The Mekons

The new generation in Rock has come up with only one brilliant insight: it came from The Mekons and...it is very simple: Rock is the only form of music which actually be done better by people who cant play their instruments than by people who can. This very left-leaning band had ties with Gang Of 4, sharing a political outlook, instruments, a rehearsal space, members, and a record label with each other. When the Mekons released their first LP in 1979, the back cover even featured a photo of the Gang of 4 and not the Mekons (although it remains unclear if this was a joke or a genuine mistake). For years the Mekons were generally considered to the less successful version of Gang of 4, but The Mekons were actually the better band, and proved to be more consistent and long-lived, eventually forging their own very distinctive sound. From the get-go the Mekons took an unusual approach to their art, taking the DIY aesthetic to extremes. They were all rank amateurs and they did not attempt to act in the way that traditional Rock bands (and a lot of Punk bands, for that matter) behaved. Nobody was on a star trip, nobody craved a major label deal, they managed themselves, and they did not take themselves too seriously. The Mekons were formed in 1977 by Mark White (vocals), Andy Corrigan (vocals), Tom Greenhalgh (guitar), Kevin Lycett (guitar) and Jon Langford (drums). This lot were all students at the University of Leeds and were the basic core of the band through to the early 80's, although other people played with them and the aforementioned need not appear to play on all of their records. They were often compared with Gang of 4 but although highly political they were not opposed to twatting about for comedic effect. It's not surprising that they were Peel favourites (they recorded no less than four sessions for him between March 1978 and January 1981). The Mekons split briefly at 1983, but returned in 1985 with a new sound, which was no less political but less shambolic and with a decided C&W slant. Throughout the 80's drummer Langford also played with the not dissimilar (and equally wonderful ) The Three Johns.

The Quality Of Mercy Is Not Strnen (1979)

01 - Like Spoons No More

02 - Join Us In The Countryside

03 - Rosanne

04 - Trevira Trousers

05 - After 6

06 - What Are We Going To Do Tonight

07 - What

08 - Watch The Film

09 - Beetroot

10 - I Saw You Dance

11 - Lonely And Wet

12 - Dan Dare

13 - Teeth

14 - Guardian

15 - Kill

16 - Stay Cool

17 - Work All Week

18 - Unknown Wrecks

The Mekons (1980)

01 - Snow

02 - St. Patrick's Day

03 - D.P. Miller

04 - Institution

05 - I'm So Happy

06 - Chopper Squad

07 - Business

08 - The Trimden Grange Explosion

09 - Karen

10 - Corporal Chalkie

11 - John Barry

12 - Another One

13 - Killer Ken

14 - Another Set Of Teeth

The Mekons Story 1977-1982 (1982)

01 - Letter's In The Post

02 - Not A Bitterman (Born To Be Mild)

03 - Dance And Drink With The Mekons

04 - Bomb Train

05 - Trouble Down South

06 - Car-Men

07 - Eden

08 - Frustration

09 - Fight The Cuts

10 - Byron

11 - This Sporting Life

12 - Rosanne

13 - Garden Fence Of Sound

14 - Miriam Always

15 - Walking Song

16 - The Building

17 - I'm So Happy

18 - I Bought You These

19 - He Beat Up His Boyfriend

20 - 1st Guitarist

Fear And Whiskey (1985)

01 - Chivalry

02 - Trouble Down South

03 - Hard To Be Human Again

04 - Darkness & Doubt

05 - Psycho Cupid (Danceband On The Edge Of Time)

06 - Flitcraft

07 - Country

08 - Abernant 1984/85

09 - Last Dance

10 - Lost Highway

The Edge Of The World (1986)

01 - Hello Cruel World

02 - Bastard

03 - Oblivion

04 - King Arthur

05 - Ugly Band

06 - Shanty

07 - Garage D'Or

08 - Big Zombie

09 - Sweet Dreams

10 - Dream Dream Dream

11 - Slightly South Of The Border

12 - Alone & Forsaken

13 - The Letter

So Good It Hurts (1987)

01 - I'm Not Here (1967)

