Percentages refer to the number of times songs from the corresponding album was played that year out of all the setlists we know. In many ways, this is a fairer way of measuring the popularity (with MES, one must presume) of the respective albums, though there are obviously more factors to be considered, such as release dates and so on.
1977:
Live At The Witch Trials 16.666%
Wonderful and Frightening World...0.384%
Obviously the totals for debut album might have been higher, but we lack information for this year. The Wonderful and Frightening World release is represented by Copped It, an early live favourite.
1978:
Live at the Witch Trials: 63.888%
Dragnet 0.208%
The first album is being heavily previewed, even though there is still a long time to go before its release. Obviously, at this period in the group's career there is relatively little material to choose from, so such figures as that of LATWT are not altogether surprising.
1979:
Dragnet 35.436%
Live at the Witch Trials 22.815%
The first two albums dominate the percentages, but there are strong performances from non-studio album tracks/singles, such as Fiery Jack, It's The New Thing and Mess Of My. Again, however, information is scanty, though we can presume that much the same ratios would be maintained if we knew more.
1980:
Grotesque 29.605%
Dragnet 16.447%
Slates 9.866%
Hex Enduction Hour 0.263%
Live at the Witch Trials 0.230%
Grotesque, released this year, is the clear winner, but songs from Dragnet still feature prominently, and there are previews of songs from albums to be released in the following two years.
1981:
Slates 30.161%
Hex Enduction Hour 28.340%
Grotesque 19.838%
Dragnet 0.058%
We have information for approximately 60.256% of the gigs played this year.
Although the two front-runners seem to be neck and neck, it must be borne in mind that Slates only contains 6 songs, and that each song was played an average of 25 times (we have set details for 47 gigs) and that the songs from HEH were only heard on 17.375 occasions, a figure rising to 19.857 if we count Fortress-Deer Park as one single track. What is clear is that this was a year dominated by album tracks (Grotesque more than holding its own, far better for instance then LATWT which had a very short concert life). The only exceptions to this are the Lie Dream/Fantastic Life single and the for long-unreleased Session Musician.
1982:
Hex Enduction Hour 19.625%
Perverted By Language 11.500%
Room To Live 8.875%
Slates 4.125%
Dragnet 0.163%
Live at the Witch Trials 0.075%
Grotesque 0.075%
Album releases are less important, concert-wise, than the previous year. Tracks such as Lie Dream, I'm Into CB and Wings are featured heavily. Hex is prominent, but Room To Live is an album which MES was never to give much space in the group's gigs, and is relegated to third place in the very year of its release.
1983:
Perverted By Language 27.496%
Room To Live 8.674%
Wonderful and Frightening World... 8.511%
Hex Enduction Hour 8.347%
Slates 3.437%
Grotesque 1.114%
Perverted By Language the clear album winner, though various singles such as Kicker Conspiracy and The Man Whose Head Expanded keep the percentages of album tracks played on stage relatively low. Interesting to note the virtual tie between 1982 releases HEH and RTL and the following year's Wonderful and Frightening...That Slates reaches above 3% is almost entirely due to one song, Middle Mass.
1984:
Wonderful and Frightening World... 57.311%
Perverted By Language 16.745%
Hex Enduction Hour 5.424%
Room To Live 1.189%
Grotesque 1.179%
Gig-friendly songs or what? The year's official album release, TWAFWOTF, wins on percentages hands-down. Its success would prove to be transitory, however. As for Perverted By Language, it retains a strong presence mainly due to two songs, Garden and Hexen Definitive-Strife Knot.
1985:
Lo and behold, TWAFWOTF continued its success from the previous year and topped the percentage charts in 1985 as well, holding off the challenge from the album actually released in these 12 months, TNSG. However, given that 4 of the 6 gigs for which we lack setlists come from the latter part of the year, when TNSG had been released and its tracks heavily promoted at gigs, it would be safe to say that the two aforementioned albums share top honours at the end of the day, or rather year! The Classical and Fortress helped HEH maintain an interest in proceedings, and Dktr Faustus presented us with a preview of the following year’s studio release.
1986:
Bend Sinister 34.834%
This Nation's Saving Grace 20.397%
The Wonderful and Frightening World...5.430%
Slates 2.649%
As is to be expected, Bend Sinister comes out on top, though TNSG retains a strong presence especially in the early part of the year, with L.A., Bombast and Gut of the Quantifier particularly prominent. Slates returns to the charts due to the return of Prole Art Threat.
1987:
Bend Sinister 26.273%
This Nation's Saving Grace 11.494%
The Frenz Experiment 7.224%
The Wonderful and Frightening World... 0.821%
In a year when no new studio album was released, BS held on to the number one spot, although the next Fall LP TFE began to feature more strongly as the year moved on. However, a clutch of songs from TNSG, such as I Am Damo Suzuki, L.A. and Gut of the Quantifier enabled this album to maintain the no. 2 slot in the chart.
