Possibly one of the more accessible early-ish songs by The Fall, I originally intended to include this in the “two drummers” theme, but it seems that this actually just preceded the two-drummer period of the band’s ever-fluid line-up, but it’s a great song so it’s time to talk about it anyway.
The lyrics do meander a bit, but it’s basically about the Northern Soul scene that was coming to the end of its popularity in the early 80s as this song was written. The “Casino” in the title refers to the Northern Soul venue, The Wigan Casino nightclub. Smith said that he wasn’t putting down the scene and its fans, this was more about documenting its demise.
The drum beat was reportedly an attempt to be a bit “mod”, taking an influence from Let Your Heart Dance by Secret Affair, a band who achieved brief popularity during the post-punk late-70s Mod revival.
