History
The band initially formed just before the wedding of Prince Charles and Diana Spencer, and their first gig was to be part of 'Funk The Wedding' event, but they were refused permission to play because they were drunk. They signed to CNT Records in 1982, which Langford jointly founded, releasing two singles and an EP for the label, including a re-working of the Mekons' "English White Boy Engineer", which attacked hypocritical attitudes towards South Africa and apartheid, the band being labelled as left-wing rockers. The band explained
"We're not a socialist band. We're a group of socialists who are in a band. It's a fine distinction but an important one"
The mid-1980s saw the band regularly in the UK Indie Chart with singles such as "A.W.O.L.", "Death of the European" (an NME 'Single of the Week'), and "Brainbox". During the band's career, the members maintained their day jobs - Langford as a graphic designer and Hyatt a teacher of Fine Art at Leeds Polytechnic. The band's left wing leanings were further evidenced by the Atom Drum Bop album, the sleeve carrying the words "Rock 'n' Roll Versus Thaatchiism", a reference to then Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.
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. 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.
The band recorded six sessions for John Peel's BBC Radio 1 show, and reached number 14 in the 1985 Festive Fifty with "Death of the European".
Read more about this topic: The Three Johns
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