The Three Johns were an English post-punk/indie rock band formed in 1981 in Leeds, England, by guitarist Jon Langford (co-founder of the Mekons), vocalist John Hyatt and bassist Phillip "John" Brennan, augmented by a drum machine. The band initially formed just before the 1981 wedding of Prince Charles and Diana Spencer, and their first gig was to be part of a "Funk the Wedding" event, but they were refused permission to play because they were drunk. They specialized in abrasive, politically charged, danceable rock, sounding almost nothing like Langford's main band, and were a silly/serious bunch of political and cultural provocateurs. Recording during the height of Margaret Thatcher's ill-conceived Tory rebellion, the Johns were openly antagonistic to this new, conservative vision of Britain's future, and while their elliptical and epigrammatic lyrics might not offer the sloganeering that would easily identify them as lefties, certainly there were enough hints dropped along the way. To remove any doubt, the band explained that they were not a socialist band, but were a group of socialists who are in a band, and that the distinction was an important one. Their left-wing leanings were further evidenced by the sleeve of their 1984 'Atom Drum Bop' album, which carried the words "Rock 'n' Roll Versus Thaatchiism", a reference to then Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and her marketing by Saatchi & Saatchi, and in 1985 they played at the GLC's Jobs for a Change festival in London's Battersea Park. Unlike other rock agit-prop bands, the Johns played a fairly accessible version of polemical post-punk anti-pop that embraced big, messy arena-rock-sounding guitars and hard, repetitive, quasi-hip-hop dance beats.
Perhaps the most subversive thing about them is that, despite Langford's and Hyatt's goofy vocals, they were, in their own weird way, pure pop for now people, especially those who hated Thatcher. With collective tongue planted firmly in cheek, the Johns took on British and American obsession with materialism, the diabolical Reagan/Thatcher lovefest, and the machinations of the pop music industry, all of it done with a great sense of humour mixed in with genuine fear and horror. Frequently hard to pin down, they revelled in being slippery, exhibiting a love and loathing for pop music, and in some respects they resembled friends and fellow Leeds mates The Gang Of Four, but where The Gang Of Four was dour and serious (bordering on academic), the Johns were loutish and boisterous, which when combining politics and rock & roll can, ultimately, be a good thing. They signed to CNT Records in 1982, which Langford jointly founded, and released two singles and an EP for the label. After signing to Abstract Records the label released all their material over the next five years, and their singles regularly appeared in the UK Indie Chart during the mid-1980's. They were a particular favourite of John Peel, and recorded six sessions for his BBC Radio 1 show, and also reached No. 14 in the 1985 Festive Fifty with 'Death Of The European'. The band split up in late 1988 after a disastrous US tour, but reformed in 1990, releasing 'Eat Your Sons', a concept album about cannibalism, before splitting again. During their time in the band, the members managed to maintain their day jobs: Langford as a graphic designer and Hyatt a teacher of fine art at Leeds Polytechnic, and after the split Langford continued with the Mekons, later releasing a solo album, while Hyatt concentrated on his academic career. They reformed again in 2012, playing five shows, and continued to perform intermittently through 2017 in the UK, mostly in the Manchester and Leeds-Bradford areas.
Track listing
Disc I - 1982-1983
01 Pink Headed Bug (single 1982)
02 Lucy In The Rain (b-side of 'Pink Headed Bug')
03 English White Boy Engineer (single 1982)
04 Secret Agent (b-side of 'English White Boy Engineer')
05 A.W.O.L. (single 1983)
06 Rooster Blue (b-side of 'A.W.O.L.')
07 Image Or An Animal (b-side of 'A.W.O.L.')
08 Kick The Dog Right Out (b-side of 'A.W.O.L.')
09 Men Like Monkeys (single 1983)
10 Two Minute Ape! (b-side of 'Men Like Monkeys')
11 Windolene (b-side of 'Men Like Monkeys')
12 Marx's Wife (b-side of 'Men Like Monkeys')
13 Paris-Forty One (b-side of 'Men Like Monkeys')
Disc II - 1984-1985
01 Do The Square Thing (single 1984)
02 The World Of The Workers (b-side of 'Do The Square Thing')
03 Zowee (b-side of 'Do The Square Thing')
04 Kinkybeat (b-side of 'Do The Square Thing')
05 Death Of A European (single 1985)
06 Heads Like Convicts (b-side of 'Death Of A European')
07 Rabies (b-side of 'Death Of A European')
08 Twentieth Century Boy (b-side of 'Death Of A European')
09 Fruit Flies (from the 'Never Mind The Jacksons...Here's The Pollocks' compilation 1985)
10 Brainbox (He's A Brainbox) (single 1985)
11 Watch It Go (b-side of 'Brainbox (He's A Brainbox')
12 Crazytown (b-side of 'Brainbox (He's A Brainbox')
13 Men Without Bones (b-side of 'Brainbox (He's A Brainbox')
