From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The tone or style of this article may not be appropriate for Wikipedia. Specific concerns may be found on the talk page. See Wikipedia's guide to writing better articles for suggestions.(May 2007)

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (May 2007)

The Macc Lads
Origin	Macclesfield, England
Genre(s)	Punk rock Hard rock
Years active	1981–1995
Website	www.macclads.co.uk
Members
Muttley McLad The Beater Stez Styx Cheeky Monkey Knobby Chorley the Hord Phil McCavity Al O'Peesha Johnny Mard Winston Dread

The Macc Lads - the self proclaimed "rudest crudest lewdest drunkest band in Christendom" - formed in the late 1970s in Macclesfield, UK, playing a fusion of punk and hard rock. Their career spanned the years 1981 to 1995 and they become notorious for their foul mouthed lyrics, political incorrectness, drinking, sexism and homophobia. They managed to offend a great many people (which was the intention) and were repeatedly banned from venues and radio stations whilst retaining a die hard fan base. They are perhaps best described as the musical equivalent of the Viz comic, sharing many of the same themes. Indeed an early Viz character Brown Bottle made his first (and thus far only) live action appearance in the music video for the song 'Barrel's Round'.

Their song lyrics cover an array of subjects, including beer, sex, chips 'n' gravy, football, fighting, and bodily functions. "Newkie Brown" beer makes an appearance in one song, as does Willies (J W Lees), but Boddingtons is the beer of choice for a true Macc Lad. And according to the Lads' songs, forcing a gay man to drink several pints of Boddingtons will change his sexual orientation. Numerous synonyms for female genitalia, sexual intercourse, and homosexuals have been coined by The Macc Lads throughout the years, which is a great source of pride. However, frontman/bassist Muttley McLad is reported to have said that his proudest achievement is rhyming "George Michael" with "menstrual cycle".

Contents 1 Concerts 2 Band members 3 Discography 3.1 Albums 3.2 EPs 3.3 Compilations 4 Songs 4.1 People 4.2 Places 4.3 Macc life 5 External links

Frontman Muttley usually greeted audiences at the start of an evening with "what the fuck are you lot doing here, is there nowt good on telly tonight?" or "let's hear some swearing then you bunch of fucking wankers!" and the audience usually respond in kind with a series of expletives - a fine example of all this is of course the Live at Leeds (the who?) live album. A classic entry was in Middlesbrough one night during the "One Foot In The Gravy Tour", not long after the Cleveland Child Abuse case was in the news. Muttley arrives on stage and greets the crowd with "What the fuck are you lot doing here, shouldn't you be at home shagging your kids?"

A favourite pastime of Macc Lads fans, whilst seeing their idols play in front of them, is to shower them with bodily fluids – this has ranged from the obvious choice, spit (preferably 'greenies'), through to a bag of vomit, which burst upon hitting Muttley himself. The lead singer is also known to have eaten particularly juicy 'greenies' which have landed on him from the audience. A memorable phlegm-tasting was at the Marquee Club on the day of the Poll-Tax riots when Muttley declared that evening's donation to be "the best one south of Nottingham!" On a more dangerous level, audience members also throw items such as beer cans, bottles of urine, and lit cigarettes at the band. The band sometimes respond by launching the missiles back towards the audience, and numerous injuries have been incurred by both band and audience. This has caused them to be banned from some venues, and adds to their infamy as a no-holds-barred rock band.

During the band's career they were banned, prevented from entering or kicked out of gigs in various places including but not limited to; Macclesfield, London, Huddersfield, Bury, Cornwall, Blackpool, Colchester, Hull, Newcastle, Cleethorpes, Northampton, Leeds, Wigan, Lincoln, Bolton, Mansfield, Portsmouth, Cheltenham, Norwich and the United States of America.

---

Concerts of Note

Within the Macc Lads own website is a detailed list of some of the more violent and/ or memorable concerts that the band played. These include:

Birmingham Hummingbird 1989

Both Phil McCavity and Muttley got their heads split open by ashtrays hoyed at them by the audience. Pre-gig several audience members climbed on stage in order to fight with Lockstock and Mungo, two of the band's roadies. Scaffolding, a toilet seat (plus pieces of the smashed toilet), white paint and the requisite ale were all thrown on stage and at the end of the night the club owners attempted to make the band pay for the damage caused (apparently without success).

Glasgow Mayfair-1990

Several members of the audience badly assaulted by the club's own security guards who wore Macc Lads t-shirts throughout the gig but had got changed into their penguin suits by the time the police arrived to mop up the mess.

Blackburn King Georges Hall- 1991

Muttley threw his jacket into the crowd towards the end of the concert which resulted in a melee that lasted through the next 3 songs. Fate of jacket unknown.

