Watch DeNiro Break Another's Head

The Mekons : Watch The Film

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In December of 1979 The Mekons released their debut album The Quality of Mercy is Not Strnen, the title a play on the infinite monkey theorem that says give enough monkeys enough time in front a typewriter and one will write a Shakespeare play like The Merchant of Venice. I believe the album was recorded at The Manor Studio, a residential studio in Oxfordshire where Mike Oldfield had recorded Tubular Bells, Van Morrison had recorded both Wavelength and A Period of Transition and Tangerine Dream had recorded three albums.

"I look back on it now and see what fools we were," Jon Langford tells Gambit.  The Leeds-based band was made up of members on the dole. They had to borrow Gang of Four's instruments to record the album and they suddenly found themselves recording in a 16th Century Manor House. 

"It was recorded two years too late...and there were very nice hippie ladies bringing us food any time of night...(The album) demonstrates us losing our grip. We were trying to please someone else."

(The back of the album cover was made up of photos of Gang Of Four, not The Mekons.)

Even so, this is an album packed with potential. John Peel was already a big fan, having already featured The Mekons in a Peel Session in November of '79.  Still, I would start with The Mekons Rock + Roll from 1989 and work my way backwards.

You Had Yellow Hair

The Mekons : Where Were You?

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On November 29, 1978 the Leeds based Mekons released their second single "Where Were You?".  David Bowie brought the single from his own collection to play on the BBC in May of 1979 when he DJ'd for two hours.  Is it a song of heartbreak about a woman the singer knows well or the lyrics of a stalker about a woman he has never even met? 

Never Been In A Riot

The Mekons : Never Been in a Riot

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“The Mekons are the most revolutionary group in the history of rock ‘n’ roll.” 
— Lester Bangs

In January of 1978, The Mekons released their first single, a response to The Clash's "White Riot" called "Never Been in a Riot". Formed by University of Leeds art students Jon Langford, Kevin Lycett, Mark White, Andy Corrigan and Tom Greenhalgh, none of whom had any apparent musical ability, The Mekons received a rave review from NME for the single, which a critic described as "making the Sex Pistols look like Paper Lace". 

The Mekons are still playing and recording.