For about a year back in the 1970s The Mekons epitomized the risks, extremes and ludicrous promise of punk rock. It was a different time f’sure BUT eerily similar to NOW. For a while back THEN the Mekons were indeed very interested in punk rock but it wore off (for reasons too obvious & well documented to dwell on here). After the huge success of their FAST PRODUCT 45s and the reckless, doomed assault on the citadel that followed, the Mekons snuck off back to Leeds to lick their wounds only to emerge years later a wiser, stranger, multi-dimensional beast.
Maybe there’s a silver thread that runs all the way back to THEN through the collaborations and experiments of the 80s, 90s and Zeros, maybe there isn’t, but when at last it came time to rework their early output for the great 25th anniversary shows in NYC, Chicago, San Francisco, Amsterdam, Zurich, London & Leeds these half forgotten tunes & texts from the Mekons initial incarnation were dusted down and probed for signs of life & to the amazement of all concerned no backward thrust of nostalgia was apparent, in fact quite the opposite. Layers of historical snot were scraped away to reveal a crop of songs oozing tough & timeless optimism for the NOW, the current, the necessary & the possible... and NOW the Mekons (with one eye on the past and both feet in the river) are very interested in punk rock again.
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