The Mekons are a British band formed in the late 1970s as an art collective. They are one of the longest-running and most prolific of the first-wave British punk rock bands. The band's style has evolved over time to incorporate aspects of

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, o ...

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

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 known for their raucous live shows.

History

The band was formed in 1976 by a group of

University of Leeds , mottoeng = And knowledge will be increased , established = 1831 – Leeds School of Medicine1874 – Yorkshire College of Science1884 - Yorkshire College1887 – affiliated to the federal Victoria University1904 – University of Leeds , ...

art students: Jon Langford, Kevin Lycett, Mark White, Andy Corrigan and

Tom Greenhalgh Thomas Charles Greenhalgh is a multimedia artist and singer-songwriter best known for his work with the Mekons. Education He attended Sevenoaks School in Kent with future members of the Gang of Four (Andy Gill and Jon King) and the Mekons ...

—the

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. The ...

and

Delta 5 Delta 5 was an English post-punk band from Leeds. Career Delta 5 was formed from the same art school scene at Leeds University as Gang of Four and The Mekons. The original members of Delta 5, Julz Sale (vocals/guitar), Ros Allen (bass) and Be ...

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 story ''Dan Dare, Pilot of the Future'' from 1950 to 1967 (and subsequently in rep ...

'' (printed in the ''Eagle''). The Mekons were described as more chaotic version of the 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 The Rezillos are a punk/ new wave band formed in Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1976. Although emerging at the same time as other bands in the punk rock movement, the Rezillos did not share the nihilism or social commentary of their contemporaries, ...

at the F Club, they were approached with a record deal by Bob Last of Fast Product. The Mekons were 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, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of shaming o ...

take on

the Clash The Clash were an English rock music, rock band formed in London in 1976 who were key players in the original wave of British punk rock. Billed as "The Only Band That Matters", they also contributed to the and new wave music, new wave moveme ...

's '' White Riot''. The release was made Single of the Week in NME. 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 the state of a person who has never engaged in sexual intercourse. The term ''virgin'' originally only referred to sexually inexperienced women, but has evolved to encompass a range of definitions, as found in traditional, modern ...

. 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 outfit, the group signed to Virgin Records in 1979 and later attained widespread commercial success with their third album ''Dare' ...

, and

Stiff Little Fingers Stiff Little Fingers are a punk rock band from Belfast, Northern Ireland. 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 D ...

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

post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of punk music that emerged in the late 1970s as musicians departed from punk's traditional elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a variety of avant-garde sensibilities and non-r ...

, releasing singles on a number of labels. The Mekons' first album, ''

The Quality of Mercy Is Not Strnen ''The Quality of Mercy Is Not Strnen'' is the debut album by the Mekons, released in 1979. Music and lyrics The music of the Mekons' debut is aggressively primitive. Most of the songs are built on one or two chords, and each is "propelled by ...

'', was recorded using the

'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. Corrigan became a tour manager for many years before founding a company that provides visa and immigration services specialising in the entertainment industry. 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, violinist Susie Honeyman, ex- Damned member Lu Edmonds, accordionist/vocalist

Rico Bell Rico Bell ( Eric 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 has also rel ...

(a.k.a. Eric Bellis), and former The Rumour drummer Steve Goulding. They 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

. ''Fear and Whiskey'' (1985), ''The Edge of the World'' (1986) and ''

The Mekons Honky Tonkin' ''The Mekons Honky Tonkin is an album by the British band the Mekons, released in 1987. It was their first album to be released in the United States and the band's third country music-influenced album. The band supported the album with a North Ame ...

'' (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) who was known professionally as Gram Parsons, was an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, and pianist who recorded as a solo artist and with the International Submarine Band, ...

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. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in ...

politics with the

minimalist In visual arts, music and other media, minimalism is an art movement that began in post–World War II in Western art, most strongly with American visual arts in the 1960s and early 1970s. Prominent artists associated with minimalism include Do ...

country of

Hank Williams Hank Williams (born Hiram Williams; September 17, 1923 – January 1, 1953) was an American singer, songwriter, and musician. Regarded as one of the most significant and influential American singers and songwriters of the 20th century, he reco ...

