The Mekons are a British

Post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of music that emerged in late 1977 in the wake of punk rock. Post-punk musicians departed from punk's fundamental elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a broader, more experiment ...

band formed in 1976 as an art collective. They are one of the longest-running and most prolific of the first-wave British

punk rock Punk rock (also known as simply punk) is a rock music genre that emerged in the mid-1970s. Rooted in 1950s rock and roll and 1960s garage rock, punk bands rejected the corporate nature of mainstream 1970s rock music. They typically produced sh ...

bands. The band's style has evolved over time to incorporate aspects of

country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...

folk music Folk music is a music genre that includes #Traditional folk music, traditional folk music and the Contemporary folk music, contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be ca ...

alternative rock Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...

and occasional experiments with dub. They are well known for their exuberant live performances.

History

The band was formed in 1976 by a group of

University of Leeds The University of Leeds is a public research university in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It was established in 1874 as the Yorkshire College of Science. In 1884, it merged with the Leeds School of Medicine (established 1831) and was renamed Y ...

art students:

Jon Langford Jonathan Denis Langford (born 11 October 1957) is a Welsh musician and artist based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Langford is a founder member of the punk band The Mekons, the post-punk group The Three Johns, and the alternative count ...

, Kevin Lycett, Mark White, Ros Allen, Andy Corrigan and

Tom Greenhalgh Thomas Charles Greenhalgh is a singer, songwriter and multimedia artist best known as a foundational member with the post-punk band the Mekons. While primarily credited as a guitarist in the early Mekons recordings, Greenhalgh's role as a lead ...

—

Gang of Four The Gang of Four () was a Maoist political faction composed of four Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officials. They came to prominence during the Cultural Revolution (1966–1976) and were later charged with a series of treasonous crimes due to th ...

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 Dan Dare is a British science fiction comic hero, created by illustrator Frank Hampson who also wrote the first stories. Dare appeared in the ''Eagle'' comic series ''Dan Dare, Pilot of the Future'' from 1950 to 1967 (and subsequently in ...

'' (printed in the ''Eagle''). The Mekons were described as a more chaotic version of Gang of Four; Lycett stated the band operated on the principle that "anybody could do it ... anybody could get up and join in and instruments could be swapped around; that there'd be no distance between the audience and the band." By their second show, supporting the Rezillos at the

F Club The F Club was a punk rock, post-punk and new wave club night in Leeds that ran between 1977 and 1982. The venue hosted early performances by local bands including the Sisters of Mercy, Soft Cell, Gang of Four and New Model Army, as well as tour ...

, they were approached with a record deal by Bob Last of Fast Product. The Mekons were the first band signed to the label. The band's first single was "Never Been in a Riot", a

satirical Satire is a genre of the visual arts, visual, literature, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently Nonfiction, non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ...

take on

the Clash The Clash were an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1976. Billed as "The Only Band That Matters", they are considered one of the most influential acts in the original wave of British punk rock, with their music fusing elements ...

's '' White Riot''. The release was made Single of the Week in

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...

. Their second single, "Where Were You?" was released by the end of 1978 and sold out of its 27,500 copies. At this time, Last convinced the band to sign to a larger label—

Virgin Virginity is a social construct that denotes the state of a person who has never engaged in sexual intercourse. As it is not an objective term with an operational definition, social definitions of what constitutes virginity, or the lack thereof ...

. The Mekons’ popularity peaked as they played on the same bill as other "new music" groups like Gang of Four, the Fall, the

Human League The Human League are an English synth-pop band formed in Sheffield in 1977. Initially an experimental electronic music, electronic outfit, the group signed to Virgin Records in 1979 and later attained widespread commercial success with their t ...

, and

Stiff Little Fingers Stiff Little Fingers are a Northern Irish punk rock band from Belfast. They formed in 1977 at the height of the Troubles, which informed much of their songwriting. They started out as a schoolboy band called Highway Star (named after the Deep P ...

. For several years the band played noisy, bare-bones

post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of music that emerged in late 1977 in the wake of punk rock. Post-punk musicians departed from punk's fundamental elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a broader, more experiment ...

, releasing singles on a number of labels. The Mekons' first album, '' The Quality of Mercy Is Not Strnen'', was recorded using

's instruments, and due to an error by the Virgin Records’ art department, featured pictures of 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. By the mid-1980s (revitalised by the 1984 coal miners' strike) the Mekons had returned as an active group. The band was now augmented by vocalist

Sally Timms Sally Ann Timms (born 29 November 1959) is an English singer and songwriter. Born in Leeds, England, she now lives in the Chicago area, where she works as a paralegal.Lipez, Zachary.Mekons Finally Get Their Revenge: An Interview with Sally Timm ...

