Hostile

Lyrics

(1)

Nobody ever gave him a good turn. What do you expect?
He was always let down.
They never wanted to let his action down.
But also they wanted it ssublime Sheffieldism and equality equally. (2) 
He was always in the middle for him.
On the fields. Brooklands. They said tone it down. (3)
We all understood him. But he is hostile. 

We are the elite gangsters of the damned, criminals of the damp. (4)
You must come with us, and hunt down -  the hostile. (5)

For years they have believed we were inspired by the Holy Spirit
and the work of God.
They still recognize that many prominent NC members are wonderful people.
They're warm, intelligent, but terribly misguided. 

Slowly, painfully, he become disillusioned.  (6)

They call us "shadowy." Anti-hostile. (7)
They demand to know, with a touching, naive faith of the individual.
Hostile.  

Many times, brothers, have they tried to discredit our gangsterism.
And now we're old, the elite of the damned. (8)

Anti-hostile.

 

 

Notes

1. A foreboding and perhaps underrated weave of weary yet insistent words and sounds, this song is quite unique. As Dan has discovered, in perhaps the single greatest feat of sourcing in the history of the Annotated Fall, the lyrics refer to the Roman Catholic Neocatechumenal Way (NCW), otherwise known as the Neocatechumenate or the "NC." In the early Church, the catechumenate was the practice of preparing a student--called a catechumen--for baptism into the faith (the teacher was called a catechistcatechism means 'teaching,' and a catechism is a summary of doctrine). The catechumen was mainly concerned with the instruction and preparation for baptism of pagans who were converting to Christianity. The NC, on the other hand, is a group formed in Madrid in 1964, the main function of which is to instruct adults who are already baptized. The song's proximate inspiration--and the direct source of some of its lyrics--is an article from the March 2, 1996 Guardian by Madeleine Bunting called "An Elite of the Damned," a line which itself appears in the song. The article details the controversy that surrounds the group, both inside and outside of the Church. According to Bunting, the movement has been accused of "secrecy, elitism, destruction of the individual, and the development of a group dependency." It is remarkable to see how MES has taken this prosaic source material and molded it into a powerful work that is far more than the sum of its parts.

^

2. Sheffield is in South Yorkshire. It is a large industrial town, but is nevertheless sometimes called "the largest village in England" due to its isolation, lack of tall buildings or grand architecture, and largely working class poplulace, among which socialist and left agitation has a rich history. "The Elite of the Damned" draws an analogy between the NC and Sheffield's "9 O'Clock Service," a Church service aimed at youth that was started by Christian artists and musicians at St. Thomas' Church (an ecumenical church that combines Anglican and Baptist traditions, thus not a Roman Catholic institution). The Service, which was accused of insular cult-like tendencies and doctrinal deviations, was shut down in 1995 after its leader, an ordained Anglican priest named Chris Brain, was accused by several young women in the group of sexual abuse and admitted to having sexual relations with several of them.

From egg:

 I had a look at The Rise and Fall of the Nine O'Clock Service by Roland Howard, which says, about a band formed by the NOS leader Chris Brain:
 

Roland HowardPresent Tense (later named Tense) soon had a following of hundreds, mainly Christians, but they were fast developing credibility on the secular circuit. The vision at this stage was far more sophisticated. They eschewed the idea of overt evangelism as far too obvious and embarked on an avant-garde mission to infiltrate and subvert Western culture and thus to bring about more significant change by presenting radical Christian values which could make a long term, more substantial, difference. ... Their first secular concert was at The Limit club in 1981. But their professionalism and credibility was most notably demonstrated in a benefit concert for the Lead Mill arts centre in which they supported The Fall and Cabaret Voltaire.

   

^

3. Brooklands is a ward in Manchester (there was also a racetrack in southern England of that name, but in context this seems an unlikely reference).  

Dan, however, reports that there is a property on Old Bury road called Brooklands, next to the Woodthorpe, a drinking establishment frequented by MES.