. Subsequent albums, such as '' The Mekons Rock 'n Roll'', continued to experiment with diverse instrumentation (notably the fiddle, accordion, slide guitar, and saz). '' The Mekons Rock 'n Roll'', released by

A&M Records A&M Records was an American record label founded as an independent company by Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss in 1962. Due to the success of the discography A&M released, the label garnered interest and was acquired by PolyGram in 1989 and began distr ...

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 paper, known for being the country's first alternative newspaper, alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf (publisher), Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, th ...

's Pazz & Jop critics poll. In 1991, ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' critic

Jon Pareles Jon Pareles (born October 25, 1953) is an American journalist who is the chief popular music critic in the arts section of ''The New York Times''. Just as the Mekons began to grow in critical stature, their relationship with A&M Records became tense, and the Mekons were soon dropped by the label, unable to fulfill their commercial expectations. However, they continued to record at a prolific rate, releasing such notable albums as 1991's ''

Curse of the Mekons ''The Curse of the Mekons'' is the ninth studio album by English rock band The Mekons, released in 1991. Due to a disagreement with A&M Records, the album was not released in the U.S. until a decade later, being available only as an import from ...

'', 2000's ''Journey to the End of the Night'', and 2002's ''OOOH!'' ''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 and Modern'' on Bloodshot Records, and, in a September 2010 interview, Jon Langford revealed that the band would tour the United States in 2011. 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 David Trumfio (born August 16, 1968) is an American record producer, mixer, engineer and musician, best known for his production work with artists such as Wilco and his recordings with his own band The Pulsars. Production work Trumfio grew u ...

, 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 in Suffolk, England, of which it is the county town. The town is located in East Anglia about away from the mouth of the River Orwell and the North Sea. Ipswich is both on the Great Eastern Main Line r ...

, 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. They recorded their 2019 album ''Deserted'' in a studio near to

Joshua Tree National Park Joshua Tree National Park is an American national park in southeastern California, east of San Bernardino and Los Angeles and north of Palm Springs. It is named after the Joshua trees (''Yucca brevifolia'') native to the Mojave Desert. Original ...

. In an interview, they described how "the rugged landscape informed the highly diverse collection of songs they wrote". For 2022, The Mekons announced at least one performance in Europe.

Other projects

Langford has worked as the founder and member of several solo and band projects including The Three Johns, the Waco Brothers, a punk-meets-

Johnny Cash John R. Cash (born J. R. Cash; February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American Country music, country singer-songwriter. Much of Cash's music contained themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially in the later s ...

-like ensemble, and the

Pine Valley Cosmonauts Pine Valley Cosmonauts (PVC) are a musical ensemble from Chicago, Illinois. History The group was initiated by Jon Langford (also of the Waco Brothers and The Mekons) as a covers group, with both repertory and cast of backing members constantly ...

, a project that explores the music of

Bob Wills James Robert Wills (March 6, 1905 – May 13, 1975) was an American Western swing 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 ...

, 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. The "anti-star" was born in Derby, Derbyshire, England, and died in his adopted home of Nurember ...

, 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 Dallas Good, Travis Good, Sean Dean and Mike Belitsky. Dallas and Travis are the sons of Margaret and Bruce Good, and nephews of Brian ...

, 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 country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to th ...

to perform, sample the local

whisky Whisky or whiskey is a type of distilled alcoholic beverage made from fermented grain mash. Various grains (which may be malted) are used for different varieties, including barley, corn, rye, and wheat. Whisky is typically aged in wooden ca ...

, 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 Echo City is a British sound sculpture and music project founded in London in 1983 by Van der Graaf Generator member Guy Evans, Giles Leaman, and Giles Perring. Its current active members are Guy Evans, Julia Farrington, Rob Mills, Giles Perri ...

. 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 joined together with Jon Langford and Sally Timms of the Mekons to be the Freakons, performing original and cover songs about

coal mining Coal mining is the process of extracting coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from ...

Appalachia Appalachia () is a cultural region in the Eastern United States that stretches from the Southern Tier of New York State to northern Alabama and Georgia. While the Appalachian Mountains stretch from Belle Isle in Newfoundland and Labrador, ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

, and

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

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

Hideout Hideout may refer to: Entertainment * ''Hideout'' (film), a 1949 American thriller film directed by Philip Ford * ''The Hideout'' (1956 film), a 1956 British crime film directed by Peter Graham Scott * ''The Hideout'' (film), a 2007 film by Pup ...