, violinist Susie Honeyman, ex- Damned member

Lu Edmonds Robert David "Lu" Edmonds (born 9 September 1957) is an English rock and folk musician. He is currently, as of 2018, a vocalist and saz and cümbüş player in the Mekons and the guitarist for Public Image Ltd. Edmonds reportedly plays elect ...

, accordionist/vocalist

Rico Bell Rico Bell (born Eric John Bellis) is a UK and California based artist and musician best known for his work as a member of the British punk rock band the Mekons which he joined in 1983. A singer and multi-instrumentalist with the Mekons, Bell ha ...

(a.k.a. Eric Bellis), and former

The Rumour The Rumour were an English prog rock new wave rock band active in the late 1970s and early 1980s. They are best known as the backup band for Graham Parker, whose early records (from 1976 to 1980) were credited to Graham Parker & the Rumour. ...

drummer Steve Goulding. They began to experiment with musical styles derived from traditional English

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk horror ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Fo ...

(tentatively explored on the ''English Dancing Master'' EP prior to the hiatus), and American

. ''Fear and Whiskey'' (1985), '' The Edge of the World'' (1986) and '' The Mekons Honky Tonkin''' (1987) exemplified the band's new sound, which built on the innovations of

Gram Parsons Ingram Cecil Connor III (November 5, 1946 – September 19, 1973), known professionally as Gram Parsons, was an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, and pianist. He recorded with the International Submarine Band, the Byrds, and the Flying Bu ...

and blended punk ethos and

left wing Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy either as a whole or of certain social hierarchies. Left-wing politic ...

politics with the

minimalist In visual arts, music, and other media, minimalism is an art movement that began in the post-war era in western art. The movement is often interpreted as a reaction to abstract expressionism and modernism; it anticipated contemporary post-mi ...

country of

Hank Williams Hiram "Hank" Williams (September 17, 1923 – January 1, 1953) was an American singer, songwriter, and musician. An early pioneer of country music, he is regarded as one of the most significant and influential musicians of the 20th century. W ...

. Subsequent albums, such as '' The Mekons Rock 'n Roll'', continued to experiment with diverse instrumentation (notably the

fiddle A fiddle is a Bow (music), bowed String instrument, string musical instrument, most often a violin or a bass. It is a colloquial term for the violin, used by players in all genres, including European classical music, classical music. Althou ...

accordion Accordions (from 19th-century German language, German ', from '—"musical chord, concord of sounds") are a family of box-shaped musical instruments of the bellows-driven free reed aerophone type (producing sound as air flows past a Reed (mou ...

slide guitar Slide guitar is a technique for playing the guitar that is often used in blues music. It involves playing a guitar while holding a hard object (a slide) against the strings, creating the opportunity for glissando effects and deep vibratos that ...

, and saz). '' The Mekons Rock 'n Roll'', released by

A&M Records A&M Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group and functions as a branch of Interscope Geffen A&M Records, Interscope-Geffen-A&M. Established in 1962 by Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss, the label initially operated independent ...

in 1989, was the band's first (and only) album to be put out by a major label. It was not a commercial success, reportedly selling only around 23,000 albums in the U.S., but was met with critical acclaim. It was named eighth of the top 10 albums of 1989 in the

Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture publication based in Greenwich Village, New York City, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Ma ...

Pazz & Jop Pazz & Jop was an annual poll of top musical releases, compiled by American newspaper ''The Village Voice'' and created by music critic Robert Christgau. It published lists of the year's top releases for 1971 and, after Christgau's two-year abse ...

critics poll. In 1991, ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' critic

Jon Pareles Jon Pareles (born 1953) is an American journalist who is the chief popular music critic in the arts section of ''The New York Times''. Around the time that the Mekons began gain critical appraisal, their relationship with A&M Records depreciated, and they were dropped for being unable to fulfill commercial expectations. However, the band continued to record at a prolific rate, releasing such notable albums as 1991's '' Curse of the Mekons'', 2000's ''Journey to the End of the Night'', and 2002's '' OOOH! (Out of Our Heads)'' ''Natural'' moved the band to a more folk-flavoured sound. In April 2009 the Mekons returned to the studio to complete a new collection of songs, released in 2011 as '' Ancient & Modern 1911–2011'' on Bloodshot Records, and, in a September 2010 interview, Jon Langford revealed that the band would tour the United States in 2011. The Mekons Glasgow May 2025 3

