Notsensibles are a punk rock band from

Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2001 population of 73,021. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, Lancashire, Preston, at the confluence of the River C ...

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 b ...

, who had their greatest success with their second single, the tongue-in-cheek "

I'm in Love with Margaret Thatcher "I'm in Love with Margaret Thatcher" is a 1979 single by the English punk band Notsensibles. It was originally written as a tongue-in-cheek comment on Margaret Thatcher, and following her death in 2013 was part of a social media campaign to get ...

History

The band was formed in 1978 by Michael "Haggis" Hargreaves (vocals), Steven "Sage" Hartley (guitar), Roger "Rog Sensible" Rawlinson (keyboards), Gary Brown ( bass), and Kevin "Ploppy" Hemingway (drums).Strong, Martin C. (2003) "Notsensibles", in ''The Great Indie Discography'', Canongate, Lazell, Barry (1997) ''Indie Hits 1980-1989'', Cherry Red Books, The band explained their approach: "all we want to do is make silly records and play silly gigs". After releasing the "Death to Disco" single in April 1979, they "celebrated" the election of

Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. She was the first female British prime ...

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...

later that year with the single "I'm in Love with Margaret Thatcher". Initially self-released in a pressing of 1,000, but reissued on the Snotty Snail label due to continuing demand,Gimarc, George (2005) ''Punk Diary: The Ultimate Trainspotter's Guide to Underground Rock 1970-1982'', Backbeat Books, the release gave them a No. 8

UK Indie Chart The UK Independent Singles Chart and UK Independent Albums Chart are charts of the best-selling independent singles and albums, respectively, in the United Kingdom. Originally published in January 1980, and widely known as the indie chart, the rel ...

hit at the start of 1980, and the band also recorded a session for John Peel's

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...

show. According to one review, the song was: "Meant as neither a pro- nor anti-Thatcher song. It revolved around the idea that no-one was too sacred to get the piss taken out of." Writer Simon Reynolds stated that it "...taps into the side of punk all about not taking ''anything'' seriously..." At one performance in 2012 Hargreaves claimed that he had "great reverence for Thatcher" The single's B-side included "

Gary Bushell Garry Bushell (born 13 May 1955) is an English newspaper columnist, rock music journalist, television presenter, author, musician and political activist. Bushell also sings in the Cockney Oi! bands GBX and the Gonads. He managed the New York Ci ...

's Band of the Week", which poked fun at the journalist. In March 1980, the band's only studio album, ''Instant Classic'', was released, reaching No. 16 on the

, and two singles followed, both indie hits, but not selling as well as their earlier single, before the band split up in March 1982. Cherry Red subsidiary Anagram Records issued a compilation of the band's output, ''Instant Punk Classics'', in 1994. The band reformed for a performance at the first ''Wasted/Holidays in the Sun'' festival in 1996, and reformed more permanently in 2005 with the original line-up. The song "I'm In Love with Margaret Thatcher" was featured in the 2011 film '' The Iron Lady'' starring

Meryl Streep Mary Louise Meryl Streep (born June 22, 1949) is an American actress. Often described as "the best actress of her generation", Streep is particularly known for her versatility and accent adaptability. She has received numerous accolades throu ...

. The single was re-released on vinyl and download to celebrate its appearance in the film. In 2013, after Margaret Thatcher's death, "

" received additional publicity when there was an online campaign to boost the record's re-entry into the charts as a download, to counter the promotion of the song "

Ding-Dong! The Witch Is Dead "Ding-Dong! The Witch Is Dead" is a song in the 1939 film '' The Wizard of Oz''. It is the centrepiece of several individual songs in an extended set-piece performed by the Munchkins, Glinda (Billie Burke) and Dorothy Gale. Highlighted by the Lol ...

" by anti-Thatcher activists. The campaign was initiated by Notsensibles' singer Mike Hargreaves and promoter Suzie Delooze by way of a

Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin Mosk ...

page, and was endorsed by Thatcher supporters. Although the Notsensibles' song was reportedly considered "more favourable to Baroness Thatcher", band member Steven Hartley commented that it had been written as a satirical swipe at her. Hargreaves said: "I find it hilarious that Tories have adopted it. The song is a sort-of tribute and sort-of not." The song charted at number 35 on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

on 12 April 2013. At the time of the renewed success of the single in 2013, it was reported that Hartley had trained as a doctor and now worked in accident and emergency; Rawlinson was a tree surgeon working for the local council; Hargreaves worked as a nurse; Brown worked in IT; and Hemingway was a businessman. Hargreaves was the

Green Party A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as social justice, environmentalism and nonviolence. Greens believe that these issues are inherently related to one another as a foundation f ...

candidate in

at the 2015 general election. The band will be performed at the 2016 & 2017 Rebellion Festival in Blackpool.

Discography

Chart placings shown are from the

unless otherwise stated.

Singles

*"Death to Disco" (1979) Bent *"

" (1979) Redball (reissued (1980) Snotty Snail) (#8); re-promoted 2013 (#35,

) *"I Thought You Were Dead" (1980) Snotty Snail (#29) *"I am the Bishop" (1981) Snotty Snail (#45) (as The Sensibles) *''(I've Just Had Enough) Brother'' EP (2005) Snotty Snail

Albums

*''Instant Classic'' (1980) Bent/Snotty Snail (#16) *''Instant Punk Classics'' (1994) Anagram

References

External links

Notsensibles Official Website 2014
{{Authority control English punk rock groups Musical groups established in 1978