The Mekons' 'Where Were You?' and its enduring legacy
Quick Look
The Mekons' 1979 single 'Where Were You?' became an indie classic, influenced by punk and feminism, and continues to resonate nearly 50 years later, even earning the band royalties from a car advert.
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Why It Matters
The article discusses the origins and lasting impact of the Mekons' 1979 single 'Where Were You?', featuring reflections from band members Tom Greenhalgh and Jon Langford. It touches upon the band's beginnings in Leeds, their influences from the punk scene, and the song's unexpected success and cultural significance.
Tom Greenhalgh, guitar
Most of the people who started the Mekons and Gang of Four were on the same fine art course at Leeds University. In December 1976 we went to see the Anarchy tour at the nearby polytechnic. I liked the Sex Pistols but the Clash, in their paint-spattered clothes, sounded particularly great. It was the first time I saw a band and thought: “That could be me up there.”
Soon afterwards, Jon King and Andy Gill started Gang of Four, rehearsing at the university’s film society, and whenever they took a break, we started messing around on their equipment. At our first gig – well, half a gig really – we didn’t have a rhythm section so Andy played drums. Then after one and a half gigs Bob Last from the Fast Product label said he wanted to do something with us. We told him, “You should record Gang of Four, not us” – which he would do later. But he was adamant: “You’re exactly what I’ve been looking for.”
We recorded our first single, Never Been in a Riot, on a two-track tape recorder in a living room, but for Where Were You? Bob put us in Spaceward in Cambridge, a proper studio getting a reputation for recording unconventional stuff. Where Were You? came together very quickly in rehearsal. Kevin Lycett strummed two chords, I played the choppy counter-melody and Jon came in on drums. Mark White wrote the lyrics, Andy Corrigan sang them, and that was it.
John Peel played it a lot and it sold more than 27,000 copies straight away. It was a huge amount for an independent label, but we certainly didn’t think we were at the forefront of postpunk DIY culture, or that we’d be playing the song live almost 50 years later. It started to become kind of a classic after David Bowie played it on a Radio 1 programme called Star Special and compared us to the young Marc Bolan. Bowie comparing us to T Rex? You couldn’t get any better, really.
Jon Langford, drums
I missed the first gig because I’d gone home to Wales for the weekend, but legend has it they had a sofa with a spaceship drawn on it and were called Dan Dare and the Mekons. After Tony Parsons in the NME said the name was shit, we became the Mekons. They wanted me in the group because I had a drum kit. Where Were You? was probably written in the first three days of the band’s existence. We thought we had funnier, crazier and more elaborate songs, so it was going to be the B-side, but when we slowed it down it had more of a groove and really clicked.
Spaceward studio had great old amplifiers, so Kevin spent a lot of time getting the first chord to sound like a death knell. For the drum roll, the soundman had to stand next to me to slow me down, so we played it over and over again until I was less eager to speed up. It’s a freakishly good performance from us, considering, and a really good cut. It jumps out of the speakers.
Mark’s lyrics were very influenced by Buzzcocks’ Pete Shelley’s confessional love songs. Where Were You? is about loneliness, really. “I was buying you a drink, where were you?” Then he goes back to his flat and cries. We’ve always had women in the Mekons – Mary Jenner, a classically trained violinist, played bass on Where Were You? – and feminism was important to us. Where Were You? was the total opposite of that “It’s Friday night, let’s shag” macho mentality that was in most rock music at the time.
For the sleeve, I cut up an old Gary Glitter annual: the gold discs on the cover are Glitter’s, not ours, but wisely enough I Tipp-Exed his name out. The gold discs were meant to be ironic – we certainly weren’t celebrating our millions of sales! But after it was single of the week in all the music papers and became our best selling record, the joke was on us.
About 10 years ago, we received a fairly substantial amount of money after it was used in an advert for Honda’s Acura cars. Mark said: “The only reason we’ve got this is because you guys [the current lineup including Greenhalgh and Langford] have kept playing it.” And so the original lineup shared some of the money with the current band. It was really nice because it linked everyone together: Merry Christmas from Where Were You?
Horrorble, a dub version of the Mekons’ album Horror, is released on 5 June
What to Watch
AI outlook — possibilities, not facts
The song 'Where Were You?' will continue to be played and appreciated.
Very likely · Within years
The Mekons will continue to tour and release music.
Likely · Within months
Open Questions
- What was the exact date of the first Mekons gig?
- What was the specific financial amount received from the Acura advert?
- What were the initial reactions of the band members to David Bowie's comparison to T. Rex?
- What other unconventional acts did Spaceward studio record?
