He eventually left for good, alongside longtime bassist Steve Hanley, following an on-stage altercation with group leader Mark E. Smith in New York in April 1998.

Burns also played with Manchester band Mellatron (aka Mellotron; an unreleased EP was produced by Pete Shelley[1]) & Elti Fits and, 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 was long alleged to have attempted to set Burns on fire,[2] although Wobble denied this in 2007.

His second tenure in the Fall coincided with a string of critically acclaimed releases, including Hex Enduction Hour and This Nation's Saving Grace.

According to the 2008 book The Fallen by Dave Simpson, Burns's repeated departures from the Fall were due primarily to his open resistance to Mark E. Smith's unorthodox leadership.

Simpson also quotes ex-Fall keyboardist Simon Rogers describing Burns as a "brilliant" drummer whose somewhat erratic temperament made him unlikely to fit in more conventional bands.