Britain’s punk pirates Radio Rubbish are back, armed with fury and a bold manifesto. Their new track, “#MAGAMAGA!!”, is a global rallying cry calling punks worldwide to gather for a final showdown against the “big buffoon” — Donald Trump. Sid and Jonny, eternally pissed off that punk has become nothing more than a memory, are determined to bring back its anarchic edge. And it seems no respectable radio station is safe from them. Their site streams a 24/7 anti-social, anti-magic, anti-conformist punk wave straight from their pirate vessel, the HMS Radio Rubbish. If you reckon “Holiday in Cambodia” was just written for the footie terraces, and punk is mere nostalgia, Sid and Jonny will make you think again.

First off, let’s talk about ‘Maga Maga!!’ How did the idea of taking on Trump with this anthem come to life? Was it a moment of pure rage, or did it simmer for a while?

SID SQUACKO: Not a moment of pure rage more a moment of insight into the twisted and deteriorating mental state of Trump. Quite frankly how ANYONE can look at him and listen to him and consider him a suitable candidate for POTUS is beyond us. 

JONNY MACKO: Yeah, he’s like a clown who loses his job with the circus and then applies to be an astronaut. 

SID SQUACKO: Yeah that’s it Jonny. There is anger in the song but we really do believe the guy has gone GAGA!

So, tell us about this “punk rock pirate radio ship”, are we talking a full-on ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ situation, or is this more of a rebellious metaphor for how you crash through the music scene?

SID SQUACKO: We looked back to the early days of pop and the Establishment’s attempts to ignore and suppress it by scarcely giving it airplay and we saw a parallel with the puny cultural output and lack of engagement of the mainstream music industry. 

JONNY MACKO: Yeah, so we vowed to raise the Jolly Roger and sail the seven seas of music on HMS Radio Rubbish to put that right.

SID SQUACKO: We had a very moving launch ceremony. The King and Queen came down.

JONNY MACKO: We didn’t let them in obviously, but it was nice they came down

Punk’s always had an anti-establishment backbone. If the unthinkable happens and Trump wins again, what’s Radio Rubbish’s next move? Are we talking full-scale punk rebellion, or will you just throw a massive middle finger his way from the deck of your ship?

SID SQUACKO: What we’ll probably do is sail up the Chesapeake to Washington and repeat the events of 1814. 

JONNY MACKO: What happened then? Was that The Battle Of Little Jack Horn?

SID SQUACKO: No you muppet. It was when the British Royal Navy launched an assault on Washington.

JONNY MACKO: Oh yeah, they shot him at the theatre didn’t they?

SID SQUACKO: NO!! That was Lincoln.

JONNY MACKO: Oh right. My cousin lives in Lincoln.

SID SQUACKO: SHUT IT! Anyway, yeah, sorry… Yeah, we’re going to rerun Chesapeake if Trump gets in. Can’t see the US armed forces being able to resist our mighty rusty assault ship.

If Trump heard ‘Maga Maga!!’, what kind of response do you think he’d have? And, more importantly, do you even care?

JONNY MACKO: He’d probably dance around a bit. Then suddenly catch the words and be all like “wait, what? Daawwwww you guys!!” 

SID SQUACKO: Do we care? Course we do! We’d like him to repent his silly ways and go and join a monastery. Probably happen and all!

JONNY MACKO: We’re not into the Monastery. We’re Republicans.

Sid, Jonny—West Country and Essex. How do these two wildly different worlds collide in your music?

JONNY MACKO: Well it’s like the Wurzels meets the Prodigy through a haze of scrumpy, jazz funk woodbines and other classic British stimulants. Sir Sidney also used to have a combine harvester.

SID SQUACKO: Yeah but I lent it to Jonny one day and he wrote it off on the M11. Anyway once I got the insurance I bought us a drum machine. We’ve never looked back.

With a song like ‘Maga Maga!!’ calling back to the golden age of banned songs, what do you think punk needs today to truly scare the establishment again?

SID SQUACKO: Less silly haircuts and more attitude. Less store bought bondage strides and more DIY attitude. Less tolerance for political and corporate BS and more independent thinking!

JONNY MACKO: Can you still get bondage strides from the store then Sid? Tell us where, I’m completely out.

Let’s be real, if punk was banned under a Trump regime, how would you fight back?

SID SQUACKO: Well, we’d like to see him ban anything from the smouldering remains of the White House after HMS Radio Rubbish’s triumphant assault on Washington. 

JONNY MACKO: Er, Sid. We should probably stop going on about that in the media. Don’t want to signal our intentions to the US Navy. A lot of them read Soundville.

SID SQUACKO: Oh yeah… maybe. Anyway, the point is what we’re going to do is ban Trump!

You’ve blended ska, reggae, house, post-punk, and funk into your sound. How do you keep the raw punk energy while mixing all these genres? Is it ever tempting to go full-on anarchy with your sound?

SID SQUACKO: Anarchy is a state of mind innit? 

JONNY MACKO; Yeah. It’s what they call the 53rd State innit?

SID SQUACKO: Is it?? You sure??

JONNY MACKO: Yeah I saw a thing about it on CNN. It’s a swing state, Anarchy.

SID SQUACKO: What are you on about Jonny? Anyhow, as I was saying, you try blending all those disparate types of music and see how anarchic you feel. We feel very anarchic so it works for us!

Your new album’s set to drop this Christmas – what can we expect?

JONNY MACKO: The way it’s mixed is influenced by the way Lee Scratch Perry mixed the Clash’s Complete Control. 

SID SQUACKO: We love that crossover of punk, post-punk and dancefloor culture. You can hear that and more on the album. Like there’s a straight reggae melodica tune in the style of Augustus Pablo and a post punk cover of Love Is The Drug featuring popping 80s style funky bass. 

JONNY MACKO: This album’s about telling the world who we are, so there’s also some cheeky covers, like a version of Buzzcocks’ What Do I Get? what opens up like a Roy Orbison ballad and then goes all Steve Albini.

If you were forced to play one of Trump’s campaign rallies, but you could only play punk covers, which song would you pick to totally confuse the crowd?

SID SQUACKO: I’m so bored with the USA…

JONNY MACKO: Yeah we’d get ‘em all singing along with it.

Apple Music: https://embed.music.apple.com/us/album/maga-maga-single/1769616287

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