The band -- with support from punk poet John Cooper Clarke -- have been booked to play Burnley Mechanics on October 9.

Despite The Fall's lack of mainstream success, their influence and reputation within the industry is second to none.

Since the late '70s the band have inevitably undergone a myriad of line-up changes, but at the centre of it all has always been the constant force of Mark E Smith.

With his snarling, nearly incomprehensible vocals and consuming bitter cynicism, Smith became a cult legend in indie and alternative rock.

In the mid-'80s the band's growing following resulted in two UK Top 40 hits, but they were always a cult band, their music too abrasive and dense for the mainstream.

Notable former members of the band include Mark Riley, otherwise known as Mark Radcliffe's Radio 1 sidekick Lard, who is now a DJ on Radio 2. Ian Broudie, of Lightning Seeds fame, produced The Fall's seminal album I am the Kurious Orange. Damon Gough (aka Badly Drawn Boy) co-wrote Calendar with Smith in 1997 and is rumoured to be in possession of a pair of Smith's false teeth, which the singer left in his glove compartment.

l The Fall, plus John Cooper Clarke, appear at Burnley Mechanics, on Sunday, October 9, 7.30pm. Tickets £15 in advance £18 on the door