The Macc Lads are an English punk rock band from

Macclesfield Macclesfield is a market town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East in Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Bollin in the east of the county, on the edge of the Cheshire Plain, with Macclesfield Forest to its eas ...

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's county tow ...

, England. Self-proclaimed the "rudest, crudest, lewdest, drunkest band in Christendom", the Macc Lads have typically used irreverent, foul-mouthed and

politically incorrect ''Political correctness'' (adjectivally: ''politically correct''; commonly abbreviated ''PC'') is a term used to describe language, policies, or measures that are intended to avoid offense or disadvantage to members of particular groups in socie ...

lyrics; common themes have been binge drinking, sex and fighting. Active from 1981 to 1995 and reforming in 2018, the band now tend to be regarded more favourably by music historians, in contrast to the reaction the band generated in their heyday, with many appreciating the blatant schoolboy humour and tongue-in-cheek nature of the source material.

Concerts

The band were prevented from entering or ejected from gigs in

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, Bury,

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Hull Hull may refer to: Structures * Chassis, of an armored fighting vehicle * Fuselage, of an aircraft * Hull (botany), the outer covering of seeds * Hull (watercraft), the body or frame of a ship * Submarine hull Mathematics * Affine hull, in affi ...

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...

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, and

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. They were also banned from entering the United States. A concert at the Birmingham Hummingbird in 1989 resulted in thousands of pounds' worth of damage by fans.

Vandalism Vandalism is the action involving deliberate destruction of or damage to public or private property. The term includes property damage, such as graffiti and defacement directed towards any property without permission of the owner. The ter ...

included scaffolding being pulled apart and thrown onstage as well as a broken toilet, pots of paint and ashtrays. Band members McCavity and Muttley suffered cut heads and fans went on stage to fight road crew, and stage security members Lockstock and Mungo. At the end of March 1990 the band played at

The Marquee Club The Marquee Club was a music venue first located at 165 Oxford Street in London, when it opened in 1958 with a range of jazz and skiffle acts. Its most famous period was from 1964 to 1988 at 90 Wardour Street in Soho, and it finally closed whe ...

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, London coincidentally the same day as the

Poll Tax Riots The poll tax riots were a series of riots in British towns and cities during protests against the Community Charge (commonly known as the "poll tax"), introduced by the Conservative government of Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. The largest pr ...

were taking place in the streets outside. Many fans were caught in the cross-fire between fighting in the concert venue and the rioting out on the streets. The Lads' website states that at a gig in Cheltenham in 1991 a "bag of hot sick" was thrown at the band. The band played their 500th gig at

Nottingham Rock City Rock City is a music venue and nightclub located in Nottingham, England. It is owned by venue operator and concert promoter DHP Family. It opened in December 1980, first hosting The Undertones, and has gone on to host some of the biggest names ...

on 4 December 1995.

Break up, subsequent media appearances and reunion

Before reforming in 2018, the band last performed at a private show in 1997 for Muttley's local football team in Macclesfield. The line-up was the four-piece of Muttley, Winston Dread, Al O'Peesha and Johnny Mard. In 1999 Stez Styx, The Beater, Muttley and Al O'Peesha reunited for an interview at the Ivy House pub, Macclesfield for The Bear's Head fan website. This was conducted by long-term Macc Lads fan and Bear's Head fansite contributor Lance Manley, also known as Liquid Goblin. On 23 June 2015 ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers '' The Observer'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the ...

'' published an article by Ian Gittins in which he put a satirical interpretation on the Macc Lads' lyrics and said that they had arrived "too early" in music history to not be taken at face value. The article stated that they were ultimately "a coarse yet clever spoof". Muttley McLad himself rejected this description, saying "There was no ulterior motive, ''The Guardian'' are reading too much into it. Making us out to be witty, intelligent satirists is probably the worst thing that's ever been said about us." In November 2015 a five-minute documentary called ''Coffee, Sex & Johnny Bags'' by The Beater's son Joe Conning was made and published on 2 January 2016 on

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 mo ...

and social media. The video is another reunion of the original line-up with Muttley, The Beater and Stez Styx giving insights into lyrics the band wrote plus reflections on their success. Also contributing was long-term "affiliate" Bammy the Bamster who is mentioned in a couple of the band's songs. On 25 February 2017, the Macc Lads members Muttley McLad, The Beater, Stez Styx and Chorley the Hord reunited for a gig as F.I.L.F. with Bammy the Bamster on vocals. Although not an official reunion of the Macc Lads, this was the first time in since 1988 that Muttley, Chorley and Beater have played in the same band and the first time that Chorley and Stez have shared a stage. F.I.L.F. are an ongoing project aiming to cover classic punk music, and began closing performances with Macc Lads material at

Rebellion Festival The Rebellion Festival, formerly Holidays in the Sun and the Wasted Festival is a British punk rock festival first held in 1996. The festival has attracted mainstream press coverage from such sources as The Guardian, The Independent, The Daily ...