^

4. Dan:

I just wanted to note that while "An elite of the damned" here is plainly taken from Bunting's article, it seems to have literary antecedents. For example, see R.D. Laing's review of Jean Genet's Miracle of the Rose in New Society, vol 7, 13 January 1966, p.25, which is entitled "An Elite of the Damned". A quotation from the review: "It is made very clear that it takes years of training, plus discipline before one can have any pretensions towards joining the Genetian elite of the damned." 

^

 

5. The NC reportedly emphasizes obedience and submission among its members. From Bunting's article: "Gradually, they introduced the idea that quiescence was a mark of holiness." The catechumens allegedly were taught to consider their primary duty to be to the NC itself: "the teaching on obedience and submission (a constant theme) subtly changed over time. First it was cast in the context of obedience to God. Then, because the Church is the body of Christ, members were told to obey the Church - standard Catholic doctrine. But then, they extended the idea to claim that the NC was the Church, so members had to obey the NC." In the article it is claimed that this resulted in a situation where each catechumen was told to rely on their catechist to make personal decisions for them.

^

6. These lines are almost a word for word quote of the following passage from "An Elite of the Damned": "For years they believed the NC was inspired by the Holy Spirit and was the work of God. They still recognise that many prominent NC members are wonderful people - warm, intelligent, devout - if terribly misguided. But slowly, painfully they became disillusioned." In the article the passage is a concession that many members of the NC are well-intentioned. By putting these words in the mouth of the song's narrator, however, MES has made them into a cynical and manipulative admission of a kind of resigned nihilism elevated to a principle and, thus, rendered active.  

^ 

7. Again from Bunting: "The NC is a shadowy movement. Its headquarters in Rome are unmarked and, it seems, the phone is rarely answered. There is no literature available: all [founder Kiki] Arguello's teachings are transmitted orally. In England, my inquiries were passed around a bizarre circle of English, Spanish and Italian priests and eventually ran into the sand when it became clear my article might detail criticisms of the movement.   

^

8. These lines (the last of which is of course the title of Bunting's article) derive from the following quote from an anti-NC campaigner named Ron Haynes: "They promulgate a view that the individual is a source of evil and sin and that salvation lies in the group. It is the elitism of the damned."  

^

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Comments (18)

dannyno
  • 1. dannyno | 29/04/2013
NC stands for "Neocatechumenate", and the lines,

"For years they have believed we were inspired by the Holy Spirit
and the work of God. They still recognize that many prominent N.C. members are wonderful people. They're warm, intelligent, but terribly misguided."

are lifted word for word from a Madeleine Bunting article on the sect published in the Guardian Weekend supplement, 2 March 1996.

The article is entitled "An elite of the damned", itself taken from a quote by an opponent of the church in the article.

"Sheffieldism" is a reference to the Sheffield Nine O-Clock Service, where "church services" for young people resembled club nights and where the Rev Chris Brain was accused of sexual abuse: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nine_O'Clock_Service
dannyno
  • 2. dannyno | 17/04/2016
The Neocatechumenal Way also seems to be the subject of Cathal Couglan's song "N.C." from his album "Black River Falls" (2000).
bzfgt
  • 3. bzfgt | 19/05/2016
No lyrics online, damn, a night when I have more energy I'll have to listen to it and try to compare them.

EDIT: doesn't seem to be any recording of that song online, "Cathal Coughlan" is how the internet recognizes the name though.
dannyno
  • 4. dannyno | 23/07/2016
bzfgt
  • 5. bzfgt | 31/07/2016
That's cool, I don't know what to do with it now, I think we'll just leave it down here in the comments. I am practicing austerity a little more up top, I need to look at the comments as their own section more rather than as if no one will read them. It's kind of a cool song. So far I don't hear any obvious connection to the titular subject, it's a bit more allusive or something isn't it?
dannyno
  • 6. dannyno | 26/02/2017
Having dined out on the Neocatechumenate for years, I thought I'd return to this song and see if I could add to my pension by working out sources for the first half of the song - which also feels like it comes from somewhere other than just MES's head.

