Legend of The Fall Mark E Smith aims Spinal Tap glove at Robert Plant

Friday night’s Later With Jools Holland show began in the usual fashion. An ‘impromptu’ jam occured. As ever it was dull affair involving blues-like noodling and no doubt a Boogie Woogie (TM, J.Holland) piano from Jools.

The camera panned anti-clockwise, first revealing apparent Coldplay-enthusiasts Athlete (CDs), playing along. Jesus, God.

But then appeared a strange looking man, eagerly waving at the camera, as if picked out in a crowd of thousands during the FA Cup Final.

Mark E Smith was grinning broadly. The Fall (CDs) were jamming along, with Athlete, Jools, and Robert ‘fookin’ Plant.

And it turns out, Mark E Smith had a plan.

The show was worth watching only because The Fall made an appearance on the BBC. At least it had some variety this week, in that something good was on it, alongside lots of very average sounds.

The Fall and Led Zep (CDs) are miles apart. But in 2005 The Fall are still valid and churning out new music constantly, as they have been doing more 35 years.

The Fall is art.

Not so Robert Plant, the founding father of Cock Rock (TM R.Plant) and his new band, cultivated in an "organic" way, according to the ageing hippie.

Plant played out a couple of songs that sounded like they came from Yonder.

Excruiciatingly boring, Plant’s meandering forced us to flick over to see the equally dull Celebrity Love Island (a reality TV show that sucks beyond anything that has gone before it). Thanks Bob.

Having endured the outro to Plant’s second tune, an outro that featured nothing but synchronised clapping (Schiffers.fm take note - time for a ‘Worst Outros’ survey?), we were then delighted to see the second - and final - appearance of MES and co.

They started their second song with MES shambling around in front of the stage, looking bemused.

He’d witnessed Plant and there was no link from Jools, just straight in from The Fall. Smith didn’t seem to be particularly pleased about this.

So, and at the risk of sounding like the NME, let’s talk about fashion for a minute.

Because Smith had raided his wardrobe for this second tune.

He was decked out in a Bunnymen meets Bormann combination of long black raincoat, possibly leather, and a glove.

A single glove. A black, leather glove. Worn on the left hand. Smell the glove, anyone?

Seemed that way to us, and we look forward to asking MES if it wasn’t a hilariously veiled reference to Spinal Tap. The timeliness of it was inspired.

The Fall left the stage and walked straight out of the studio, with MES having placed a microphone on a single note on his wife’s Korg MS20 analogue synthesizer.

Prole Art Threat, people.