Effective period / Period of releases: 1983 - 1990

Members: Jon Langford (2), John Hyatt, Phillip Brennan (2)

Post-punk/indie rock band formed in Leeds, UK, 1981 and disbanded 1990.

This casual trio - Jon Langford (guitar; also leader of The Mekons, and, for the wink of an eye, a member of the Sisters of Mercy), John Hyatt (vocals, lyrics) and John Brennan (real name Phillip Brennan) (bass) - began by specializing in discordant socio-political guitar punk with trembling falsetto vocals; their career-long use of a rhythm machine which they named Hugo rather than a live drummer has lent a unique tension to the group's sound.