
Nomeansno (sometimes stylized as NoMeansNo or spelled No Means No) was a Canadian punk rock band formed in Victoria, British Columbia and later relocated to Vancouver. They released 11 albums, including a collaborative album with Jello Biafra, and numerous EPs and singles. Critic Martin Popoff described their music as "the mightiest merger between the hateful aggression of punk and the discipline of heavy metal." Nomeansno's distinct hardcore punk sound, complex instrumentation, and dark, "savagely intelligent" lyrics inspired subsequent musicians. They were a formative influence on punk jazz, post-hardcore, math rock, and emo.
Formed in 1979 by brothers Rob and John Wright, they began as a two-piece punk band influenced by jazz and progressive rock. They self-released their debut Mama LP in 1982, added guitarist Andy Kerr the following year, and signed with Alternative Tentacles. Kerr departed in late 1991 after five LPs with the band, and the group returned to its two-piece formation for the Why Do They Call Me Mr. Happy? album.
Guitarist Tom Holliston, and briefly second drummer Ken Kempster, joined in 1993. After three further LPs, they left Alternative Tentacles and issued their final album, All Roads Lead to Ausfahrt, in 2006. The Western Canadian Music Hall of Fame inducted them in 2015, and they retired the following year.
Links to Peel[]
According to available tracklistings on this site, Peel seemed to have first played Nomeansno in January 1987 via their 1985 single, 'You Kill Me'. It was only until a year later, he continued playing their songs until the end of the 80's. The group did a couple of sessions for his radio programmes between 1988 and 1989 when they were in the UK touring. He also played their side project, the Hanson Brothers, on his radio programmes.
Sessions[]
NoMeansNo - Peel Session 1988
1. Recorded: 1988-05-17. First Broadcast: 25 May 1988. Repeated: 21 June 1988
- Little Creep / Body Bag / Stop It / Mamma's Little Boy
2. Recorded: 1989-05-30. First Broadcast: 19 June 1989. Repeated: 27 July 1989, 26 October 1989, 28 December 1989
- The Day Everything Became Nothing / The Tower / Two Lips/Two Lungs And One Tongue/Rags &Bones
Other Shows Played[]
- Nomeansno
NoMeansNo - The Day Everything Became Nothing
- 05 January 1987: Some Bodies (12" - You Kill Me) Undergrowth UG1302
- 23 January 1987 (BFBS): Some Bodies (12" - You Kill Me) Undergrowth UG1302
- 17 February 1988: Sex Mad (LP - Sex Mad) Alternative Tentacles
- 02 March 1988: Obsessed (LP - Sex Mad) Alternative Tentacles
- 04 March 1988 (BFBS): Obsessed (album - Sex Mad) Alternative Tentacles
- 23 May 1988: The Day Everything Became Nothing (12") Alternative Tentacles (John Walters has a wrong speed moment with the track)
- 24 May 1988: The Day Everything Became Nothing (12") Alternative Tentacles
- 01 June 1988: The Day Everything Became Nothing (12") Alternative Tentacles
- 11 April 1989: Junk (LP - Small Parts Isolated And Destroyed) Alternative Tentacles
- 14 November 1989: Stocktaking (album - Wrong) Alternative Tentacles
- 02 December 1989 (BFBS): 'Stocktaking (LP-Wrong)' (Cargo)
- Hanson Brothers
- 07 September 1991: My Girlfriend's A Robot (v/a 7" EP - Blobs Vol. 1 - Four Victoria Bands) Wide
- 15 September 1991: My Girlfriend's A Robot (v/a LP - Blobs Vol. 1 - Four Victoria Bands) Vinyl
- 20 September 1991 (BFBS): 'My Girlfriend's A Robot (Compilation 7"-Blobs Vol. 1 - Four Victoria Bands)' (Wide)
- 07 October 1991 (Ö3): 'My Girlfriend's A Robot (7 inch EP-Blobs Vol. 1 - Four Victoria Bands)' (Wide)
- 14 November 1992: Road Pizza (LP - Gross Misconduct) Alternative Tentacles
- 15 November 1992 (BFBS): My Girlfriend's A Robot (LP - Gross Misconduct) Alternative Tentacles
- 22 November 1992 (BFBS): Road Pizza (LP - Gross Misconduct) Alternative Tentacles