S18 E7: Sally Timms and Jon Langford of Mekons

I often find myself thinking about my youth these days - call it flirting with nostalgia or something – it feels like a continual search for my formative influences – people, happenings, places, things like that.  Musically, the 82-85/6 period was probably the most exciting period of my life – I didn’t realise then obviously just how exciting that feeling of discovery was. And, as was often the way, John Peel was the source of a lot of that discovery. And Steve Barker from On The Wire as well – his Radio Lancashire show was just as important as Peel’s for me.  And this led me down a rabbit hole of discovery to bands like The Redskins, Anhrefn, Chumbawamba and, of  course, Mekons, both of which to this day continue to be a huge influence on me both musically and politically. Mekons are, for me, unquestionably one of the most important bands of my generation - and hopefully of future generations. For me, politics has always been inseparable from music and there are some musicians - like them, like Ruts DC, like Chuck D and newer poet musicians like Aja Monet, Moor Mother and Kara Jackson - who each give me a feeling amongst the gloom that seems to envelop us, of “don’t worry, it’ll be ok”. I think it speaks to the gravitas, comradeship and community building strengths of all these artists that they make me feel like this.  Enjoy this fantastic chat with Sally and Jon. https://www.iwannajumplikedeedee.com I Wanna Jump Like Dee Dee is the music podcast that does music interviews differently. Giles Sibbald talks to musicians, DJ’s and producers about how they use an experimental mindset in every part of their lives. - brought to you from the mothership of the experimental mindset™ - cover art by Giles Sibbald  - doodle logo and art by Tide Adesanya, Coppie and Paste