Here are some thoughts on possible links so far.

As I think I've noted before, the first bit of the text reads a bit like interviews by people who knew a criminal of some kind.

First of all, mention of Brooklands took me to the case of the murder of Carol Wardell (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Carol_Wardell). She was killed by her husband, Gordon, who concocted an elaborate story which fell apart in the end. He was convicted on 21 December 1995, just a few months before Hostile was recorded. Gordon Wardell claimed to have visited a pub called "The Brooklands".

The forensic psychologist on that case was Paul Britton (who has written a couple of books on his career). Britton is controversial because of his role in the persecution of Colin Stagg (who was eventually acquitted following an extraordinary honey trap designed to try and prove that he matched the 'profile' of the killer - another man was eventually convicted of the murder) in the case of the murder of Rachel Nickell.

Britton is also sometimes called "the real Cracker", a reference to the TV forensic psychologist "Fitz" (Dr Edward Fitzgerald, played by Robbie Coltrane), from the brilliant ITV series Cracker, which ran from 1993-1995. Whether Fitz is actually based on Britton is unclear to me, but certainly the link is often made.

Again, perhaps the text is taken from dialogue in that show? Only one way to find out, of course.

Anyway, these seem like good lines of enquiry.
bzfgt
  • 7. bzfgt (link) | 03/03/2017
Dan, Dan, Dan. We put quotation marks around song titles--we do not italicize, for God's sake.

In adding your note, I discovered that I did not sufficiently emphasize your heroism in sourcing these lyrics. I was ashamed and abashed, and I've rectified that now.
dannyno
  • 8. dannyno | 03/03/2017


Yay
dannyno
  • 9. dannyno | 29/09/2017
http://dannyno.org.uk/damnedp1.jpg
dannyno
  • 10. dannyno | 26/10/2017
I just wanted to note that while "An elite of the damned" here is plainly taken from Bunting's article, it seems to have literary antecedents.

For example, see R.D. Laing's review of Jean Genet's Miracle of the Rose in New Society, vol 7, 13 January 1966, p.25, which is entitled "An Elite of the Damned". A quotation from the review:


It is made very clear that it takes years of training, plus discipline before one can have any pretensions towards joining the Genetian elite of the damned.


Again it kind of feels like the phrase comes from somewhere else....
egg
  • 11. egg | 31/08/2019
One tiny correction: I've listened lots of times (actually this song was on the first Fall album I ever bought in 1997!) and I think it's "they wanted its sublime Sheffieldism and equality equally".

But on that "Sheffieldism" point, Dan's comment above made me curious about the Nine O'Clock Service, and so I had a look at The Rise and Fall of the Nine O'Clock Service by Roland Howard, which says, about a band formed by the NOS leader Chris Brain:

Roland HowardPresent Tense (later named Tense) soon had a following of hundreds, mainly Christians, but they were fast developing credibility on the secular circuit. The vision at this stage was far more sophisticated. They eschewed the idea of overt evangelism as far too obvious and embarked on an avant-garde mission to infiltrate and subvert Western culture and thus to bring about more significant change by presenting radical Christian values which could make a long term, more substantial, difference. ... Their first secular concert was at The Limit club in 1981. But their professionalism and credibility was most notably demonstrated in a benefit concert for the Lead Mill arts centre in which they supported The Fall and Cabaret Voltaire.


So clearly MES and Chris Brain were in the same room together at least once, and the disturbing story of the NOS might have provided some material for lyrics. But, having read the book, I don't see any obvious similarities between the story of the NOS and this song, apart from the reference to Sheffieldism of course. Perhaps someone else can dig deeper.
dannyno
  • 12. dannyno | 31/08/2019
egg, comment #11.

That's a fascinating connection which I hadn't been aware of.

But yes, Tense were on the bill at the Leadmill benefit concert:

http://thefall.org/gigography/image/1981-02-28_poster.jpg

That doesn't necessarily mean MES and Chris Brain were in the same room together at all, but it's not unreasonable to suggest they were. I doubt MES would have watched Tense play, but possible that Brain might have watched The Fall.

