Wot! No Meat? The 1980s Meat Free Punk Pop Track Rediscovered for World Vegan Month

Forty years before "plant-based" became a supermarket aisle, a punk pop single was already asking listeners to go meat free - with a tune that would now be described as an ear worm.

As World Vegan Month gets underway this November, co-writer Geoff Francis and Captain Sensible say Wot! No Meat? is ready for its second life on the airwaves - and in addition support one of the biggest animal sanctuaries in the UK – Hillside Animal Sanctuary.  

Wot! No Meat? was released by Captain Sensible & The Missus in July 1983 and behind the title was a serious idea from artist, author and lifelong campaigner Geoff Francis, who co-wrote the track with Captain Sensible - the punk legend and co-founder of The Damned - and Rachel Bor of cult indie-pop band Dolly Mixture.

Captain Sensible produced the single, bringing his famous sense of fun and energy to the track – and was given airtime especially on the trailblazing Annie Nightingales BBC radio show.

Captain Sensible was already (and still is) vegetarian and was at the time fronting a public campaign against animal testing at Revlon - performing on stage in a T-shirt reading "Revlon Tortures Rabbits."

The track came together rather spontaneously in a Croydon studio: Captain Sensible brought the chorus, Geoff wrote the verse while Captain recorded the chorus and bones of the track with Rachel Bor.

The Captain says:

"I guess Geoff chose me because I was part of a campaign against the evils of rabbit lab testing for Revlon. I used to keep a couple of the lovely creatures as pets and was furious when I learned what went on. The title was inspired by an odious ad campaign by the Meat Marketing Board with the same name.

Geoff wrote the lyrics, and Rachel and myself did the music. It was a fun session, and the tune - and the sleeve - turned out well."

Geoff, now 76 and vegan for 55 years, believes the record was years ahead of its time.

Geoff said:

"We wanted to make something people could enjoy, sing along with and think about. Wot! No Meat? had a serious message, however it never took itself too seriously.

Vegan food is now everywhere, younger generations are asking searching questions about how we treat animals and the planet and the track still makes people smile. I would love to see it given a fresh spin on radio this World Vegan Month and discovered by a new generation of listeners."

Captain Sensible believes the concerns behind the song are even more urgent now than in 1983:

"It's so upsetting what goes on with factory farming - those poor chickens, for example. No creature deserves to be treated like that. If people saw the state of those places, well, likely a lot of fast-food chains would go bankrupt."

Wot! No Meat? went on to feature on the 1987 Animal Liberation compilation, alongside punk and 80s stars Nina Hagen, Lene Lovich, Howard Jones and Shriekback.

Geoff remains a passionate vegan and campaigner across music, art, books and film.

His work includes launching All Change record shops in London's West End, working with animal advocates such as Linda McCartney, Rita Tushingham and Carla Lane and also creating the Celebrity Vegetarian Cookbook.

All proceeds from downloads will be donated directly to Hillside Animal Sanctuary to help care for its thousands of rescued animals.

Founder Wendy Valentine Says:

“Please download this anthem of a song and tell your friends that when you do you will directly supporting our rescued animals.”

“We are so thankful for Geoff’s support – he has championed us for over 30 years, pretty much since we launched, and myself and the animals will be forever thankful.”

More recently The Vegan Society's podcast Vegan Pod devoted a full episode to 

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Editors notes

For more details and to buy the track click here:

https://bonobo.tv/wot-no-meat-3/

Track credits

Title: Wot! No Meat? (punk-pop)

Artist: Captain Sensible & The Missus

Released: July 1983

Written by: Geoff Francis (lyrics), Captain Sensible and Rachel Bor (music)

Produced by: Captain Sensible

Also featured on: Animal Liberation compilation, 1987, alongside Nina Hagen, Lene Lovich, Howard Jones and Shriekback

About Geoff Francis Geoff Francis: https://ace.media/press-releases/boz2

About Captain Sensible Captain Sensible (Raymond Burns) is a co-founder of punk band The Damned and a longstanding vegetarian and animal rights campaigner, with a solo career spanning four decades, including the UK number one "Happy Talk."

The Captain added: “The recording was partly a veggie inspired 'rant' and also a mick take of the big sampler based hit '19'.. which was still fresh in the memory when we did our session.”

Hillside Animal Sanctuary was founded in 1995 to help and campaign for animals in need and most importantly, to bring public awareness to the millions of animals suffering every day in the intensive factory farming industry. Although at Hillside they have given sanctuary to 2500 horses, ponies and donkeys, many of their residents have been rescued from the farming industry.

For more details and to interview Geoff please contact Karin Ridgers info@mad-promotions.com .