In a February 2011 interview, Langford discussed the music documentary about the band, ''Revenge of the Mekons,'' directed by Joe Angio. The film premiered in 2013 at the DOC NYC festival with members of the band in attendance. The band has toured and recorded with a mostly unaltered lineup (Langford, Greenhalgh, Timms, Goulding, Bell, Edmonds, Honeyman, and bassist Sarah Corina) throughout the 1990s and early 21st century, and has a highly devoted following. Sarah Corina left in 2015, and Dave Trumfio, of Chicago and Southern California, replaced Corina on bass. The Mekons celebrated their 40th anniversary with the "Mekonville" festival near

Ipswich Ipswich () is a port town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in Suffolk, England. It is the county town, and largest in Suffolk, followed by Lowestoft and Bury St Edmunds, and the third-largest population centre in East Anglia, ...

, England, with both the current 2017 line-up and the re-united original 1977 lineup performing. At that festival, ''Mekonville'', a 12-inch "split single" was released, with one new song from each of the two line-ups. The "current" line-up, still as "The Mekons", also performed several concerts in the UK and elsewhere in Europe in July and August, 2017. Jon Langford and Tom Greenhalgh are the only members common to both line-ups. Their 2019 album ''Deserted'' in a studio near to

Joshua Tree National Park Joshua Tree National Park is a List of national parks of the United States, US National Park located in southeastern California, straddling north-central Riverside County, California, Riverside County and part of southern San Bernardino County, ...

. In an interview, they described how "the rugged landscape informed the highly diverse collection of songs they wrote". Their 2021 album ''Exquisite'' was remotely recorded due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Legacy

Alongside

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan; born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Described as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture over his nearly 70-year ...

and

The Clash The Clash were an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1976. Billed as "The Only Band That Matters", they are considered one of the most influential acts in the original wave of British punk rock, with their music fusing elements ...

, the Mekons are the only other band or musician to make it twice onto

Robert Christgau Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and later became a ...

's Dean's Lists (begun in 1971), that is, Christgau selected both '' Fear and Whiskey'' (1985) and '' OOOH!'' (2002) as his album of the year. The Mekons are also one of

Greil Marcus Greil Marcus (né Gerstley; born June 19, 1945) is an American author, music journalist and cultural critic. He is notable for producing scholarly and literary essays that place rock music in a broader framework of culture and politics. Biogra ...

' favourite bands About the Mekons ''Fear and Whisky'' Marcus said:

If ''Fear and Whiskey'' can only be heard as an aphorism, what evanescence does it consider essential? A bitter sentimentality. This is the music of a small group of people who, in a pop moment now almost a decade gone, once thought all things were possible, and who now live in a society where nothing they want is possible as more than an evanescence. They still wear the old jewelry of the punk ideology of 1976: No Future, which was somehow turned into an adventure, which got the Mekons a major-label contract. If anything, their music today is stronger than it ever was, but against the confidence of mainstream music, it carries an unmistakable undertone of self-mockery, of humiliation, of shame, because it cannot count.

Other projects

Langford has worked as the founder and member of several solo and band projects including The Three Johns, the

Waco Brothers The Waco Brothers are an American alternative country, or country-punk rock, band based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. History The Waco Brothers was formed by Jon Langford of the Mekons and Dean Schlabowske of Wreck (band). The group gr ...

, a punk-meets-

Johnny Cash John R. Cash (born J. R. Cash; February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American singer-songwriter. Most of his music contains themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially songs from the later stages of his career. ...

-like ensemble, and the Pine Valley Cosmonauts, a project that explores the music of

Bob Wills James Robert "Bob" Wills (March 6, 1905 – May 13, 1975) was an American musician, songwriter, and bandleader. Considered by music authorities as the founder of Western swing, he was known widely as the King of Western Swing (although Spade C ...

, Johnny Cash and others. Besides his solo albums Langford has released CDs with Richard Buckner,

Kevin Coyne Kevin Coyne (27 January 1944 – 2 December 2004) was an English musician, singer, composer, film-maker, and a writer of lyrics, stories and poems. He was critically acclaimed for his unorthodox style of blues-influenced guitar composition, the ...