02 - Ghosts Of American Astronauts

03 - Road To Florida

04 - Johnny Miner

05 - Dora

06 - Poxy Lips

07 - (Sometimes I Feel Like) Fletch

08 - Fantastic Voyage

09 - Robin Hood

10 - Heart Of Stone

11 - Maverick

12 - Vengeance

13 - Revenge

The Mekons Honky Tonkin' (1987)

01 - I Can't Find My Money

02 - Hole In The Ground

03 - Sleepless Nights

04 - Keep On Hoppin'

05 - Charlie Cake Park

06 - If They Hang You

07 - The Prince Of Darkness

08 - Kidnapped

09 - Sympathy For The Mekons

10 - Spit

11 - Trimdon Grange Explosion

12 - Please Don't Let Me Love You

13 - Gin Palace

The Mekons Rock 'N' Roll (1989)

01 - Memphis, Egypt

02 - Club Mekon

03 - Only Darkness Has The Power

04 - Cocaine Lil

05 - Empire Of The Senseless

06 - Someone

07 - Amnesia

08 - I Am Crazy

09 - Heaven And Back

10 - Blow Your Tuneless Trumpet

11 - Echo

12 - When Darkness Falls

Original Sin (1989)

01 - Chivalry

02 - Trouble Down South

03 - Hard To Be Human Again

04 - Darkness And Doubt

05 - Psycho Cupid (Danceband On The Edge Of Time)

06 - Flitcraft

07 - Country

08 - Abernant 1984/85

09 - Last Dance

10 - Lost Highway

11 - (A Dancing Master Such As) Mr. Confess

12 - Beaten And Broken

13 - Chop That Child In Half

14 - Hey! Susan

15 - Garage D'Or

16 - Slightly South Of The Border

17 - Coal Hole

18 - $1,000 Wedding

19 - Rescue Mission

The Curse Of The Mekons (1991)

01 - The Curse

02 - Blue Arse

03 - Wild And Blue

04 - Authority

05 - Secrets

06 - Nocturne

07 - Sorcerer

08 - Brutal

09 - Funeral

10 - Lyric

11 - Waltz

12 - 100% Song

I ♥ Mekons (1993)

01 - Millionaire

02 - Wicked Midnite

03 - I Don't Know

04 - Dear Sausage

05 - All I Want

06 - Special

07 - St. Valentine's Day

08 - I ♥ Apple

09 - Love Letter

10 - Honeymoon In Hell

11 - Too Personal

12 - Point Of No Return

The Retreat From Memphis (1994)

01 - Eve Future

02 - Lucky Devil

03 - Do I Know You?

04 - Insignificance

05 - His Bad Dream

06 - Our Bad Dream

07 - The Flame That Killed John Way

08 - Ice Rink In Berlin

09 - Spinning Round In Flames

10 - Machine

11 - Hostile Mascot

12 - Chemical Wedding

13 - Spirals Of Paranoia

14 - Missing You All

15 - Submerged

16 - Soldier

17 - Never Work

The Mekons & Kathy Acker

Pussy, King Of The Pirates (1996)

01 - My Name Is O

02 - Ange's Song As She Crawled Through London

03 - I Want To Tell You About Myself

04 - The Song Of The Dogs

05 - We're Just Outside London

06 - Ostracism's Song To Pussycat

07 - Antigone, You See Her

08 - Antigone Speaks About Herself

09 - Now Let Me Tell You...

10 - My Song At Night

11 - Since Ange And Me Are Innocent

12 - Into The Strange

13 - Captured By Pirates

14 - A Prayer For All Sailors

15 - O

United (1996)

01 - We Refuse

02 - Unlisted Track

03 - Demon Horns

04 - 2000AD Cannibal

05 - Gill & Vicky

06 - German Cannibal/Golden Guitarist/You Still There?

07 - Somewhere In This World

08 - Call Sign I

09 - Brian The Cannibal

10 - Tiger Beer

11 - Cannibal Highway

12 - From Dark To Light

13 - WWY I

14 - Reply

15 - WWY 2

16 - Vito & The Mekons 50% Song

17 - The Lost Dance

18 - Optimism/Nostalgia/Disease

19 - Animals Tonight?

