Lyrics
Two swans in front of his eyes 1
Coloured balls in front of his eyes
It's number one for his Kelly's eye 2
Treble-six right over his eye 3
A big shot's voice in his ears
Worlds of silence in his ears
All the numbers account for years
Checks the cards through eyes of tears
Bingo-master's break-out
Bingo-master's break-out
Bingo-master's break-out
All he sees is the back of chairs
In the mirror, a lack of hairs
A light realm, which he fills out
Hear the players all shout
Bingo-master's break-out
Bingo-master's break-out
Bingo-master's break-out
A glass of lager in his hand
Silver microphone in his hand
Wasting time in numbers and rhyme
One hundred blank faces mime 4
Bingo-master's break-out
Bingo-master's break-out
Bingo-master's break-out
Came the time he flipped his lid
Came the time he flipped his lid
Holiday in Spain fell through
Players put it down to
Bingo-master's break-out
Bingo-master's break-out
Bingo-master's break-out
A hall full of cards left unfilled
Ended his life with wine and pills
There's a grave somewhere only partly filled
A sign in a graveyard on a hill reads
Bingo-master's break-out
Commentary
< Post in progress >
“AI”-generated image, 5 January 2025.
There is uncertainty about the correct title of this song. The Fall’s debut EP was called Bingo-Master’s Break-Out! (1978), but on the record and in the press release this track was listed as “Bingo-Master”, inconsistent hyphenation notwithstanding. Seems clear enough? Yet it appears as “Bingo Master’s Break-Out” on the setlist for The Fall’s gig at Huddersfield Polytechnic on 13 January 1978, and on the tracklisting of their 1981 Step Forward compilation, 77 – Early Years – 79 [SFLP 6, see Discogs]. It may be that “Bingo-Master” has always been an abbreviation; but it’s what I’ve plumped for here.
A Very Short History of Bingo
Bingo is sociologically interesting (at least in the British context) as a distinctly working class leisure pursuit with significant participation by women. Commercial gambling was partially deregulated by the Betting and Gaming Act 1960 (which came into force on 1 January 1961), creating a business opportunity for bingo that was exploited most assiduously by the catering and leisure venues company Mecca, pushed in particular by one of Mecca’s directors, Eric Morley (1918 – 2000), who had an eye for activities with mass market appeal. See Downs (2010).
Footnotes
- In Bingo lingo, a “swan” is the number 2. So “two swans” is 22. ↩︎
- “Kelly’s eye” is the number 1 in Bingo lingo. ↩︎
- “Treble-six” isn’t a standard Bingo call, although in that context it could represent the number 18, i.e. six multiplied by three. However, it is a scoring segment on a dartboard, darts being another game often played in pubs.
It is of course impossible to avoid the fact that three sixes inevitably brings to mind 666, the number of the beast, of Biblical-occult significance. ↩︎ - The old Lyrics Parade, later incorporated into The Fall Online – Discography, had this as “One hundred blank faces buy”. Not only does this not follow the – admittedly not 100% consistent – rhyme scheme, it also isn’t what the lyrics printed with the press release say. ↩︎
Sources / Links
- The Annotated Fall: “Bingo-Master” [Archived]
- Downs, Carolyn (2010). “Mecca and the birth of commercial bingo 1958–70: A case study.” Business History, Vol. 52 (7), December, pp.1086-1106. [https://doi.org/10.1080/00076791.2010.523460]
- Ford, Simon (2003). Hip Priest: the story of Mark E. Smith and The Fall. London: Quartet Books.
- Mackay, Tommy (2018). 40 Odd Years of The Fall. Place of publication unknown: Greg Moodie.
- Pringle, Steve (2022). You Must Get Them All: The Fall on Record. [paperback edition]. Pontefract: Route Publishing Ltd. [Online store]
- Smith, Mark E. (1985). The Fall Lyrik & Texte Von Mark E. Smith. In Deutsch & Englisch. With Drawings by Brix. Berlin: The Lough Press. [AKA The Orange Book. Available online in The Internet Archive]
- Smith, Mark E. (2008). vII. The Lough Press & AMarquisManipulationProductions. [AKA the Blue Lyrics Book]
- The Track Record: “Bingo Masters Breakout”
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