, Kat Ex (Katherina Bornefeld) of The Ex, Roger Knox, and

The Sadies The Sadies are a Canadian rock and roll / country and western band from Toronto, Ontario. The band consists of Travis Good, Sean Dean and Mike Belitsky. Dallas Good, a founding member, died in 2022. Dallas and Travis are the sons of Margaret a ...

, in some cases using the Pine Valley Cosmonauts name. In 2014, some of The Mekons, dubbing themselves the "mini-Mekons", along with Robbie Fulks, went to northern

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

to perform, sample the local

whisky Whisky or whiskey is a type of liquor made from Fermentation in food processing, fermented grain mashing, mash. Various grains (which may be Malting, malted) are used for different varieties, including barley, Maize, corn, rye, and wheat. Whisky ...

, and write and record an album on the island of Jura, in the studio of world and roots producer Giles Perring, a long-term collaborator with Mekon Susie Honeyman in the band Echo City. The record, named ''Jura,'' was released in November 2015 on Black Friday and is made up of original songs written on the trip, traditional songs, and a new recording of one Mekons song.

Freakons

In 2013, and again in September 2017 and July 2021, Janet Bean and Catherine Irwin of

Freakwater Freakwater is an American alternative country band from Louisville, Kentucky, with one co-founding member living in Chicago. Freakwater is known for the lead vocals of Janet Bean and Catherine Irwin, who mix harmony and melody in idiosyncratic di ...

joined together with

and

of the Mekons to be the Freakons, performing original and cover songs about

coal mining Coal mining is the process of resource extraction, extracting coal from the ground or from a mine. Coal is valued for its Energy value of coal, energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to Electricity generation, generate electr ...

Appalachia Appalachia ( ) is a geographic region located in the Appalachian Mountains#Regions, central and southern sections of the Appalachian Mountains in the east of North America. In the north, its boundaries stretch from the western Catskill Mountai ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, and

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

, to support the non-profit organization Kentuckians for the Commonwealth. Each time, the Freakons performed at the Hideout in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, and elsewhere in

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

. In 2013, they also performed at

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Hardly Strictly Bluegrass (HSB), originally Strictly Bluegrass, is an annual free and non-commercial music festival held the first weekend of October in Golden Gate Park in San Francisco, California. Conceived and subsidized by San Francisco ven ...

festival. In 2017, they were accompanied by violinists Jean Cook of

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

and Anna Krippenstapel of

Louisville Louisville is the most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeast, and the 27th-most-populous city in the United States. By land area, it is the country's 24th-largest city; however, by populatio ...

( The Other Years,

Joan Shelley Joan Shelley (born in 1985) is an American indie folk musician from Louisville, Kentucky, United States. Career Shelley has released nine solo studio recordings. Her second album, ''Ginko'', and third album, ''Farthest Field'' (with Daniel Mart ...

, etc.), and, only in Chicago, by Chicago/Louisville guitarist

James Elkington James may refer to: People * James (given name) * James (surname) * James (musician), aka Faruq Mahfuz Anam James, (born 1964), Bollywood musician * James, brother of Jesus * King James (disambiguation), various kings named James * Prince Jame ...

( The Horse's Ha, etc.). In 2021, the same line-up, without Elkington, performed, and they released the live album ''Freakons'', recorded at the 2017 Chicago performances.

Discography

Albums

* 1979: '' The Quality of Mercy Is Not Strnen'' (

Virgin Records Virgin Records is a British record label owned by Universal Music Group. They were originally founded as a British independent record label in 1972 by entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, Nik Powell, and musician Tom Newman (musician), ...

/ Blue Plate-

Caroline Records Caroline Records is a record label that was founded in 1973. Founded in the United Kingdom to showcase British progressive rock groups, the label ceased releasing titles in 1976 and then re-emerged in the United States in 1986. The label rel ...

) * 1980: ''The Mekons'' aka ''Devils Rats and Piggies a Special Message from Godzilla'' ( Red Rhino Records,

Cherry Red Records Cherry Red Records is a British independent record label founded in Malvern, Worcestershire by Iain McNay in 1978. The label has released recordings by Dead Kennedys, Everything but the Girl, The Monochrome Set, and Felt, among others, as w ...

