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The Mekons
Mekons circa 1994, left to right: Jon Langford, Sarah Corina, Tom Greenhalgh, Sally Timms, Rico Bell
Background information
Origin	Leeds, West Yorkshire, England
Genre(s)	Punk rock, Post-punk, Alternative rock
Years active	1977 – present
Label(s)	Fast Product Virgin Records A&M Records Quarterstick Records
Associated acts	The Three Johns, Waco Brothers
Website	myspace.com
Members
Jon Langford Tom Greenhalgh Sally Timms Sarah Corina Steve Goulding Susie Honeyman Rico Bell Lu Edmonds Jessica Billey
Former members
Kevin Lycett Dick Taylor

The Mekons are a British rock band. They are one of the longest-running and most prolific of the first-wave British punk rock bands (rivaled in both categories only by The Fall). Image File history File links Wikitext. ... Image File history File links The_Mekons_promo_bw. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_England. ... For other uses, see Leeds (disambiguation). ... Coat of Arms of South Yorkshire West Yorkshire is a metropolitan county within the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England, that has a population of 2. ... For other uses, see England (disambiguation). ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Punk rock is an anti-establishment music movement beginning around 1976 (although precursors can be found several years earlier), exemplified and popularised by The Ramones, the Sex Pistols, The Clash and The Damned. ... Post punk generally refers to the particularly fertile and creative period following the initial punk rock explosion. During the first wave of punk, roughly spanning 1976-1983, bands such as The Sex Pistols, The Clash, The Ramones and The Damned began to challenge the current styles and conventions of rock... Alternative rock (also called alternative music or simply alternative; known primarily in the UK as indie) is a genre of rock music that emerged in the 1980s and became widely popular in the 1990s. ... Also: 1977 (album) by Ash. ... This does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Fast Product were an independent record label, established in Edinburgh by Bob Last in December 1977. ... Virgin Records was a British recording label founded by English entrepreneur Richard Branson, and Nik Powell in 1972. ... A&M Records is an American record label, owned and operated by Universal Music Group. ... Quarterstick Records is a sublabel of Touch and Go Records. ... The Three Johns were a New Wave band formed in 1981 in Leeds originally consisting of The Mekons co-founder, Jon Langford as well as John Hyatt and Phillip John Brennan. ... Country rock band consisting of Jon Langford (Mekons, Pine Valley Cosmonauts), Steve Goulding (Mekons, Pine Valley Cosmonauts, Graham Parker & the Rumour), Alan Doughty (Jesus Jones), Deano (Dollar Store, Wreck), Tracey Dear (Worlds Greatest Living Englishman), and Marc Durante (KMFDM). ... Jon Langford is a Welsh-born musician and artist who is based in Chicago. ... Thomas Charles Greenhalgh (1956-11-04 in Stockholm, Sweden -) is a multimedia artist and singer-songwriter best known for his work with the Mekons. ... Sally Timms (born 29 November 1959 in Leeds, England) is a singer and songwriter. ... Dick Taylor performing with The Pretty Things in 1999. ... For other uses, see Rock music (disambiguation). ... Punk rock is an anti-establishment music movement beginning around 1976 (although precursors can be found several years earlier), exemplified and popularised by The Ramones, the Sex Pistols, The Clash and The Damned. ... The Fall are a British rock music group, formed in Manchester in 1976, and named after Albert Camuss novel. ...

The band was formed in 1977 by a group of University of Leeds art students that included Jon Langford, Kevin Lycett and Tom Greenhalgh - the Gang of Four and Delta 5 formed from the same group of students. They took the band's name from the Mekon, an evil, super-intelligent Venusian featured in the British 1950s-1960s comic Dan Dare (printed in the Eagle). The band's first single was "Never Been in a Riot," a satirical take on the Clash's White Riot, and for several years the loose-knit band played noisy, bare-bones post-punk, releasing singles on a variety of labels. The Mekons' first album, The Quality of Mercy is Not Strnen, was recorded using the Gang of Four's instruments, and due to an error by the Virgin Records art department, featured pictures of the Gang of Four on the back cover. After 1982's The Mekons Story, a compilation of old recordings, the band ceased activity for a while, with Langford forming The Three Johns. Also: 1977 (album) by Ash. ... The University of Leeds is a major teaching and research university, one of the largest in the United Kingdom with over 32,000 full-time students. ... Jon Langford is a Welsh-born musician and artist who is based in Chicago. ... Thomas Charles Greenhalgh (1956-11-04 in Stockholm, Sweden -) is a multimedia artist and singer-songwriter best known for his work with the Mekons. ... Gang of Four is an English post-punk group from Leeds. ... Delta 5 were a post-punk band from Leeds, England. ... The Mekon was the arch-enemy of the British comic book hero Dan Dare, first appearing in 1950 in the Eagle comic. ... For other uses, see Evil (disambiguation). ... Adjectives: Venusian or (rarely) Cytherean Atmosphere Surface pressure: 9. ... The return of the original Dan Dare in 1989 Dan Dare is a classic British science fiction comic hero, created by illustrator Frank Hampson for the Eagle comic story Dan Dare, Pilot of the Future in 1950 which was also carried in serial format several times a week on Radio... From masthead for Eagle comic, logo by Berthold Wolpe, 1953 The Eagle was a British weekly comic, which ran in two main incarnations over the period of 1950 to 1994 (with accompanying annuals). ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... White Riot was the first single put out by seminal punk band The Clash, in 1977. ... Virgin Records was a British recording label founded by English entrepreneur Richard Branson, and Nik Powell in 1972. ... The Three Johns were a New Wave band formed in 1981 in Leeds originally consisting of The Mekons co-founder, Jon Langford as well as John Hyatt and Phillip John Brennan. ...