The one constant figure in The Macc Lads is Muttley, occasionally touring solo as The Macc Lad, with various other band members coming and going over the years:

• Muttley McLad (Tristan Mark O'Neill) - Vocals, bass, lyrics, 1981-1995.
• The Beater - The band's Indian born main lead guitarist, 1981-1986, 1986-1989, 1990-1991, backing vocals, lead vocals on "Boddies", moaning. So-called because he would forever 'beat about the bush'.
• Stez Styx - Drums and violence, 1981-1985, 1990-1991. His frequent times in jail led to his eventual sacking.
• Philip "Fast Fret" McCavity - Guitar, backing vocals, 1989-1990 vagrancy.
  • Al O'Peesha (Peter Bossley) - Guitar, baldness, 1991, and (sometimes), 1993-1995 and Muttley's closest friend. Was the award winning deputy editor of the Staffordshire Sentinel at the time of his early death in September 2005
• Johnny Mard - Guitar, 1993-1995.
• Cheeky Monkey - Drums 1985-1986.
• Chorley the Hord - Drums 1986-1990, frilly cuffs and knitting. Went on to run a wool shop in Kilmarnock.
• Winston Dread - Drums and Jamaican vibes, 1993-1995
• Knobby - Guitar, 1986

Pulling the Wool Over Your Knob

In a rather complicated family tree that would put the Royal Family to shame, the Lads have twice messed about with their own established band history and two members of the group have been in twice as different people.

Stez Styx was originally in the band until the release of Beer & Sex & Chips 'n' Gravy in 1985 before being replaced by Chorley the Hord. When Chorley quit, the support act Eddie Shit auditioned as drummer and became the second incarnation of Stez Styx (which became a running joke with the band's thickest roadie Sandwich who never realised they were the same person).

While very similar to the tv series Robin of Sherwood in getting two people to play the same character, the difference was that hardly anyone sussed the deception (and were usually too pissed to care anyway).

The original Stez Styx then rejoined the band in 1993 as Johnny Mard on guitar.

• Eh Up (1983) Hectic House
• Beer & Sex & Chips n Gravy (1985) Hectic House
• Bitter, Fit Crack (1987) Hectic House/(1987)FM/(1991)Dojo/(1998)Snapper
• Live at Leeds (the who?) (1988) Dojo
• From Beer to Eternity (1989) Dojo
• The Beer Necessities (1990) Dojo
• Alehouse Rock (1994) Dojo

• One Gallon Demo (1982)
• Minge Pies and Mistletoe (1983)
• Filthy, Fat and Flatulent (1987)
• Sheepless Nights (1988)
• ...And Drinking Partners (1989)
• Bog N Roll Circus (1990)
• Turtles Heads (1991)
• England (2006)

• Dirty CD Chips n Gravy (1989)
• Twenty Golden Crates (1991)
• An Orifice and a Genital (Outtakes 1986-1991) (1993) Dojo
• God's Gift to Women (1998)
• The Lads From Macc (1999)
• Anthology (1999)

Various 'characters' have appeared Macc Lads songs, including:

• Charlotte (reputedly the biggest slag in Macc)
• Sweaty Betty (who only looks 'fit' after 10 pints)
• Dan (whose bodily functions feature in several songs)
• Miss Macclesfield (who used to be a good down-to-earth Macc lass, but then she won 'Miss Macclesfield' and became too posh)
• Mr Methane (insipid weed who wore a green superhero type costume and acted as support to Macc Lads gigs, his act being his ability to fart.)
• Al O'Peesha (RIP Sep. 2005) (Erstwhile roadie, newsletter writer and occasional 2nd guitarist)
• Bammy (inspiration for Mr Methane, lived in The Nags Head)

Many exciting events and places have been immortalised in Macc Lads song lyrics, such as:

• The Bear's Head pub (now closed) on Mill Street in Macclesfield; this is a Mecca for any Macc Lad worth his mettle
• Blackpool, where the Macc Lads went to see the lights, and to have a fight
• Chester Zoo, where the animals all seem to be performing sexual acts or bodily functions
• Buenos Aires, where unfortunately, no Boddingtons could be found by the poor Lads
• Alton Towers, where the Lads had to queue up for ages to get a beer

According to Macc Lads' songs, life in Macclesfield generally consists of drinking twenty pints of Boddingtons in the Bears Head, fighting, having sexual encounters with fat and sweaty 'slappers', and eating chips 'n' gravy from Gordon's Takeaway. However, these claims are somewhat unfounded, although few would dispute the Lads' affection for their ale, at the very least.

• Official website
• The Old Bears Head Fan Site - Home of the Macc Lads online community.
• Macc Lads lyrics
• - Macc Lads DVD review/discussion
• Official tribute band The Mocc Lads