20 - Call Sign 2

21 - Riot

22 - Requiem

23 - Jerusalem

Me (1998)

01 - Enter The Lists

02 - Down

03 - Narrative

04 - Tourettes

05 - Flip Flop

06 - Gin & It

07 - Back To Back

08 - Come And Have A Go If You Think You're Hard Enough

09 - Men United

10 - Mirror

11 - Far Sub Dominant

12 - Whisky Sex Shack

13 - Thunder

14 - Belly To Belly

I Have Been To Heaven And Back Hen's Teeth 

And Other Lost Fragments Of Unpopular Culture Vol. 1 (1999)

01 - I Have Been To Heaven And Back

02 - The Ballad Of Sally

03 - This Funeral Is For The Wrong Corpse (Full Version)

04 - Unlisted Track

05 - Oranges And Lemons

06 - Ring O'Roses

07 - Gill & Vicky

08 - Unlisted Track

09 - Now We Have The Bomb

10 - Unlisted Track

11 - You Wear It Well

12 - Betrayal

13 - Orpheus

14 - Roger Troutman

15 - Unlisted Track

16 - Circle City (Mekons Vs. Peace Love Hooligans)

17 - Unlisted Track

18 - Cowboy Boots

19 - Lucky Star

20 - Axcerpt

21 - Unlisted Track

22 - Born To Choose

23 - Hidden Track

Where Were You?

Hen's Teeth And Other Lost Fragments Of Unpopular Culture Vol. 2 (1999)

01 - Fancy

02 - One Horse Dub

03 - Mekons Rock 'N' Roll

04 - Dick's Van 1

05 - Nice Julie (Waltz)

06 - East Is Red

07 - 1967 Revisted

08 - Darkness

09 - Dick's Van 2

10 - Harshish In Marseilles

11 - Folsom Prison Blues

12 - My Song At Night

13 - Polaroid (I Don't Own I Only Dote)

14 - Brixton/Leeds Phone Tune

15 - Where Were You?

16 - Untitled 1

17 - Dick's Van 3

18 - Noisy Gertie

19 - Crap Crap Woof Talk

20 - Crap Rap

21 - Angel Dog

22 - Dick's Van 4

23 - Untitled 2

24 - Dick's Van End

Journey To The End Of The Night (2000)

01 - Myth

02 - Out In The Night

03 - Last Weeks Of The War

04 - City Of London

05 - Tina

06 - The Flood

07 - Cast No Shadows

08 - Ordinary Night

09 - Powers And Horror

10 - Neglect

11 - Something To Be Scared Of

12 - Last Night On Earth

13 - What You're Doing

The Curse Of The Mekons/Fun '90 (2001)

01 - The Curse

02 - Blue Arse

03 - Wild & Blue

04 - Authority

05 - Secrets

06 - Nocturne

07 - Sorcerer

08 - Brutal

09 - Funeral

10 - Lyric

11 - Waltz

12 - 100% Song

13 - Makes No Difference (Fun '90)

14 - Sheffield Park (Fun '90)

15 - Having A Party (Fun '90)

16 - One Horse Town (Fun '90)

New York... On The Road '86-'87 (2001)

01 - Chicago Introduction

02 - Big Zombie

03 - Trouble Down South

04 - My Body J.F.K. Part 1

05 - Slightly South Of The Border

06 - The Story Of Nothing

07 - Tex Rico

08 - Flitcraft At The Iron Horse

09 - Moby Dick/Shallow Bourgeois Smile

10 - Dadaist Rhetoric In Boston

11 - Prince Of Darkness With Michelle Shocked

12 - My Body J.F.K. Part 2

13 - Abernant 84/87

14 - Tommy

15 - San Francisco D.J./Audience Participation

16 - I Can't Find My Money

17 - Robert And Steven In The Heartbreak Hotel

18 - The Shape I'm In

19 - Hard To Be Human

20 - Beaten And Broken At Garage D'or

21 - Not Long Ago

22 - My Body J.F.K. Part 3

23 - Shanty

24 - My Body In Chicago

25 - Revenge

26 - Sophie

27 - Chivalry

28 - Where Were You?

