Inside the Fall festival: fans, Frank Skinner and the final album

There has never been a group like the Fall. The irreplaceable Smith died in 2018 at the age of 60, bringing to an end the group he fronted for his entire adult life, but interest has been sustained by a slew of reissues, spinoff groups, podcasts and books. The nine-track Post Script, billed as the band's 'official final album' by former manager Ed Blaney, was announced last week and slated for a September release, and The Fall: Futures and Pasts, a three-day all-Fall festival at Manchester's Band on the Wall, drew fans from as far afield as Australia and the US.

In the packed venue bar former members rubbed shoulders with fans and some musicians met each other for the first time; no less than 10 of Smith's former charges were corralled onstage for a photo. The programme mixed interviews, talks, walking tours, a film, a play, a quiz and a DJ set from Simon Armitage.

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