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Mark RayliBritish musician
Country:
 Great Britain |
Content:
- Biography of Mark Riley
- Early Life and Career
- Marc Riley & The Creepers
- The Creepers' Releases
- Later Career
Biography of Mark Riley
British musician Mark Riley, also known as Marc 'Lard' Riley, gained fame first as a member of The Fall, where he played bass guitar, guitar, and later keyboards, and later as the frontman of Marc Riley & the Creepers. After the band's breakup, Riley became an entrepreneur in the indie scene and a music journalist. Currently, he is the host of a popular radio program on BBC Radio 6.
Early Life and Career
Mark Riley was born, raised, and educated in Manchester. In 1978, he graduated from Saint Gregory's High School in the Ardwick area. After working briefly as a stagehand, he joined The Fall, a band led by Mark E. Smith. Initially, Riley played bass guitar, including on the band's second single "It's The New Thing" and their debut album "Live at the Witch Trials." In 1979, he switched to keyboards and remained in the band until the end of 1982 when he had a falling out with Smith and was fired, over the phone and on the day of his wedding.
Marc Riley & The Creepers
After leaving The Fall, Riley formed his own band, Marc Riley & The Creepers, with Eddie Fenn, Paul Fletcher, and Pete Keogh. At the same time, he co-founded the record label In-Tape Records with Jim Khambatta, which released all of the band's recordings. Despite Smith's dissatisfaction with Riley's supposed "pop sensibilities," his solo career, at least in the early stages, did not confirm this verdict. With The Creepers, Riley continued to perform dissonant rock 'n' roll with deadpan recitation instead of vocals, distorted guitars, and keyboard attacks. While his band's music became more structured and melodic, Riley remained true to the principles of garage punk.
The Creepers' Releases
The material for all three EPs was recorded at BBC Studios with John Peel, and each of them featured Riley's favorite theme: mocking other bands and musicians. Following their debut single "Favourite Sister," they released "Jumper Clown," a playful dig at Mark E. Smith. The EP "Creeping at Maida Vale" included the track "Location Bangladesh" that satirized bands traveling the world in search of exotic locations for their music videos. "Four A's" featured "Bard of Woking," a satire on Paul Weller and his claims to be the "people's poet." Their Peel Sessions (1984) was followed by the compilation album "Cull," which included both Creepers' works and Riley's early recordings with noticeable influences from The Velvet Underground.
Later Career
In June 1984, the band released their first full-length album "Gross Out," followed by "Fancy Meeting God!" After the release of the live album "Warts 'n' All" at the end of the same year, Riley disbanded the original lineup and formed the trio The Creepers with Mark Tilton (formerly of The Membranes) and Phil Roberts from Shrubs. Their first release as a trio was a cover of Brian Eno's "Baby's On Fire," followed by the album "Miserable Sinners." The band signed a new contract with Red Rhino Records, where they released the single "Brute," the second album "Rock 'n' Roll Liquorice Flavour" (1988), and the retrospective compilation "Sleeper" (1989). The band renamed themselves The Lost Soul Crusaders but didn't last long under this name.
After The Creepers disbanded in 1989, Riley worked as an artist and humorist, creating comics such as "Harry The Head" and "Doctor Mooney" for the magazine Oink!. Gradually, he returned to the music business as an agent and producer, collaborating with artists from 4AD and Factory, including Happy Mondays, The Pixies, and Cocteau Twins. It was in this role that Riley first appeared on BBC, initially working on the newly created Radio 5 and then getting his own program, "Hit The North," where he gained mass popularity due to his wit, charm, and deep knowledge of music.
Later, under the mentorship of Matthew "Roger" Bannister, the new boss of BBC Radio 1, Mark Riley and Mark Radcliffe formed the duo Mark and Lard. They later formed the band The Shirehorses, which performed at the Glastonbury Festival in 1997 and released two humorous albums.
Currently, Riley hosts the popular evening program "Brain Surgery" on Radio 6, which was nominated for the Sony Radio Academy Awards in 2008. While Riley no longer communicates with Mark E. Smith, they recently met at a birthday celebration for a mutual acquaintance and agreed to "forget the past because life is too short."
