If I have to name one band that has had the biggest influence on my life, I don’t have to think long. That’s easy: it can only be The Mekons, for so many reasons.
They were masters of their limitations in the early days. We tried to be that too :-) Now they’re good and proper musicians. Love that too of course.
They taught us that punk could be sweet and tender too.
They were original innovators, experimenting early on with instruments (synths, drum machines, violins, etc.) and genres (rock, folk, etc.). That had a huge influence on us.
Jon Langford produced some of our albums and created a lot of our artwork. Great stuff.
Tom Greenhalgh produced one too. I was singing and said, “That’s out of tune.” He disagreed: “That’s a different kind of tune.” Thanks to Tom, I know that ‘different kind of tune singers’ are my favorites. From Tom (!) to Barney (New Order) to Shaun Ryder (Happy Mondays), etc.
Susie Honeyman played violin on various Eton Crop records.
Playing the festival Mekonville in England, with Susie for example, was one of the highlights of our career.
The Mekons are friends for life.
I could pick many Mekons albums as favourites, but I chose the lesser-known second album Devil’s Rats & Piggies - A Special Message From Godzilla. That’s where they started experimenting with new genres, instruments, and musical formats. It’s the album that influenced me most in my life.
>>> Listen to Devil’s Rats & Piggies - A Special Message From Godzilla