29 - Never Been In A Riot

OOOH! (Out Of Our Heads) (2002)

01 - Thee Olde Trip To Jerusalem

02 - This Way Through The Fire

03 - Take His Name In Vain

04 - Lone Pilgrim

05 - One X One

06 - Dancing In The Head

07 - Hate Is The New Love

08 - Only You And Your Ghost Will Know

09 - Winter

10 - Bob Hope & Charity

11 - Stonehead

Mekons Mekons Mekons (2002)

01 - The Curse

02 - Memphis Egypt

03 - Bob Hope And Charity

04 - I Can't Find My Money

05 - Wicked Midnite

06 - Chemical Wedding

07 - Spit

08 - Secrets

09 - Come And Have A Go If You Think You're Hard Enough

10 - Take His Name In Vain

11 - Someone/Rock Stars On The Marie Celeste

12 - Maverick

13 - Gin & It

14 - Blue Arse

15 - Millionaire

16 - Hole In The Ground

17 - Blow Your Tuneless Trumpet

18 - I Love Apple

19 - Machine

20 - Vengeance

21 - Echo

22 - Funeral

Punk Rock (2004)

01 - Teeth

02 - Corporal Chalkie

03 - I'm So Happy

04 - What

05 - 32 Weeks

06 - Work All Week

07 - The Building

08 - Rosanne

09 - Trevira Trousers

10 - This Sporting Life

11 - Never Been In A Riot

12 - Lonely And Wet

13 - Fight The Cuts

14 - Chopper Squad

15 - Dan Dare

Heaven & Hell (The Very Best Of The Mekons) (2004)

CD 01:

01 - Hard To Be Human

02 - Ghosts Of American Astronauts

03 - Where Were You

04 - Hello Cruel World

05 - Millionaire

06 - Chivalry

07 - Memphis Egypt

08 - Oblivion

09 - Work All Week

10 - The Olde Trip To Jerusalem

11 - (Sometimes I Feel Like) Fletcher Christian

12 - Hate Is The New Love

13 - Neglect

14 - Last Dance

15 - My Song At Night

16 - Empire Of The Senseless

CD 02:

01 - Curse

02 - Big Zombie

03 - He Beat Up His Boyfriend

04 - One Horse Dub

05 - Snow

06 - Brutal

07 - The Building

08 - Prince Of Darkness

09 - (A Dancing Master Such As) Mr. Confess

10 - Poxy Lips

11 - Out In The Night

12 - Dancing In The Head

13 - Johnny Miner

14 - Insignificance

15 - This Sporting Life

16 - Never Been In A Riot

Natural (2007)

01 - Dark Dark Dark

02 - Dickie, Chalkie And Nobby

03 - The Old Fox

04 - White Stone Door

05 - Shocking Curse Bird

06 - Give Me Wine Or Money

07 - Diamonds

08 - Burning In The Desert Burning

09 - The Hope And The Anchor

10 - Cockermouth

11 - Zeroes And Ones

12 - Perfect Mirror

13 - Shocking Version (Bonus)

14 - Young Men In Peacetime (Version) (Bonus)

Ancient & Modern 1911-2011 (2011)

01 - Warm Summer Sun

02 - Space In Your Face

03 - Geeshie

04 - I Fall Asleep

05 - Calling All Demons

06 - Ugly Bethesda

07 - Ancient & Modern

08 - Afar & Forlorn

09 - Honey Bear

10 - The Devil At Rest

11 - Arthur's Angel

Existentialism (2016)

01 - Flowers Of Evil, Part 2

02 - Skintrade

03 - O Money

04 - Bucket

05 - Fear And Beer

06 - Onion

07 - Traveling Alone

08 - Nude Hamlet

09 - 1848 Now!

10 - Simone On The Beach

11 - The Cell

12 - Remember

13 - Flowers Of Evil, Part 1

 It Is Twice Blessed (2018)

01 - Healey Wavin'

02 - Mechanic Wanted

03 - In The Red

04 - Not In My Name

05 - Borders

06 - I Took Me Down To The River

07 - 50,000 Things

08 - Stuck In A Static In Camber

09 - Bug Out Time

10 - You Lied To Us

11 - Still Waiting

12 - Evenin' All

Deserted (2019)

01 - Lawrence Of California

02 - Harar 1883

03 - In The Sun/The Galaxy Explodes

04 - How Many Stars?

05 - In The Desert

06 - Mirage

07 - Weimar Vending Machine/Priest?

08 - Andromeda

09 - After The Rain

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