The Frenz Experiment 45.017%
I Am Kurious Oranj 26.460%
Bend Sinister 11.684
The Wonderful and Frightening World... 4.983%
This Nation's Saving Grace 4.124%
Grotesque 3.952%
Hex Enduction Hour 1.031%
The Frenz Experiment was the clear winner in a year when album songs dominated the set lists, with only the single Hit The North bucking the trend. However, I Am Kurious Oranj also made a strong showing, with Cab It Up being the most played song of the year. Bend Sinister was third due to just three songs; Mr Pharmacist, US 80s 90s and Shoulder Pads; Grotesque is at nearly 4% due entirely to Pay Your Rates.
1989:
Extricate 34.058%
I Am Kurious Oranj 22.464%
The Frenz Experiment 19.566%
Bend Sinister 5.798%
Seminal Live 9.420&
Hex Enduction Hour 2.899%
With only 12 or so gigs this year, the results are clear. The sheer number of Extricate tracks means that this album headed the table, though the top of the list contained various songs from IAKO and TFE.
1990:
Extricate 47.455%
The Frenz Experiment 10.051%
Bend Sinister 8.779%
I Am Kurious Oranj 7.636%
Seminal Live 5.343%
Shiftwork 2.036%
This Nation's Saving Grace 0.382%
Extricate maintained its first place in a year when a great many more gigs were played. But a handful of songs from TFE brought this particular album back into the public ear again. BS, with the help of Mr Pharmacist and US 80s 90s (both again!) helped keep this album bubbling away in the chart.
Shiftwork 14.451%
Code: Selfish 13.295
Extricate 10.405
I Am Kurious Oranj 6.937%
Bend Sinister 5.202
Seminal Live 4.047%
One of the closest contests between albums in all the performing years of the group. Shiftwork was the winner, though Code: Selfish, released the following year, was a close second. However, there is an important caveat. As we lack information for most of the gigs on the May tour of Germany, and given that Shiftwork had been released the previous month, then we must assume that the figures for this album are far below what they should be if we had more data.
1992
Code: Selfish 41.566%
Shiftwork 15.967%
The Frenz Experiment 7.843%
I Am Kurious Oranj 5.322
Seminal Live 3.081%
The Infotainment Scan 2.241%
Extricate 2.241%
Cerebral Caustic 0.840%
Code: Selfish was by far the album from which most songs were heard on stage this year, with 6 of its tracks filling the first 8 places in the individual songs league. However, there was also a healthy scattering of tracks from other albums, not only from already released ones such as Extricate, Shiftwork and I Am Kurious Oranj (represented in its entirety by one song, Big New Prinz), but also from albums which were yet to come, as in the case of the following year's The Infotainment Scan, and even Cerebral Caustic (championed by Life Just Bounces).
1993
The Infotainment Scan 46.092%
Middle Class Revolt 14.028%
Code: Selfish 10.621%
Shiftwork 8.016%
I Am Kurious Oranj 3.808%
Extricate 1.403%
With information only existing for 32 out of this year's 51 gigs, there have to be a few doubts about the results in the table above, the main one being that MCR is perhaps unfairly done by, given that songs such as War and M5 featured strongly in sets in the second half of the year, which is precisely when the bootleggers let us down! However, a lot of tracks from The Infotainment Scan were still going strong at year's end, so the results are possible not as skewed as one might imagine. The album Shiftwork is an interesting case. In 1992, it's near-16% share was due mainly to Idiot Joy Showland, Edinburgh Man , Pittsville Direkt and The War Against Intelligence. This time around, only Idiot Joy remained from the above quartet and it was up to The Mixer to bolster its still respectable 8%.
Middle Class Revolt 47.475%
The Infotainment Scam 18.182%
Cerebral Caustic 8.589%
Code: Selfish 8.081%
I Am Kurious Oranj 5.051%
Extricate 4.546%
Seminal Live 4.293%%
This Nation's Saving Grace 2.272%
Hex Enduction Hour 1.010%
Shiftwork 0.505%
9 albums featured this year, but Middle Class Revolt, in the year of its release, was the clear winner, with 8 out of the top 14 tracks played coming from this release. Ladybird (Green Grass) and Glam Racket were largely responsible for The Infotainment Scam's second place; Cerebral Caustic was extensively previewed in the last few gigs of the year. Code: Selfish owed its 8% rating almost entirely due to Free Range.
