With The Falls 1978 debut album Live at the Witch Trials, it was possible to see the group as more-or-less standard post-punks with a few unusual ideas. With its sequel Dragnet, it became clear that this band was really something different altogether.

In part thats because this wasnt the same band; mastermind/frontman Mark E. Smith had replaced all of the group apart from guitarist Marc Riley with new members, bringing the band ever closer to the first of The Falls definitive lineups.

New bass player Steve Hanley and guitarist Craig Scanlon would remain at the bands core for at least the next decade, though drummer Mike Leigh would only last a year or so, being replaced by his predecessor Karl Burns, who would return regularly over the next few albums. The real change thou