Karl Burns

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Karl Burns (born 1958, Manchester, England) is a British musician best known as drummer for The Fall, featuring in many incarnations of the band between 1977 and 1998.

Although several musicians have rejoined the band having previously left or been sacked, Burns was rehired a record nine times, eventually leaving for good following an on-stage altercation with group leader Mark E. Smith in New York in April 1998. Burns was the group's first permanent drummer, joining them in time for their second gig; he had previously played in a different band, Nuclear Angel, with founding bassist Tony Friel. Burns is heard on the group's first two singles and their first studio album Live at the Witch Trials.

He left in early 1979 but returned in 1981, initially as a temporary replacement for Paul Hanley who was refused a visa for a US tour due to being too young. Recordings from this tour were released as A Part of America Therein, 1981. Upon the group's return to the UK, Smith invited Burns to stay on and The Fall appeared with 2 drummers until Paul Hanley's departure in late 1984. Burns would also sometimes play a second bass guitar during this period; an example of this can be heard on "Lay Of The Land" from The Wonderful And Frightening World Of The Fall.

He left the band in early 1986 and was replaced by Simon Wolstencroft. However, he rejoined the band in 1993, playing alongside Wolstencroft in a second two-drummer line-up until the latter left in 1997. Burns also played guitar and even sang during this period. However, he was absent from several tours in the 90s, leaving and returning regularly until his final departure.

He is known to have played with two other bands during time out from The Fall - he formed Thirst with ex-Fall guitarist Martin Bramah in the 80s and also played briefly with John Lydon's Public Image Limited (PIL) in September 1979, but left because he did not get along with other members including guitarist Keith Levene and bass guitarist Jah Wobble, the latter of whom is alleged to have attempted to set Burns on fire in an unduly literal interpretation of his name^[1].

At present, Burns' exact whereabouts are unknown; he was the only member journalist Dave Simpson failed to trace for a 2006 article which sought to track down everyone who had passed through the group's ranks, with several other former members worrying that he may have died^[2]. However, there have been reported sightings by fans and, in an interview with The Stool Pigeon (issue 10, February 2007), Mark E Smith states that he had recently met Burns' mother; she confirmed that he was indeed alive, advising Smith that he "lives on a farm in the hills somewhere".

Karl Burns was mentioned in episode 40, season 3 of Spicks and Specks.

[edit] References

Dave Simpson's forthcoming book The Fallen - Searching for the Missing Members of the Fall (Canongate, Sep. 2008) details his attempts to track down Burns, a mammoth wild goose chase which ends with an encounter with a sole hairy figure in the windswept, desolate hillsides above Burnley.