1995
Cerebral Caustic 38.406%
Middle Class Revolt 14.493%
Shiftwork 13.043%
The Infotainment Scam 7.971%
The Light User Syndrome 7.971%
This Nation's Saving Grace 4.348%
I Am Kurious Oranj 4.348%
Code: Selfish 3.623%
Extricate 2.174%
Seminal Live 1.450%
Hex Enduction Hour 1.450%
A predictable year, with Cerebral Caustic coming first in the year of its release. Glam Racket kept The Infotainment Scam in the picture, and Big New Prinz was the reason that I Am Kurious Oranj was still around - likewise Behind The Counter and the title track for Middle Class Revolt. Shiftwork was dependent on Edinburgh Man and Idiot Joy Showland for its continued high placing.
The Light User Syndrome 45.192%
Cerebral Caustic 14.423%
Middle Class Revolt 14.423%
Bend Sinister 9.135%
Levitate 9.135%
Shiftwork 6.250%
Code: Selfish 1.923%
I Am Kurious Oranj 1.923%
This Nation's Saving Grace 1.923%
The Infotainment Scam 0.961%
The Frenz Experiment 0.481%
Although the clear album winner of the year was The Light User Syndrome, with seven of its tracks filling the top ten places in the individual songs chart, the track which according to available data was played most was Behind The Counter, from Middle Class Revolt. A clutch of songs kept Cerebral Caustic in the public eye, and as for Bend Sinister, those old stalwarts Mr Pharmacist and US 80s 90s meant that this album was still represented in the set a full decade after its release
Levitate 34.393%
The Light User Syndrome 21.098%
Middle Class Syndrome 15.896%
Cerebral Caustic 7.514%
Shiftwork 6.070%
Hex Enduction Hour 5.202%
The Infotainment Scam 3.180%
Grotesque 1.156%
The Frenz Experiment 0.289%
I Am Kurious Oranj 0.289%
Feeling Numb and Pearl City, the latter perhaps surprisingly, helped keep Cerebral Caustic in the charts; M5 and Behind The Counter from MCR (but not Middle Class Revolt the song) meant that this album was still represented in Fall gigs. Grotesque made a comeback due to a handful of Container Drivers appearances in gigs. Levitate was the logical winner, with Ten Houses of Eve beginning its fairly long run of success, but The Light User Syndrome was still in a solid second place.
Levitate 35.931%
The Marshall Suite 16.883%
The Light User Syndrome 14.719%
Cerebral Caustic 6.061%
Hex Enduction Hour 4.330%
Code: Selfish 2.165%
Middle Class Revolt 2.165%
Bend Sinister 1.732%
Live At The Witch Trials 1.299%
Songs such as Ten Houses of Eve, Spencer Must Die, Masquerade, Ol Gang and the title track from the Levitate album kept this album at the top of the charts for the second year running. The Marshall Suite, which would be released the following year, came in second, just ahead of The Light User Syndrome, which owed its continuing success three years after its appearance to He Pep and Powder Keg. Individual songs were almost completely responsible for the charting of various old albums in the lower reaches of the chart: Free Range, Behind The Counter, Hip Priest and Industrial Estate maintaining the memory of their various albums on The Fall concert stages.
The Marshall Suite 50.816%
Levitate 18.415%
The Unutterable 6.760%
Extricate 5.594%
Cerebral Caustic 5.128%
The Light User Syndrome 4.896
I Am Kurious Oranj 3.730%
Bend Sinister 0.070%
Live At The Witch Trials 0.023%
The Marshall Suite, released this year, swept the board, with seven of its tracks filling the top ten places in the individual songs chart, and propelling the album to over 50% of total songs played for the first time since 1984 when The Wonderful and Frightening World of The Fall did the same. Levitate did respectably, but the other albums owe their place in the statistics largely due to individual songs: He Pep from The Light User Syndrome, The Joke from Cerebral Caustic, And Therein from Extricate, and Big New Prinz from I Am Kurious Oranj. As for The Unutterable, Ketamine Sun, Cyber Insekt and Hands Up Billy are the three tracks which announce its impending release.
2000:
The Unutterable 34.386%
The Marshall Suite 24.561%
Levitate 8.772%
Cerebral Caustic 7.018%
Extricate 6.316%
The Infotainment Scam 4.210%
I Am Kurious Oranj 1.754%
This Nation's Saving Grace 1.403%
The Light User Syndrome 1.052%
Shiftwork 0.351%
Code: Selfish 0.351%
Though the top three individual places were taken by songs from other albums, The Unutterable was the logical winner this year with a clutter of songs in the top 20. However,, the previous release, The Marshall Suite, was still a strong presence in Fall gigs, and Levitate continued its run of consistently high results, with three of its songs - Ten Houses Of Eve, Ol Gang and the title track - providing the ammunition. The ever-popular And Therein and The Joke kept their respective albums alive, and The Infotainment Scam made a return with A Past Gone Mad getting a makeover and a return to business.