. A gig at No.5 Bar in Macclesfield on 10 February 2018 sold out in three days. On 1 July 2018 Lance Manley published a memoir of his time following the Macc Lads. Entitled ''Beer, Sweat & Blood: On Tour With The Macc Lads'', the book covers the period 1988 to 1999 and the recent reunion. On 3 August 2018, the Macc Lads reformed to play the Rebellion Festival in Blackpool. The line-up was the same as F.I.L.F. with Bammy on vocals. Two months later Muttley resumed lead vocals, and Bammy stepped aside to become the band's full-time manager. A sell-out tour entitled ''The Usual Subjects'' took place in November 2018 with all of the gigs sold out. On 16 November 2019 Lance Manley published a follow-up book entitled ''From The Cradle To The Gravy: Fan Tales Of The Macc Lads'' which features short stories and tales from other fans and associates of the band over the years. On 14 December 2019 the band released their first original material since 2006. A vinyl 7-inch single with the tracks ''Mary, Queen of Pox'' and ''Middle Finger'' was given away free to all fans attending the final gig of 2019, at the Engine Shed in

. In 2020 the Macc Lads began selling their own range of

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quick ...

face-masks, featuring a cartoon of a stubbly chin and a mouth holding a lit cigarette. They also released five new songs via their website: "Devil's Handcart", "Best Barbershop", "Black Latrine", "Sunniside Nursing Home" and "Curley Clare". There is a video for "Curly Clare" featuring Muttley and the Beater. In December 2020 the Macc Lads published a Ladvent calendar on their website. This featured a one-minute track entitled "Let's Get Pissed Again" which was originally featured on the 1982 release "Minge Pies & Mistletoe". Its lyrics were changed to reflect the lockdown over COVID-19. In February 2022 the Macc Lads manager Bammy stated that the 2021 tour was possibly the last one with that line-up but material will continue in other forms.

Band members

Current members

* Muttley McLad, (real name Tristan O'Neill) - lead vocals, bass, songwriting (1981–1995; 1997; 2018–present) *The Beater (real name Geoffrey Conning) – lead guitar, backing vocals (lead vocals on Boddies), (1981–1986, 1986–1989, 1990–1991, 2018–present) *Stez Styx (1st incarnation), later known as Johnny Mard (real name Steve Hatton) – guitars, backing vocals, drums (1981–1986, 1993–1995, 2018–present) *Chorley the Hord (real name Charles Moore) – drums, backing vocals (1986–1989, 2018–present)

Former members

*Stez Styx (2nd incarnation, real name Howard Minns, also known as frequent support act Eddie Shit) – drums, backing vocals, lead vocals on "Newcy Brown" (1990–1991) *Phil "Fast Fret" McCavity (real name Phillip Turner) – lead guitar, backing vocals (1989–1990) *Al O'Peesha (real name Peter Bossley, a journalist with ''The Sentinel'') – guitar, piano, backing vocals (1991, 1993–1995, died in 2005 in Stoke-on-Trent) *Cheeky Monkey (real name Percy Perkins) – drums, backing vocals (1985–1986) *Winston Dread (real name Kevin Hooper) – drums, backing vocals (1993–1995) *Uncle Knobby – guitar, backing vocals (1986)

Other members

*Bammy Macc Lad – live vocals, 2018 *Barrel – Roadie, lead vocals on "Feed Your Face", 1987 *Binbag – lead vocals on "Dans Round Us 'Andbags", and "Fluffy Pup", 1989 *Stella Strict – lead vocals on "Two Stroke Eddie", live singer of Fluffy Pup in 1990 *Young Man – lead vocals on "Failure With Girls", 1985

Timeline

This is an approximate timeline of the members of the Macc Lads.

Discography

Albums

* ''Eh Up'' (1983) Hectic House * '' Beer & Sex & Chips n Gravy'' (1985) Hectic House * '' Bitter, Fit Crack'' (1987) Hectic House * ''Live at Leeds (the who?)'' (1988) Dojo * ''From Beer to Eternity'' (1989) Dojo – UK No. 72 * ''The Beer Necessities'' (1990) Dojo * ''Alehouse Rock'' (1994) Dojo

EPs

* ''One Gallon Demo'' (1982) * ''Minge Pies and Mistletoe'' (1983) * ''Macc Lads 5'' (fan club only) (1986) * ''Filthy, Fat and Flatulent'' (1987) * ''Sheepless Nights'' (1988) * ''...and Drinking Partners'' (1989) * ''Bog N Roll Circus'' (1990) * ''Turtles' Heads'' (1991) * ''England'' (2006)

Compilations

* ''Dirty CD Chips n Gravy'' (1989) * ''Twenty Golden Crates'' (1991) * ''An Orifice and a Genital (Outtakes 1986–1991)'' (1993) Dojo * ''God's Gift to Women'' (1998) * ''The Lads From Macc'' (1999) * ''Anthology'' (1999)

Videos

* ''Beer and Sex and Chips 'n' Gravy'' (1986) * ''Made in Macc'' (1987) * ''Four Bleats to the Baa'' (1988) * ''Come to Brum (live in Birmingham)'' (1988) * ''The Three Bears'' (1989) * ''The Quality of Mersey (live in Liverpool)'' (1989) * ''The Beer Necessities'' (1990) * ''Sex, Pies and Videotape (live in Manchester)'' (1991). The video was produced by EMI. Mutley stated in an interview in 1999 that the final result was "nearly as rude as a school choir".

References

{{Reflist

External links

Official website

The Macc Lads
at discogs.com English punk rock groups People from Macclesfield Comedy rock musical groups British comedy musical groups Musical groups established in 1981 1981 establishments in England Musical groups disestablished in 1995 1995 disestablishments in England Musical groups established in 2018 2018 establishments in England