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

, and elsewhere in

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

. In 2013, they also performed at

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

's Hardly Strictly Bluegrass festival. In 2017, they were accompanied by violinists

Jean Cook Jean George Cook (born 14 August 1991) is a South African rugby union player. His usual position is flanker or number eight and he most recently played for Japanese Top League club Kintetsu Liners. Career Cook started out his career with th ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

and Anna Krippenstapel of Louisville (

The Other Years ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in ...

, Joan Shelley, etc.), and, only in Chicago, by Chicago/Louisville guitarist James Elkington (

The Horse's Ha ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in ...

, 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: ''

'' (

Virgin Records Virgin Records is a record label owned by Universal Music Group. It originally founded as a British independent record label in 1972 by entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, Nik Powell, and musician Tom Newman. It grew to be a worldw ...

/ Blue Plate-

Caroline Records Caroline Records is a record label originally founded in 1973. Initially 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. ...

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

Red Rhino Records Red Rhino Records, also known as Red Rhino, was a British independent record label which was developed by the independent record shop and wholesaler of the same name, all formed and run by "Tony K" (Tony Kostrzewa) and his wife Gerri. It was part ...

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 we ...

, 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 ''Fear and Whiskey'' is the fourth studio album by English rock band the Mekons. It was released in 1985 and marked a dramatic shift in their sound following a short hiatus. It has been credited as being one of the first alternative country albu ...

'' (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: ''

'' (Sin Record Company, Twin/Tone Records) * 1988: ''So Good It Hurts'' (Sin Record Company/

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

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. Having successfully promoted and sold records by punk rock and early post-pu ...

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 Vorticist journal '' Blast'', published by Wyndham Lewis in 191 ...

Germany; re-released circa 2001 by

Collectors' Choice Music Collectors' Choice Music (CCM) is an Itasca, Illinois, company originally primarily in two businesses, but since 2010 only in the second. CCM was best known for reissuing albums originally recorded in LP record form as compact discs. , its catalo ...

, and circa 2020, via bandcamp) * 1991: ''

The Curse of the Mekons ''The Curse of the Mekons'' is the ninth studio album by English rock band The Mekons, released in 1991. Due to a disagreement with A&M Records, the album was not released in the U.S. until a decade later, being available only as an import from ...

'' (

Germany; re-released circa 2001 by Collectors' Choice Music) * 1993: ''

I ♥ Mekons I, or i, is the ninth letter and the third vowel letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''i'' (pronounced ), plur ...

'' ( 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, playwright, essayist, and postmodernist writer, known for her idiosyncratic and transgressive writing that dealt with themes such as childhood tr ...

(

) * 1996: ''Mekons United'' book and CD ( Quarterstick Records) * 1998: '' Me'' ( Quarterstick Records) * 2000: '' Journey to the End of the Night'' ( Quarterstick Records) * 2002: ''OOOH! (Out of Our Heads)'' ( Quarterstick Records) * 2004: ''Punk Rock'' ( Quarterstick Records) * 2007: ''

Natural Nature, in the broadest sense, is the physical world or universe. "Nature" can refer to the phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general. The study of nature is a large, if not the only, part of science. Although humans are ...

'' ( Quarterstick Records) * 2011: ''Ancient and 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 audio distribution platform founded in 2007 by Oddpost co-founder Ethan Diamond and programmers Shawn Grunberger, Joe Holt and Neal Tucker, with headquarters in Oakland, California, US. On March 2, 2022, Bandcamp ...

; 2022 vinyl by

Glitterbeat Records Glitterhouse Records is a German independent record label and mail order company based in Beverungen, North Rhine-Westphalia. It was founded in the mid-1980s. From the late 1980s until the mid-1990s it was the European branch of the American la ...

)

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,

, Twin/Tone Records) * 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" (

) * 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,

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

) – Collects together ''

,'' 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 (

) * 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 songs F, or f, is the sixth Letter (alphabet), letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the English alphabet, modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is English alphabet#Let ...

book, 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 * – 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 digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music ...

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

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second most ...

''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