However, it's more of a stretch to conclude the MES would have been aware of Chris Brain's role in the first support band, or remembered it so many years later. It's possible reference was made somewhere to the gig which he might have read, or that someone else pointed it out.

The proximate reason for the lyric to mention Sheffield and NOS, though, is likely to be the fact that Madeleine Bunting's article mentions Sheffield and NOS:

Madeleine BuntingWhat makes the NC such a fascinating case is that it lies at the point where orthodox religion and cults merge. This was the dangerous area revealed by Sheffield's Nine O'Clock Service, which showed how vulnerable a religiously illiterate generation is to spiritual abuse and how personally devastating the manipulation of faith can be.
:

In which case the Brain/Leadmill benefit gig connection certainly need not have been known to MES and is just a tasty coincidence.

However, since the mention of "Sheffieldism" occurs in the first half of the lyric, and I have a theory that there is a second external source for those words, perhaps this second source (let's call it "X", in the way that Biblical scholars do) mentions Sheffield as well.
dannyno
  • 13. dannyno | 16/06/2020
I've previously overlooked this Brooklands, just on the Bury Old Road, next door to favoured MES drinking haunt the Woodthorpe:

https://prestwich.org.uk/history/places/brooklands.html

The house/building is long demolished,and the site is currently apparently home to a community and sports centre.

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/place/9C5VGPFP%2B5X

Given that this site is very local to MES, seems like it requires further research...
dannyno
  • 14. dannyno | 16/06/2020
Some history: https://www.theboltonnews.co.uk/news/6225407.dream-now-a-reality/

I have a good feeling that Brooklands Playing Fields is the site referred to in the lyric.


On the fields. Brooklands. They said tone it down


When this song was written, it seems like the planning permission battle was underway. And that perhaps this part of the lyric is drawn from local news or conversations about it. "They said tone it down", could be a council response to building plans, couldn't it? I mean, I have no idea, but it definitely warrants closer investigation.
dannyno
  • 15. dannyno | 16/06/2020
I have now shamelessly dropped the Gordon Wardell connection, despite my previous enthusiasm for that theory.
bzfgt
  • 16. bzfgt (link) | 21/06/2020
I'm putting Wardell here in case we need him:

Dan's yeoman's work on this number has earned him, if not free meals in the Prytaneum, the right to have anything he wants published in these notes:

"Having dined out on the Neocatechumenate for years, I thought I'd return to this song and see if I could add to my pension by working out sources for the first half of the song - which also feels like it comes from somewhere other than just MES's head. Here are some thoughts on possible links so far. As I think I've noted before, the first bit of the text reads a bit like interviews by people who knew a criminal of some kind. First of all, mention of Brooklands took me to the case of the murder of Carol Wardell. She was killed by her husband, Gordon, who concocted an elaborate story which fell apart in the end. He was convicted on 21 December 1995, just a few months before "Hostile" was recorded. Gordon Wardell claimed to have visited a pub called "The Brooklands". The forensic psychologist on that case was Paul Britton (who has written a couple of books on his career). Britton is controversial because of his role in the persecution of Colin Stagg (who was eventually acquitted following an extraordinary honey trap designed to try and prove that he matched the 'profile' of the killer - another man was eventually convicted of the murder) in the case of the murder of Rachel Nickell. Britton is also sometimes called "the real Cracker", a reference to the TV forensic psychologist "Fitz" (Dr Edward Fitzgerald, played by Robbie Coltrane), from the brilliant ITV series Cracker, which ran from 1993-1995. Whether Fitz is actually based on Britton is unclear to me, but certainly the link is often made. Again, perhaps the text is taken from dialogue in that show? Only one way to find out, of course. Anyway, these seem like good lines of enquiry."
dannyno
  • 17. dannyno | 01/02/2021
The (presumably early) version of Hostile on the Oxymoron compilation just has MES intoning "Hostile" and Brix's "ahh ahh"ing.

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