‘Mark and Una - in matching mascara - were exploring Manchester's cultural underbelly and heading elsewhere…’

Breakfast with music pioneer Una Baines and the unveiling of the Women of The Fall Weekender in Manchester. By Ian Moss.

Una Baines . Photo by Gareth Davies.

September sees the launch of the Women of The Fall Weekender, a two-day celebration of the people who were in The Fall that don’t quite get the credit they deserve: the female members of the band. Cult Manchester asked one of the city’s music scene veterans Ian Moss (The Hamsters, Kill Pretty) to profile the woman at the heart of the two-day event - Fall co-founder Una Baines.  

It's a lovely morning and I arrive as arranged at Una's house to a warm smile, a heartfelt hug and the smell of a delicious vegan breakfast cooking. Una is, as ever, a gracious and generous host and sharing food at her table is a pleasure I’m lucky to have enjoyed on numerous occasions.

We begin by discussing Una's upbringing in Collyhurst; her eyes light up as she travels back to her childhood: ‘My dad used to say that anyone who doesn't love music has something missing in their life,’ she says, telling me her dad played harmonica and even took up the bagpipes until work commitments prevented him from progressing. Una loved the annual Whit Walks, marching through the streets of Manchester to the rhythm of the drums before arriving at the local church hall, where the music filled the room in ethereal splendour. She remembers trips to her granny's home in Newton Heath; after Sunday lunch Una would head into the front parlour where a piano took pride of place and she could play for hours, falling in love with the notes she conjured from the keys. Then there were school music lessons with Mrs Brown who would play and teach the children songs from the folk tradition, though Una describes ‘D’ye ken John Peel’ as a horrible tune with horrible lyrics. ‘I never liked it, it had something to do with fox hunting,’ she says. Much preferable - and still loved - was ‘North Country Maid’ which Una learned to play on bass recorder.

A pivotal influence of a non-musical nature also came through school, when a highly progressive and well-travelled teacher arrived with an impressive Oxford University background. Mrs Murphy introduced her young charges to the Humanitarian Combined Project, where her young charges selected a subject to read up on, taking in differing viewpoints and discussing it between themselves with no teacher input. It was unorthodox to say the least in a strict Catholic environment but empowering - and a tool towards open-mindedness that Una fully embraced.

Talk moves towards her later teenage years and the forming of The Fall. Una's boyfriend at the time was Mark Smith, who knew what he wanted to do with his future and would quote from The Rolling Stones song ‘Street Fighting Man’…

‘what can a poor boy do except to sing in a rock ‘n’ roll band?’

Mark’s dad wanted him to follow in his own footsteps into the plumbing profession. But Mark and Una - in matching mascara - were exploring Manchester's cultural underbelly and heading elsewhere, and Mark had been prodigiously writing lyrical ideas for some time. ‘The Fall just seemed to come together naturally,’ says Una of the band that began to emerge from their circle of friends. ‘Tony [Friel] could already play guitar and Martin [Bramah] was learning. Both of them were obviously destined to be in bands.’

And so was Una, with her distinctive keyboard-playing becoming a major factor in the early Fall sound. ‘I always made sure I carried my own instrument and amplifier,’ she states. ‘l made sure I was an equal partner in the group.’ 

Una's time in the Fall ended with the onset of a mental health breakdown. It took some time, and inner strength, to fight her way back and launch Blue Orchids alongside her partner at that time, ex-Fall guitarist Martin Bramah. Also in the band was another ex-Fall member Eric McGann. In this band it was noticeable how much Una's playing had progressed. Her keyboard lines were confident, majestic. 

The end of the Blue Orchids saw Una assemble a predominantly female cast of musicians to record the album Furia under the name The Fates. This album was truly wonderful and forward-thinking musically. The use of drones and the sense of space was ahead of its time and the songs were beautifully reflective of Una's state of mind following the recent death of her mother and the end of her relationship with Martin. The cover art was conceived by Una and executed by another pioneering female artist, Linder Stirling, who photographed Una in Alexandra Park at six in the morning to create a stunning, thought-provoking image. Then, to all intents and purposes, Una disappeared from the public gaze to get on with the more important task of raising her children in a stable environment.

Ian Moss. Photo by Tracy Walker.

In 2012 I played a gig at the Crescent in Salford (reputedly the meeting place of Marx and Engels). At the end of my show the late, great fanzine creator and scene enthusiast Steve Shy came to me and said… ‘may I introduce you to Una?’ She needed no introduction in reality, but I was delighted to see her and to have a conversation for the first time. She was complimentary about my music and performance and a friendship gradually blossomed from there. Una had a cache of songs she’d written whilst she had been tending to her family’s needs and now she had the time and desire to set about doing something with them. Her original intention was to record an album in the manner of Furia - no permanent band and no live performances. Her friend and fellow Furia musician Janet Wolstenholme directed her to Bluesci, a wellbeing centre in Trafford Park that incorporates Seed Studios as a suitable working space. 

Una immediately felt at home in such an inclusive, supportive environment and found fabulous musicians and singers keen to work with her. Then promoter Rico La Rocca stepped in; he was putting on a festival of artists who had played John Peel sessions. Una enquired if she might perform and was gleefully accepted - the first of the many line ups of Poppycock was born. Their actual debut came at The Hulme Hippodrome - I was there. They were ramshackle and unpolished, but the high quality of the songs was undeniable. Una was back and that was a very good thing. Since then, I've seen Poppycock more times than any other group. I've performed alongside them, guested with them and, along with Bob Osborne, released music by them on our label German Shepherd Records. Eventually they were taken on by Tiny Global Records and their album Magic Mothers was released to pretty much universal acclaim. Deservedly so too, it’s a modern classic.  

And so, we find ourselves in 2026. It’s 50 years since Una co-founded The Fall and it’s cause for celebration. Una attends a Fall-themed night at the Night and Day Cafe where she meets Manchester indie label boss Paula Greenwood, who proposes they stage an event that honours and recognises the contributions of the female members of The Fall, who too often are marginalised and forgotten. Una is on board with the idea and much work is undertaken - The Women of The Fall Weekender is happening. 

But what is it?

Well, it promises to be an audio-visual treat featuring several female  ex-Fall members. There will be film. There will be discussions. There will be live performances galore. There will be female bands inspired by the trail Una blazed including Liines, Red Stains plus Loose Articles. There will be live Fall karaoke featuring a host of female singers including Miki Berenyi of 4AD stalwarts Lush. The music for this will be provided by the incredible London group The Fallen Women. There’s even the possibility of a talented young woman called Nico stepping into her namesake’s shoes to perform ‘I’ll Be Your Mirror’. And there will be a happy, proud Una Baines with a beautiful smile on her face lighting up the room. That will be worth the admission fee alone. 

The Women of The Fall Weekender will take place at the Carlton Club in Whalley Range on Saturday 5 Saturday September from 6pm to 1am and on Sunday 6 September at The Kamera Ballroom in Chorlton-cum- Hardy, 3pm to 7pm.

Ticket details here: The Women of The Fall Weekender