By the mid-1980s (revitalised by the 1984 coal miners’ strike ) the band had returned as an active group. The band was now augmented by vocalist Sally Timms , violinist Susie Honeyman, ex- Damned member Lu Edmonds , accordionist/vocalist Rico Bell (a.k.a. Eric Bellis ), and former The Rumour drummer Steve Goulding . They began to experiment with musical styles derived from traditional English folk (tentatively explored on the English Dancing Master EP prior to the hiatus), and American country music . Fear and Whiskey (1985), The Edge of the World (1986) and The Mekons Honky Tonkin’ (1987) exemplified the band’s new sound, which built on the innovations of Gram Parsons and blended punk ethos and left wing politics with the minimalist country of Hank Williams . Subsequent albums, such as The Mekons Rock ‘n Roll , continued to experiment with diverse instrumentation (notably the fiddle , accordion , slide guitar , and saz ).
Returned as active group after miners’ strike
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