By the mid-80s (revitalised by the 1984 miners' strike and augmented by vocalist Sally Timms, violinist Susie Honeyman, ex-Damned member Lu Edmonds, accordionist/vocalist Rico Bell (a.k.a. Eric Bellis), and former Graham Parker and the Rumour drummer Steve Goulding, among others) the Mekons had returned as an active group, and began to experiment with musical styles derived from traditional English folk (tentatively explored on the English Dancing Master EP prior to the hiatus), and American country music. 1985's watershed Fear and Whiskey, 1986's The Edge of the World and 1987's Honky Tonkin exemplified the band's new sound, which built on the innovations of Gram Parsons and blended punk ethos and leftwing politics with the minimalist country of Hank Williams. This style, sometimes referred to as "post-modern country," is a direct forerunner of the alt-country genre represented by bands like Uncle Tupelo. The miners strike of 1984-5 was a major piece of industrial action affecting the British coal industry. ... The Damned are an English punk rock and gothic rock band formed in London in 1976. ... Robert Lu Edmonds is a British rock and folk musician, born in Welwyn, Hertfordshire. ... Folk music can have a number of different meanings, including: Traditional music: The original meaning of the term folk music was synonymous with the term Traditional music, also often including World Music and Roots music; the term Traditional music was given its more specific meaning to distinguish it from the... This article includes a list of works cited but its sources remain unclear because it lacks in-text citations. ... This article is about the year. ... Year 1986 (MCMLXXXVI) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link displays 1986 Gregorian calendar). ... Year 1987 (MCMLXXXVII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link displays 1987 Gregorian calendar). ... Gram Parsons (November 5, 1946 – September 19, 1973) was an American singer, songwriter, guitarist and pianist. ... Minimalism describes movements in various forms of art and design, especially visual art and music, where the work is stripped down to its most fundamental features. ... This article is about Hank Williams, Sr. ... Alternative country can refer to several ideas. ... Uncle Tupelo was an alternative country music group from Belleville, Illinois, active between 1987 and 1994. ...

Subsequent albums such as The Mekons Rock'n'Roll, while containing several straightforward rock songs, continued to explore the boundaries of the punk genre by utilizing diverse instrumentation (notably the fiddle and slide guitar) and Timms' haunting vocals. The Mekons Rock n Roll is a 1989 album by The Mekons. ...

The Mekons Rock and Roll was the band's first major label release. Issued by A&M Records in 1989, Rock and Roll was not a commercial success, but it was met with critical acclaim. Arguably the best album of their career (alongside Fear and Whiskey), it is perhaps the most accessible synthesis of their experiments in country, rock and punk. A&M Records is an American record label, owned and operated by Universal Music Group. ...

Just as the Mekons began to grow in critical stature, their relationship with A&M Records became more tense, and unable to fulfull their commercial expectations, the Mekons were soon dropped by the label. However, not only did the band remain intact, they continued to record at a prolific rate, releasing such notable albums as 1991's The Curse of the Mekons, 2000's Journey to the End of the Night, and 2002's OOOH! Year 1991 (MCMXCI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the 1991 Gregorian calendar). ... Year 2000 (MM) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full 2000 Gregorian calendar). ... Also see: 2002 (number). ...

