The Mekons

Lester Bangs once declared, "The Mekons are the most revolutionary group in the history of rock 'n' roll," phrasing the remark with deliberate irony, yet accuracy may still attach to the claim. Defiantly unyielding, ceaselessly inventive, simultaneously humorous and deeply skeptical, and seemingly unable to retrace their own steps, the Mekons rank among the scant handful of first-wave British punk outfits that never renounced their foundational principles, instead gripping those convictions more firmly as decades advanced. This persistence accounts for the steadfast allegiance of an audience that remains modest in scale. Few acts have matched the Mekons in political commitment short of Crass, though their Marxism arises from the vantage of the barstool regular—perceptive without frequent recourse to theory. Beginning in 1977, their trajectory passed through punk on "Never Been in a Riot," abrasive experimentalism with The Quality of Mercy Is Not Strnen, synthesizer-centered avant-pop on Devils, Rats, and Piggies: A Special Message from Godzilla, splintered country in Fear and Whiskey, rock & roll on The Mekons Rock 'n' Roll, electronic textures in Me, and multiple folk variants on Natural, Ancient and Modern, and Jura, yet every phase preserved an unmistakable Mekons signature as fearless outsiders who had traveled too far to reverse course.

Formed in Leeds, Yorkshire, England during 1976 by several art students attending the University of Leeds, the original roster included vocalists Andy Corrigan and Mark "Chalkie" White, guitarists Tom Greenhalgh and Kevin Lycett, bassist Ros Allen, and drummer Jon Langford. Adopting their moniker from a malevolent extraterrestrial in the U.K. adventure comic Dan Dare, the Mekons developed a sardonic, ramshackle punk style that built local renown in Leeds, where Gang of Four was also taking shape as another distinctive political unit, and they became early signings to the independent Fast Product imprint. Their inaugural single, "Never Been in a Riot" b/w "32 Weeks," appeared in 1978; the A-side offered a sardonic rejoinder to the Clash's "White Riot," while the B-side derived its title from the maximum duration of unemployment benefits. A follow-up Fast Product release, "Where Were You" b/w "I'll Have to Dance Then (On My Own)," surfaced later that year, after which mounting press coverage prompted Virgin Records to offer a contract. The Mekons' debut album, The Quality of Mercy Is Not Strnen, arrived in 1979 and shifted from the loose punk of prior releases toward a sharper, more exploratory approach. Ros Allen departed afterward to help establish Delta 5. Following a double-7" release titled Teeth that incorporated fiddles and electronics, the band left Virgin for Red Rhino. Their sophomore album, Devils, Rats, and Piggies: A Special Message from Godzilla, also issued simply as Mekons, extended the experimental direction of Teeth and marked the final appearance of Andy Corrigan; the original configuration dissolved after a New York performance on New Year's Eve 1980/81. The Mekons Story (aka It Falleth Like Gentle Rain from Heaven: The Mekons Story), issued in 1982, assembled a deliberately uneven assortment of live recordings, studio leftovers, demos, and miscellaneous material presented as an ironic chronicle of their initial five years. After the 1983 EP The English Dancing Master, which merged dance rhythms, dub production techniques, and traditional British folk elements, the group paused recording activity to reorganize.

Their 1985 return, Fear and Whiskey, revealed a transformed lineup. Tom Greenhalgh and Jon Langford remained the sole originals, with Langford switching to guitar and vocals; Dick Taylor, co-founder of the Pretty Things and early Rolling Stones member, handled lead guitar, Lu Edmonds (formerly of Public Image Ltd.) played bass, Steve Goulding (of the Rumour) took the drum chair, and Suzie Honeyman contributed violin. The revised approach blended rough-hewn rock & roll with overt country accents, while lyrics turned toward inebriated reflection and everyday hardships. The Edge of the World followed in 1986 on the band's own Sin Records label, maintaining that direction and adding Sally Timms on vocals alongside Rico Bell on accordion. This nucleus would anchor subsequent recordings and performances, earning favorable notices from British and North American critics and attracting underground listeners drawn to roots-oriented music. Greater visibility led to a Twin/Tone arrangement, yielding 1987's The Mekons Honky Tonkin' as their first domestic U.S. release; later that year, ROIR issued the cassette-only New York, documenting an American tour. Reggae and world-music inflections entered the palette on 1988's So Good It Hurts. Twin/Tone's distribution agreement with A&M brought The Mekons Rock 'n' Roll to a major label in 1989, emphasizing guitars while retaining fiddle and accordion; among their most approachable efforts, it garnered limited MTV exposure for "Memphis, Egypt" and "Empire of the Senseless." Dick Taylor exited following its completion.

Relations with a major label proved predictably brief for such committed contrarians. A&M had already revised the artwork and track order of Rock 'n' Roll, and when the label suggested an EP instead of a full-length successor, the Mekons delivered 1990's F.U.N. '90, combining their established sound with spectral vocal samples and electronic pulses. The EP confused A&M, which declined The Curse of the Mekons (1991) before terminating the contract; that album later received a 2001 U.S. two-fer reissue paired with F.U.N. '90. A short-lived association with Loud Music, distributed through WEA's Latin division, produced the 1992 single "Wicked Midnight" as a supposed preview, yet the label folded before an album could appear. The Mekons then aligned with Quarterstick Records, a Touch & Go subsidiary, which released I Love Mekons in 1993. Retreat from Memphis, an austere, guitar-driven collection composed and recorded amid struggles to issue I Love Mekons, followed in 1994, after which Quarterstick provided consistent support for seventeen years, issuing new material and reissuing catalog items. The Chicago base proved convenient once Langford, Timms, and Goulding relocated there, while other members stayed in England; Sarah Corina assumed primary bass duties in the 1990s, with Edmonds continuing as multi-instrumentalist.

Quarterstick-era releases frequently pursued conceptual themes, including 1996's Pussy, King of the Pirates (a collaboration with novelist Kathy Acker), 1998's Me (examining electronics and solipsism), 2004's Punk Rock (revisiting early material), and 2007's Natural (primarily acoustic and reflective). Transatlantic membership reduced touring frequency, and members pursued outside work such as Langford's Waco Brothers and Pine Valley Cosmonauts, Greenhalgh's King Tommy's Velvet Runway, solo projects by Sally Timms and Rico Bell, and Edmonds' return to Public Image Ltd. upon its 2009 reformation. The Mekons nevertheless persisted, assembling periodically for recordings and performances before their dedicated audience. Touch & Go's cessation of new releases in 2009 prompted revival of the Sin Records imprint for 2011's Ancient and Modern, inspired by twentieth-century musical idioms, with Bloodshot Records handling distribution. Bloodshot subsequently issued Jura (2015), a collaboration with Robbie Fulks written and recorded on a Scottish island famed for its distillery, and Existentialism (2017), an experimental live project incorporating audience participation.

Marking the fortieth anniversary of their debut single in 2017, Langford and Greenhalgh reassembled the original members as Mekons 77. This configuration composed new material that yielded It Is Twice Blessed, released in 2018 on their Slow Things label. During a 2018 North American tour, the Mekons recorded near California's Joshua Tree National Park; desert surroundings inspired fresh compositions that supplanted earlier plans, resulting in 2019's Deserted, again issued via Sin through Bloodshot.