Mark E Smith is with Gaddafi on the whole London riots thing

Mark E. Smith, The Fall frontman and cantankerous uncle of modern music, dropped in to BBC6 Music to give his thoughts on the civil disturbances over the summer, with the sort of measured eloquence you would expect from the man who gave the world ‘Hex Enduction Hour’. Seemingly quoting Libyan dictator Colonel Gaddafi, he said the causes of the riots were: “too much laptops, too much Nescafe, that is what he said you know. It’s quite biblical actually, it was predicted in the bible you know,” he continued. People were protesting about what they didn’t really know about. What makes me laugh is that they always seem very well dressed, they don’t seem very ragged.”

Elizabeth Alker interviewed Mark E.Smith at the Laugh Inn in Cheshire on the 28th November at the launch party of their 29th studio album, ‘Ersatz GB’.