Jon Langford has been busy as an artist and as founder of several solo and band projects, including the Waco Brothers (a punk-meets-Johnny Cash-like ensemble) and the Pine Valley Cosmonauts (exploring the music of Bob Wills, Johnny Cash and others). Besides his solo albums he has released CDs with Richard Buckner and Kevin Coyne. Country rock band consisting of Jon Langford (Mekons, Pine Valley Cosmonauts), Steve Goulding (Mekons, Pine Valley Cosmonauts, Graham Parker & the Rumour), Alan Doughty (Jesus Jones), Deano (Dollar Store, Wreck), Tracey Dear (Worlds Greatest Living Englishman), and Marc Durante (KMFDM). ... For the song of the same name, recorded by Tracy Byrd and later by Jason Aldean, see Johnny Cash (song). ... Pine Valley Cosmonauts are a musical ensemble from Chicago, Illinois. ... James Robert (Bob) Wills (March 6, 1905 – May 13, 1975) was an American country musician, songwriter, and big band leader. ... Kevin Coyne was a singer, composer, writer and painter. ...

The band has toured and recorded with a mostly unaltered lineup (Langford, Greenhalgh, Timms, Goulding, Bell, Edmonds, and bassist Sarah Corina) throughout the 1990s and early 21st century, and has a highly devoted following.

Discography

Albums

• 1979 – The Quality of Mercy Is Not Strnen (LP)
• 1980 - The Mekons [aka Devils Rats and Piggies a Special Message from Godzilla] (re-released in 1997)
• 1985 - Fear and Whiskey (re-released in 2002)
• 1986 - Edge of the World (re-released in 1996)
• 1987 - The Mekons Honky Tonkin'
• 1988 - So Good It Hurts
• 1989 - The Mekons Rock'n'Roll (re-released in 2000)
• 1991 - The Curse of the Mekons
• 1993 - I ♥ Mekons
• 1994 - Retreat from Memphis
• 1996 - Pussy, King of the Pirates
• 1998 - Me
• 2000 - Journey to the End of Night
• 2002 - Oooh! (Out of Our Heads)
• 2004 - Punk Rock
• 2007 - Natural

A 12-inch record (left), a 7-inch record (right), and a CD (above) Two 7 singles (left), two colored 7 singles (middle), and two 7 singles with large spindle holes (right). ... There are very few or no other articles that link to this one. ... The Mekons Rock n Roll is a 1989 album by The Mekons. ...

EPs

• 1990 - Fun '90

EP can stand for: EP is the IATA code for Iran Aseman Airlines Extended play, a music recording (usually consisting of several tracks, but shorter than a typical album) European Parliament, the parliamentary body of the European Union Evolutionary psychology, a belief that psychology can be better understood in light...

Singles

• 1977 – "Never Been in a Riot" (Fast Product)
• 1978 – "Where Were You" (Fast Product)
• 1980 - (1) "Teeth" b/w "Guardian" (2) "Kill" b/w "Stay Cool" (Double 7" - Virgin)

Compilations

• 1980 -- Mutant Pop (PVC/Jem), a US reissue of various early Fast Product singles, including the Mekons first 7", Never Been in a Riot b/w 32 Weeks, as well as Where Were You?, both first released in 1978.
• 1986 - The Mekons Story (re-released in 1993)
• 1987 - New York (re-released in 1990/2001)
• 1989 - Original Sin
• 1999 - I Have Been to Heaven and Back
• 1999 - Where were you?(Magnetic Curses- A Chicago Punk Rock Compilation)
• 2001 - The Curse of the Mekons/Fun '90 (combined reissue)
• 2004 - Heaven & Hell (The Very Best of the Mekons)

Fast Product were an independent record label, established in Edinburgh by Bob Last in December 1977. ...

Miscellaneous

• 1996 - Mekons United (book with CD)

Other Bands Referencing The Mekons

• The 1990 re-issue of Too Much Joy's album Son Of Sam I Am contains a track entitled "If I Was A Mekon", a tribute to the band.
• On 1993's Hey Drag City, a compilation released by Chicago's Drag City Records, Will Oldham's contribution was a song called "For the Mekons, et. al." This track was included on Lost Blues and Other Songs, a rarities compilation he released in 1997.

Too Much Joy is the name of an indie music group formed in the early 1980s in Scarsdale, New York by high school acquaintances inspired by the music of The Clash. ... Drag City is a Chicago, Illinois based independent record label. ... Will Oldham, a. ... Lost Blues and Other Songs is the name of a 1997 album by Will Oldham, released under the moniker Palace Music. ...

External links

• http://www.mekons.de/ - extensive Fan-Site
• http://www.myspace.com/mekons
• http://www.wacobrothers.com/ - Homepage of the Waco Brothers
• http://www.jonlangford.de/ - Solo homepage of Jon Langford
• http://www.bloodshotrecords.com/ - Bloodshot-site, a record label where many members of the Mekons release their material (Sally Timms, Jon Langford, Rico Bell) / side projects (Pine Valley Cosmonauts, Waco Brothers)
• An interview with the Mekons - Stay Free! magazine
• The Mekons collection on the Internet Archive's live music archive