then goes on to elaborate that no matter where any of us live, there always tends to be “this North/South divide”. And yes, that seems to be true, if not on a local level then at least on a more macrocosmic, geographical one(s). But then he goes on to state that, himself being an English southerner, he actually prefers living in the South.
But then Stephen Hanley, Mark Smith’s bandmate who co-wrote this piece, said it was actually inspired by the singer’s preference for the North.
The Takeaway
What it ultimately looks like is going down is that this is one of those songs that no one truly understands in their entirety. As an illustration of what we mean, take into consideration for example that it commences with a cat speaking.
But since “Hit the North” is considered to be a classic piece or fan favorite, some analysts have tried making full sense of it anyway. And most simply explained this song seems to be premised, once again, on the vocalist’s less-than-favorable view of the system.
And in espousing the North he has arguably, based on the North-South dynamics of his own geographical positioning, identified himself more with the working class than the elite (an idea that some imagery in the music video seems to support).
Or put differently, perhaps we can say that Mark viewed himself as a voice of the people. He saw himself as someone who preferred more of a blue collar setting rather than the lofty living that most professional musicians seem to covet. And relatedly it’s as if he is instructing the listener to likewise “hit the North”, i.e. shun materialism and politics and what have you and live a more-grounded life.
The Fall
The Fall was a group from England that fell under the post-punk category and were in existence for 40+ years. They began around the late 1970s until the late 2010s. Within that time span they were quite prolific. The band actually dropped 31 studio albums in the process.
In 1988 they actually came out with two of such LPs, “The Frenz Experiment” and later in the year “I Am Kurious Oranj”. And “Hit the North (Part 1)” was from the first of those projects.
A bunch of musicians, both male and female, served as members of The Fall throughout the years. Mark E. Smith, the band’s frontman, was down for the cause throughout the act’s entire tenure. In fact by the looks of things, it was his death at age 60 in 2018 which ultimately caused this act to dissolve.
And at the time this song came out, he was joined by the five musicians listed below:
- Steve Hanley
- Craig Scanlon
- Brix Smith
- Simon Wolstencroft
- Marcia Schofield
Facts about “Hit the North (Part 1)”
Mark Smith also wrote this song with Brix Smith, whom he was married to throughout most of the 1980s (and at the time of this track’s issuance), as well as the aforementioned Stephen Hanley.
And Simon Rogers, who was also briefly a member of The Fall though at that particular point was apparently serving as a session musician with the group, produced “Hit the North”.
The Fall released “”Hit the North (Part 1)” as The Frenz Experiment‘s second single via an indie label called Beggars Banquet Records on 26 October 1987.
The video to this track was filmed in the English borough of Blackpool.
“Hit the North”, which peaked at number 57 on the UK Singles Chart, was reportedly The Fall’s biggest original hit in their homeland. And its sound was influenced by some of the more popular English bands of that day, such as The Smiths and Art of Noise.