, Quarterstick Records) – re-released in 1997 * 1982: '' The Mekons Story'' (CNT Productions, Sin Record Company/Feel Good All Over, Buried Treasures Records) – re-released in 1986 * 1985: '' Fear and Whiskey'' (Sin Record Company; re-released in 2002 and 2019, via bandcamp, by Quarterstick Records) * 1986: '' The Edge of the World'' (Sin Record Company; re-released in 1996 and 2019, via bandcamp, by Quarterstick Records) * 1987: '' The Mekons Honky Tonkin''' (Sin Record Company,

Twin/Tone Records Twin/Tone Records was an independent record label based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, which operated from 1977 until 1994. It was the original home of influential Minnesota bands the Replacements and Soul Asylum and was instrumental in helping the ...

) * 1988: '' So Good It Hurts'' (Sin Record Company/

Cooking Vinyl Cooking Vinyl is a British independent record label, based in Acton, London, England. It was founded in 1986 by former manager and booking agent Martin Goldschmidt and his business partner Pete Lawrence. Goldschmidt remains the current owner an ...

Rough Trade Records Rough Trade Records is an independent record label based in London, England. It was formed in 1976 by Geoff Travis, who had opened a record store off Ladbroke Grove. It is currently run by co-managing directors Travis and Jeannette Lee and ...

Germany) * 1989: '' The Mekons Rock 'n Roll'' (

Blast First Blast First is a sub label of one-time independent record label Mute Records, founded in approximately 1985. It was named after a phrase taken from the first number of the radical Vorticism, Vorticist journal ''BLAST (magazine), Blast'', publi ...

Germany; re-released circa 2001 by Collectors' Choice Music, and circa 2020, via bandcamp) * 1991: '' The Curse of the Mekons'' (

Germany; re-released circa 2001 by Collectors' Choice Music) * 1993: '' I ♥ Mekons'' ( Quarterstick Records/

Touch and Go Records Touch and Go Records is an American independent record label based in Chicago, Illinois. After its genesis as a handmade fanzine in 1979, it grew into one of the key record labels in the American 1980s underground and alternative rock scenes. To ...

Germany) * 1994: '' Retreat from Memphis'' ( Quarterstick Records,

Germany) * 1996: ''Pussy, King of the Pirates'' with

Kathy Acker Kathy Acker (April 18, 1947 isputed– November 30, 1997) was an American experimental novelist, poet, playwright, essayist, critic, performance artist, and postmodernist writer, known for her idiosyncratic and transgressive writing that deal ...

(

) * 1996: ''Mekons United'' book and CD ( Quarterstick Records) * 1998: '' Me'' ( Quarterstick Records) * 2000: ''

Journey to the End of the Night ''Journey to the End of the Night'' (, 1932) is the first novel by Louis-Ferdinand Céline. This semi-autobiographical work follows the adventures of Ferdinand Bardamu in World War I, colonial Africa, the United States and the poor suburbs of ...

'' ( Quarterstick Records) * 2002: '' OOOH! (Out of Our Heads)'' ( Quarterstick Records) * 2004: ''

Punk Rock Punk rock (also known as simply punk) is a rock music genre that emerged in the mid-1970s. Rooted in 1950s rock and roll and 1960s garage rock, punk bands rejected the corporate nature of mainstream 1970s rock music. They typically produced sh ...

'' ( Quarterstick Records) * 2007: ''

Natural Nature is an inherent character or constitution, particularly of the ecosphere or the universe as a whole. In this general sense nature refers to the laws, elements and phenomena of the physical world, including life. Although humans are part ...

'' ( Quarterstick Records) * 2011: '' Ancient & Modern 1911–2011'' ( Bloodshot Records) * 2015: ''Jura'', by the mini-Mekons with Robbie Fulks ( Bloodshot Records) * 2016: ''Existentialism'' ( Bloodshot Records) * 2018: ''It Is Twice Blessed'', by the Mekons 77 ( Slow Things) * 2019: ''Deserted'' (Bloodshot Records) * 2020: ''Exquisite'' (self released via

bandcamp Bandcamp is an American online music distribution platform founded in 2008 by Oddpost co-founder Ethan Diamond and programmers Shawn Grunberger, Joe Holt and Neal Tucker, with an office and record store in Oakland, California. Acquired by Epic ...

; 2022 vinyl by Glitterbeat Records) * 2025: ''Horror'' (

Fire Records (UK) Fire Records is a British independent record label, run by James Nicholls, with offices in London, England and New York, United States. The label was founded by music journalist Johnny Waller and Clive Solomon in 1985 and released early recor ...

