On Tyranny: Mekons’ Tom Greenhalgh Disses Ed Sheeran, Gives ‘Big Ups’ to Susan Sarandon for Opposing Right Wing
Celebrating their 50th year as a band in 2026, Leeds-bred post-punk icons The Mekons have maintained a streak of anti-authoritarianism dating back to their first studio full-length, The Quality of Mercy Is Not Strnen, which was released in 1979 – the same year Margaret Thatcher rose to become prime minister. Along with Gang of Four, The Clash and other British bands that formed a united front against the right-wing scourge that dominated the country at the time, The Mekons have never held back in challenging the powers that be and espousing their left-wing beliefs.
The band featuring Jon Langford and Tom Greenhalgh (both vocalists/guitarists) and Sally Timms (also vocals) among many other members are still fighting the good fight today, and have not relented in their sharp criticism of the elite class that is dominating the world like never before, at least not in recent memory. Proof can be found in last year’s Horror, the latest studio album released by the now-Chicago-based group; as well as their dub revisitation of that record released in June: Horrorble (Mekons vs. Tony Maimone in Dub Conference.
The Bad Penny recently had the great privilege to usher Greenhalgh into our On Tyranny series, in which musicians speak out about the threats that fascism and authoritarianism pose to artists, how they can respond and what younger bands can learn from the experiences and wisdom of veteran groups. Below is our email interview with the gracious Greenhalgh.
First of all, thank you for participating in my On Tyranny series. I hold in high esteem any band that chooses to do so (although The Mekons have always held that status in my mind). How are you holding up amid the rise of authoritarianism worldwide – most recently evidenced by the AdF win in Germany and persistent pestilence that is the Trump regime?
The “End of History” didn’t quite work out as planned …
Has the rise of fascism and the fears that come with it affected you as an artist?
Yes, in every conceivable way possible.
Do The Mekons collectively credit their speaking out against right-wingers as one of the main reasons they’ve connected with audiences and, as a result, achieved such success for decades?
Ha! Success!? Our audience is pretty self selecting – our job is not to deliver sermons from the pulpit but just to entertain the “troops.”
At what point in your career did you as a band feel loneliest in speaking out against authoritarian rule and conservative dominance in government? Did you take pride in that or was it intimidating?
The early ’80s were pretty bleak with the rise of Thatcher and the defeat of the miners’ strike. We did what we could.
Did speaking out about politics ever result in any penalties or substantial backlash that resulted in the cancellation of Mekons concerts, getting banned from performing in certain countries or at specific events, etc.?
No. We operate below the radar.
When did you feel the most camaraderie in speaking out? With which bands did you feel that the most?
In the early days, all the bands involved in Rock Against Racism: Gang of Four, The Clash, Misty in Roots, Stiff Little Fingers and many others. Chumbawamba. Nowadays it would be everyone speaking out against Israeli genocide in Gaza: Kneecap, Bob Vylan, Massive Attack and Paul Weller, to name just a few.
How do you respond to artists who claim that they are “not political”?
I’ve always thought Ed Sheeran’s music was shit.
Do you feel like it’s more imperative than ever for musicians to speak out against authoritarianism and fascism?
It’s up to them, but big ups to Susan Sarandon, for example.
How far do you think this current rise of authoritarianism and fascism will go? Will it get to the point where musicians in some countries outside of those with notoriously brutal regimes will adopt their strategy of punishing them with imprisonment or even death?
There’s absolutely no reason to doubt that all of the above could be perfectly possible.
What has given you hope in the past, and are they the same reasons you remain hopeful now, assuming you do?
The writings of Antonio Gramsci. They’re still 100 percent valid.
For more on The Mekons, go to their website.
Go here for the On Tyranny archive, which features interviews about the threats artists face from fascism with Bobby Conn, Thalia Zedek, Alan Sparhawk, J. Robbins, Big Special, Crotches, Chairmaker, UK Subs, William Tyler and more than 100 more musicians.
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