See the The Fall in action for free

Mark E Smith has spent the last 30 years doing a couple of things very well: Surrounding himself - and an ever changing, onstage cast of thousands - in a fug of fag smoke, and leading generations of rapt audiences through the music and the legend that is The Fall.

The Salford bard, his other half on keyboards, and the rest of the latest merry incarnation, are, astonishingly, on to their 26th album, and have gone on the road, once more, to show how it's done.

The Fall are probably the hardest working band around, performing regularly in the UK, Europe and the US with a mixture of musical styles delivered as an uncompromising and unforgettable live experience that John Peel once memorably described as “always different, always the same”.

Happily, there are no worries that you'll miss The Fall boat when the crinkly one starts picking up the rock and roll pension.

“Keep moving, keep doing it. That’s what The Fall have always been about,” Mark E Smith says. “As soon as one fag burns down, light another one. As soon as your glass is empty, get it filled. As soon as an album comes out, make another one. It’s the only way.

“Otherwise,” he says, “you’re dead.”