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The Mekons: the raucous world of Leeds’ first punk band

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The advent of punk rock changed the cultural landscape of the United Kingdom indefinitely when it hit the scene during the mid-1970s. Today, everything from mainstream pop to high fashion bears the distant influences of punk and new wave. Contrary to what many would have you believe, though, punk in the UK was not confined solely to the underground scene of London. In fact, more or less every major city across the nation had its own unique punk and alternative scene, most of which were far more interesting than the manufactured revolution of the Sex Pistols.

Of all those different punk scenes which populated the provincial towns of mid-seventies Britain, there were few as enduring or innovative as the one taking place in the independent venues of Leeds. The West Yorkshire city has given the world a lot over the years, from Jelly Tots to the world’s first film. However, the artistic and musical output of the city is far too often overlooked or ignored by mainstream audiences. During the punk golden age of the 1970s, the city played host to various groundbreaking bands, and The Mekons were at the heart of it all.

Formed in 1976 by a group of art students at the University of Leeds, The Mekons were closer in sound and operation to an art collective than a punk band. That very same group of students also went on to form both Gang Of Four and The Delta 5 – there must have been something in the water at the University of Leeds back in the 1970s. The Mekons wanted to completely demolish the barriers between artist and audience, a pretty radical prospect at the time.

To achieve this feat, the group regularly performed at local independent venues, club nights and student unions, helping to establish the city as a beacon of punk creativity in the North. Most notably, the band were regulars at ‘F Club’, a DIY post-punk club night hosted at various venues across the city. The Mekons existed almost entirely on word-of-mouth for the first few years and were completely independent in their output. By the time 1978 rolled around, the fashion of punk was on its way out, down in London, but the Leeds scene was going from strength to strength, incorporating a vast range of different influences, particularly dub reggae and funk. 

Releasing their first single, ‘Never Been In A Riot’ in 1978, The Mekons took a satirical sideswipe at the complacency and performative nature of mainstream punk music. The track referenced The Clash’s ‘White Riot’, and its popularity helped establish the group on a national scale, outside the boundaries of the Leeds ring road. From then on, The Mekons wasted no time in putting out a plethora of groundbreaking music, first on the independent label Fast Product and later on Virgin Records. 

The main appeal of The Mekons always revolved around their live performances, which grew a reputation for being rowdy, euphoric and ruthlessly DIY. While most bands of the punk and post-punk era threw in the towel after a few months or years, The Mekons have dedicated themselves to post-punk excellence for upwards of four decades, constantly reinventing their sound and pushing the boundaries of musical and artistic expression.

Today, Leeds enjoys a fantastic local music scene, but there are no bands playing at Brudenell Social Club or Wharf Chambers that do not owe a great deal to the pioneering DIY sounds of The Mekons. Their music still sounds as organic and infectiously raucous today as it did in the 1970s; their enduring popularity within the underground of Leeds is a testament to their quality songwriting, DIY ethos, and defiant manifesto.

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