McCarthy

McCarthy formed in Barking, East London in 1984, Malcolm Eden, Tim Gane, Gary Baker, and John Williamson developing a sound rooted in indie pop and post-punk that was immediately distinctive for its explicitly Marxist political content. Eden's lyrics were unlike anything else in British indie music — sharp, funny, and genuinely radical, addressing capitalism, class, and political power with a directness that was entirely their own.

They were signed to September Records and later Midnight Music, releasing a series of albums and singles that earned a devoted following. 'I Am a Wallet' (1987) and 'The Enraged Will Inherit the Earth' (1989) were their strongest records — melodically rich, politically engaged, and full of Eden's extraordinary lyrical wit. Tim Gane subsequently formed Stereolab.

McCarthy dissolved in 1990. They are remembered as one of the most distinctive and important acts of the mid-1980s British indie scene — a band whose combination of melodic gifts and radical political content made them genuinely important, and whose influence on subsequent politically engaged British music has been considerable.