The Unutterable 30.864%
Are You Are Missing Winner 23.869%
The Marshall Suite 16.461%
Cerebral Caustic 6.584%
Bend Sinister 6.585%
This Nation's Saving Grace 5.556%
Extricate 5.350%
The Light User Syndrome 0.412%
Even though tracks from Are You Are Missing Winner featured throughout the year, despite its late release date, The Unutterable still came out on top due to tracks such as Way Round, Two Librans and Cyber Insekt. The Marshall Suite retained a strong presence, and usual culprits like Mr Pharmacist and I Am Damo Suzuki helped keep their respective albums alive in the gruppe's sets. Others, such as Levitate, had disappeared completely.
The Unutterable 30.549%
Are You Are Missing Winner 13.838%
The Marshall Suite 13.316%
This Nation's Saving Grace 8.878%
Bend Sinister 6.266%
Extricate 6.266%
Hex Enduction Hour 4.439%
Cerebral Caustic 4.439%
I Am Kurious Oranj 1.044%
Middle Class Revolt 0.783%
The Real New Fall LP 0.522%
The Frenz Experiment 0.261
The Unutterable came out on top for the third time running in a year when songs from no less than 12 albums were featured in Fall gigs. Mansion and I Am Damo Suzuki gave TNSG a surprising fourth place, and The Marshall Suite remained relatively popular. Albums in the lower reaches of the chart were mainly represented by one song from each release, for example Mr Pharmacist, And Therein, though Hex Enduction Hour saw two songs, Mere Pseud Mag. Ed. and The Classical, haul it back into the public eye again.
The Unutterable 7.773%
The Marshall Suite 6.535%
Are You Are Missing Winner 6.337%
Hex Enduction Hour 6.139%
I Am Kurious Oranj 5.941%
Bend Sinister 5.546%
Middle Class Revolt 4.357%
This Nation's Saving Grace 3.762%
Extricate 3.762%
Cerebral Caustic 2.377%
Slates 1.584%
The Infotainment Scan 0.199%
A remarkable 13 albums featured in this year's gigs, with The Real New Fall LP finally ending the reign of The Unutterable to claim first place. As always, many of the albums are represented by one song: The Joke for Cerebral Caustic, And Therein for Extricate, Behind The Counter for Middle Class Revolt. Only Bourgeois Town and Kick The Can keep the memory of Are You Are Missing Winner alive.
The Real New Fall LP 46.753%
Fall Heads Roll 17.047%
Bend Sinister 7.071%
I Am Kurious Oranj 6.638%
The Unutterable 5.195%
Hex Enduction Hour 4.473%
Slates 3.752%
This Nation's Saving Grace 3.175%
The Marshall Suite 1.443%
Middle Class Revolt 0.866%
Cerebral Caustic 0.866%
A clear victory for The Real New Fall LP, with the first four songs in the individual chart all coming from this album. Fall Heads Roll, represented by a handful of tracks, came in a respectable second place. Mr Pharmacist kept Bend Sinister in the chart, and Wrong Place Right Time and Big New Prinz did the same for I Am Kurious Oranj. The Unutterable retained a toehold on the chart by dint of Dr Buck's Letter. Twelve albums were represented in total this year.
2005
Fall Heads Roll 59.048%
The Real New Fall LP 25.714%
I Am Kurious Oranj 6.858%
The Marshall Suite 6.286%
Bend Sinister 2.477%
The Frenz Experiment 0.762%
The Unutterable 0.381%
Hex Enduction Hour 0.199%
An overwhelming win for Fall Heads Roll, released this year, making it the first album to top 50% since The Marshall Suite in 1999. Strangely enough, however, Theme From Sparta FC, from the Real New Fall LP, was the joint top individual winner, and its stablemate Mountain Energie came in third. The other albums in the chart owe their places to the usual handful of songs, such as Touch Sensitive for The Marshall Suite and Mr Pharmacist for Bend Sinister. It is interesting to note the absence this and in previous years of albums such as Code: Selfish, The Infotainment Scan, Room To Live and Levitate, among others.
2006
Fall Heads Roll 47.593%
The Real New Fall LP 18.142%
Reformation Post TLC 17.963%
I Am Kurious Oranj 5.926%
Bend Sinister 5.186%
The Marshall Suite 2.778%
The Unutterable 0.186%
Fall Heads Roll kept the number one spot ahead The Real New Fall LP, for which Mountain Energie and Theme From Sparta FC performed very well, and of RPTLC, released the following year. This was the third consecutive year that FHR was in one of the top two slots in the table. Mr Pharmacist, as usual, kept Bend Sinister alive in The Fall's sets, Touch Sensitive did the same for The Marshall Suite; Wrong Place Right Time kept the flame burning for IAKO. Only seven albums featured in all, the lowest number since 1996.