Mumford & Sons labelled 'mongoloid Irish folk band' by The Fall
Mark E Smith offends with rant at Babel band
- Lowlands Festival, Netherlands: August 2010
by Grace Carroll | Photos by WENN
Tags: Mumford & Sons, The Fall
Mark E. Smith of The Fall has labelled Mumford & Sons 'some mongoloid Irish folk band', risking the wrath of disability groups - and right minded people everywhere.
Smith spoke about being put in accommodation next to Mumford & Sons at a Dublin festival in 2010, which famously led to a dispute between the two. Mumford & Sons reportedly started a singalong - which Smith didn't appreciate.
He told The List, "I was talking to the promoter who's a mate of mine and said, 'look, don't take the p**s. You've stuck us next to some mongoloid Irish folk band.' The promoter turns around and says, 'they're number one in your English charts.'
I thought he was f**king joking. They started clopping about singing, sounded like they were dancing on the tables - so I told them to shut the f**k up."
'Mongoloid' is considered to be an offensive slur - particularly after the controversy that surrounded comedian Ricky Gervais using it on Twitter last year. It's used most frequently to refer to someone with Down's Syndrome.
Marcus Mumford, performing on Saturday Night Live in September.
Smith went on to speak about the younger audience that The Fall recently seem to have gathered, saying that it's because of the interent.
He added, "There are a lot of younger people in the audiences these days. You've got the old guard and the young guard, I think a lot of it has to do with computers and getting music that way.
The crowds are great though. We went to Sweden - and they hate our f**king guts there - but even that was all right. I don't know though, it doesn't bother me at all who is there. I don't f**king care who comes."
Watch the video for The Fall's 'Reformation' below:
Mumford and Sons: Babel band's live highlights
