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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Entertainment
Interviews by Dave Simpson

‘Bowie compared us to T Rex. Couldn’t get any better’: the Mekons on how they made Where Were You?

T Rex Mark White Andy Gill David Bowie Gang Of Four Gary Glitter Jon King
A black and white shot of a band singing and dancing on stage.
‘We didn’t think we’d be playing the song live almost 50 years later’ … the Mekons performing in 1979. Photograph: Virginia Turbett/Redferns

Tom Greenhalgh, guitar

Most of the people who started the Mekons and Gang of Four were on the same fine art course at Leeds University. In December 1976 we went to see the Anarchy tour at the nearby polytechnic. I liked the Sex Pistols but the Clash, in their paint-spattered clothes, sounded particularly great. It was the first time I saw a band and thought: “That could be me up there.”

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