)

EPs

* 1983: ''The English Dancing Master'' (CNT Records,

) * 1986: ''Crime and Punishment'' (Sin Record Company) * 1986: ''Slightly South of the Border'' (Sin Record Company) * 1987: ''Hole In The Ground / Sin City / Prince Of Darkness'' (Sin Record Company,

) * 1989: ''The Dream and Lie of...'' (

) * 1990: ''F.U.N. '90'' (

) * 1990: ''Greetings Eight'' (Materiali Sonori, Italy) * 1992: ''Wicked Midnite/All I Want'' (Loud Music) * 1993: ''Millionaire'' ( Quarterstick Records) * 2007: ''The Brackenrigg EP'' (download only)

Singles

* 1978: "Never Been In A Riot" b/w "32 Weeks" and "Heart & Soul" − FAST 1 ( Fast Product) * 1978: "Where Were You?" b/w "I'll Have To Dance Then (On My Own)" − FAST 7 ( Fast Product) * 1979: "Work All Week" b/w "Unknown Wrecks" − VS300 (

) * 1980: "Teeth" b/w "Guardian" and "Kill" b/w "Stay Cool" (

) – double 7" * 1980: "Snow" b/w "Another One" ( Red Rhino Records) * 1981: "This Sporting Life" b/w "Frustration" − CNT1 (CNT Records) * 1982: "This Sporting Life" b/w "Fight the Cuts" − CNT8 (CNT Records) * 1986: "Hello Cruel World" b/w "Alone & Forsaken" − Sin004 (Sin Record Company) * 1988: "Ghosts of American Astronauts" (Sin Record Company,

) * 1990: "Claw" b/w "Crap Rap" with The Ex (Clawfist) * 1990: "Sheffield Park" b/w "Having a Party" (

) * 1990: "Makes No Difference" b/w "Having A Party" (

) * 1995: "Untitled 1" b/w "Untitled 2" − QS31 ( Quarterstick Records) * 2017: ''Mekonville'': "How Many Stars Are Out Tonight" b/w "Still Waiting" − (Sin/Slow)

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. * 1985: "They Shall Not Pass" CNT Miner's Strike compilation includes "Fight The Cuts" and "This Sporting Life" * 1986: ''The Mekons Story''—re-released in 1993/2008 * 1987: ''Mekons New York'' (

ROIR ROIR (pronounced "roar"), or Reachout International Records, is a New York City-based independent record label founded in 1979 by Neil Cooper. Background ROIR was founded the same year that the Sony Walkman launched, and initially, the label ex ...

) – re-released in 1990/2001 as ''New York: On the Road 86–87'' * 1989: ''Original Sin'' (

) – Collects together '' Fear and Whiskey,'' parts of ''The English Dancing Master,'' ''Crime and Punishment'' EP, and ''Slightly South of the Border'' EPs * 1999: ''I Have Been to Heaven and Back: Hen's Teeth and other lost fragments of unpopular culture, Vol. 1'' ( Quarterstick Records) * 1999: ''Where Were You? Hen's Teeth and other lost fragments of unpopular culture, Vol. 2'' ( Quarterstick Records) * 2001: ''Curse of the Mekons/Fun '90''— combined reissue ( Collectors' Choice Music) * 2004: ''Heaven & Hell: The Very Best of the Mekons'' (

) * 2011: ''Me-Tunes'' (not on label)

Freakons

* 2021 ''Freakons'' ( Fluff & Gravy Records)

Miscellaneous

* 2002: ''Hello Cruel World: Selected Lyrics'' f 125 songsbook, written & illustrated by The Mekons (Verse Chorus Press; ) * 2016: ''Existentialism'' book, including ''Existentialism'' CD (Sin Publications/Verse Chorus Press, distributed by Bloodshot Records)

Documentary

* 2013: ''Revenge of the Mekons'' directed by Joe Angio

References

External links

* – official site
Bloodshot Records
– The Mekons label site

info at ''Club Mekon''
The Mekons
– Live Music Archive at

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American 501(c)(3) organization, non-profit organization founded in 1996 by Brewster Kahle that runs a digital library website, archive.org. It provides free access to collections of digitized media including web ...

''Mekonville''
– documentary on The Mekons 2017 reunion at

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

''Revenge of the Mekons''
(2013) – film about The Mekons {{DEFAULTSORT:Mekons, The Punk rock groups from West Yorkshire Post-punk groups from Leeds Alternative rock groups from Leeds Musical groups established in 1976 Cowpunk musical groups Quarterstick Records artists Virgin Records artists Blast First artists A&M Records artists Bloodshot Records artists Westpark Music artists