The Mekons (band)

The Mekons
Mekons 13 July 2015 left to right: Lu Edmonds, Tom Greenhalgh, Steve Goulding, Sally Timms, Jon Langford, Susie Honeyman, Rico Bell (not pictured: Sarah Corina)
Background information
Origin	Leeds, West Yorkshire, England
Genres	Punk rock Post-punk Cowpunk Alternative rock
Years active	1977 – present
Labels	Fast Product Virgin Blast First A&M Records Quarterstick Records Scout Releases Bloodshot Records
Associated acts	The Three Johns The Waco Brothers
Website	mekons.de
Members	Jon Langford Tom Greenhalgh Sally Timms Sarah Corina Steve Goulding Susie Honeyman Rico Bell (aka Eric Bellis) Lu Edmonds J. Mitch Flacko Dave Trumfio
Past members	Ben Mandelson Dick Taylor John Langley Kevin Lycett Mary Jenner Robert Worby

The Mekons are a British-American rock 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. Through the years, the band's musical style has evolved, incorporating aspects of country music, folk music, alternative rock and even occasional experiments with dub. They are known for their raucous live shows. These days, The Mekons are often described as a post-punk, cowpunk and/or alt country band. The band is currently based in Chicago.

The band was formed in 1977 by a group of University of Leeds art students: Jon Langford, Kevin Lycett, Mark White, Andy Corrigan and Tom Greenhalgh - the Gang of Four 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 (printed in the Eagle). The band's first single was "Never Been in a Riot", a satirical take on the Clash's White Riot. For several years the loose-knit band played noisy, bare-bones post-punk, releasing singles on a variety of labels. The Mekons' first album, The Quality of Mercy Is Not Strnen, was recorded using the Gang of Four'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.