Working Men's Club

Working Men's Club

Working Men's Club are a Yorkshire-based post-punk and new wave group from the United Kingdom. They begin in Todmorden, West Yorkshire, in mid-2018, formed by vocalist and guitarist Sydney Minsky-Sargeant, guitarist Giulia Bonometti, and drummer Jake Bogacki. The group later changes direction from angular, melody-led 1980s-style post-punk towards a more electronic sound, drawing on dance music and techno as well as punk.

Career and line-up changes

After an early single, most of the original band leave. Bonometti departs to focus on her Julia Bardo project, and Bogacki also leaves. Liam Ogburn joins on bass, and the live line-up is expanded for a London show by Mairead O'Connor of Moonlandingz and Rob Graham of Drenge, both of whom Minsky-Sargeant knows through producer Ross Orton’s Sheffield studio. This line-up remains in place for the recording of the band’s debut album.

Recordings and sound

The group sign to Heavenly Records after releasing the post-punk single "Bad Blood" in 2019. Their sound is described as a mix of insistent dance music and confrontational punk, with a synth-heavy and propulsive style on their self-titled debut album. With Orton producing, they record the album and release the single "Teeth" in August 2019, which signals the shift in direction. The album is first scheduled for release in June 2020, but instead the band issue "Megamix", a 21-minute continuous remix of the record made remotely by Minsky-Sargeant and Orton, before the album itself appears later in 2020.

Membership

The group’s membership includes Jake Bogacki and Julia Bardo. Other members named in the band’s history include Sydney Minsky-Sargeant, Giulia Bonometti, Liam Ogburn, Mairead O'Connor and Rob Graham.