Written by:

Mark E Smith, Craig Scanlon

Original release:

Hex Enduction Hour, Kamara KAM005
[Overseas releases: Australia and New Zealand, Gap Records: GAPK 1007 LP; TC-GAPK 100 Cassette; 1982. Germany, Line Records LLP 5194 AP LP; 1982].
Date:

8 March 1982

Subsequent releases:

Hex Enduction Hour, Line Records (Germany) LILP 4.00126 LP; LICD 9.00126; CD ?.00126 Cassette; 1986
Hex Enduction Hour, Cog Sinister/Voiceprint COGVP119 CD; 16 April 1999
Psykick Dance Hall, Eagle EEECD010; 7 August 2000 (only contains Winter 1)
Totally Wired – The Rough Trade Anthology, Castle/Sanctuary CMDDD461; 15 July 2002 (only contains Winter 1)
Hex Enduction Hour, Cog Sinister/Voiceprint COGVP141 CD; 2 December 2002
Rebellious Jukebox, Shakedown Records SHAKEBX115; 10 November 2003 (Hostel-Maxi version)
Hex Enduction Hour, Castle/Sanctuary CMQDD1059 CD; 17 January 2005
Rebellious Jukebox, Recall/Snapper Music SBOX015; 15 August 2005 (reissue of above)
Hex Enduction Hour, Earmark (Italy) EAR40040vLP; 12 September 2005
Rebellious Jukebox, Recall/Snapper Music SMDCD578; 12 February 2007 (reissue of above9
Hex Enduction Hour, Sanctuary Midline SMBCD427 CD; 23 April 2007 (also released on CD digipak)
Hex Enduction Hour LP, Superior Viaduct SV115; 21 November 2016
The Fall: 1982 6CD Boxset, Cherry Red CRCDBox82; 2019
Officially released live versions:

A Part Of America Therein, 1981, Cottage LP1; May 1982 (recorded 16 July 1981; Tut’s, Chicago, Illinois)
A Part Of America Therein, 1981/Slates, DOJO Records LOMACD10; December 1992 (version as on original release)
A Part Of America Therein, 1981/Slates, Castle/Essential ESMCD637; 24 April 1998 (version as on original release)
A Part Of America Therein, 1981, Castle/Sanctuary CMRCD1052; 22 November 2004 (version as on original release)
A Part of America Therein, Westworld LETV488 LP; 24 March 2017 (details as above)
Radio session:

The Peel Sessions, Strange Fruit SFRSCD048; 25 January 1999 Recorded 26 August 1981, broadcast 15 September 1981)
Words of Expectations – BBC Sessions Castle/Sanctuary CMEDD696; 26 May 2003 (details as above)
The Complete Peel Sessions 1978 – 2004, Castle /Sanctuary CMXBX982; 25 April 2005 (recording information as above)
The Fall: 1982 6CD Boxset, Cherry Red CRCDBox82: 2019 (information as above)

Officially released DVDs:

Perverted By Language Bis and Live at Leeds, Cherry Red CRDVD30, 12 May 2003 (recorded at Riley Smith Hall, Leeds University, 17 March 1981)
Northern Cream: Fall DVD That Fights Back!, Ozit Records OZITDVD0008, 26 May 2009 (contains Leeds University gig – details as above )

Group on initial performance:

Mark E Smith – vocals ; Marc Riley – guitar, keyboards; Craig Scanlon – guitar; Steve Hanley – bass; Paul Hanley – drums; Karl Burns – drums

Commentary:

Winter is divided into two parts, Winter (Hostel Maxi) and Winter 2, the first closing side a of Hex Enduction Hour and the second opening side b. No such separation exists on the Peel session version. The latter features slightly different lyrics, with a change to the album version of the “lights”. Whereas Hex Enduction Hour has the following:

The mad kid had 4 lights, the average is 2.5 lights
The mediocre has 2 lights, the sign of genius is three lights
There’s one light left, that’s the one light
That’s the science law

The Peel version has the mad kid with 3.75 and “most of us” with 2.5 lights. However, where MES got this particular classification from is unknown; he may well have invented it himself,

Early versions of the song are hard to evaluate, given the poor or non-existent recordings available. Musically, the brooding opening and the subsequent riffs are already in place. Lyrically, the song appears more or less fully formed, given the apparently rambling nature of the words. There is an early reference to the “mental health act” not used on the studio recording for Hex Enduction Hour. In general, the performed song is Winter (Hostel Maxi) rather than Winter 2, there being no references to “lights”. This part of the song began to be developed during the US 1981 summer tour.

The final lyrics are featured in the book “The Fall Lyrics” (The Lough Press).

In “Hip Priest” (Quartet Books, 2003) Simon Ford quotes a press release mentioning this track, in which MES says that Winter is “a tale concerning an insane child who is taken over by a spirit from the mind of a cooped-up alcoholic”.

Some thoughts of Mark Harris:

One thing which has bugged me for years is the line-up for this song.

The obvious bits are:

MES: vox
Scanlon: guitar (panned just left of centre)
Hanley, S: bass
Riley: keys

The bit that I’ve always wondered about is the 2nd guitar, panned right and not played very well (in places). My theory is that it’s Hanley, P (if you look at the credits, it does say “guitar” against his name), which means that Burns Babe, K K is playing drums – it does sound like him.

1st however: I think it’s Hanley, P playing guitar on Iceland, so the credit could be for that.

2nd however: it could be Hanley, P playing drums & Burns Babe, K K playing a bass or guitar, although the latter isn’t credited for either – not that credit accuracy is paramount in Fall liner notes, natch.