The Pop Group are an English rock band formed in Bristol in 1977 by vocalist Mark Stewart, guitarist John Waddington, bassist Simon Underwood, guitarist/saxophonist Gareth Sager, and drummer Bruce Smith.

Shortly afterwards the Pop Group released a split single, "Where There's a Will...", with the Slits, a band with whom they shared a drummer (Bruce Smith) and manager Dick O'Dell.

Members of the group collaborated and joined bands such as Pigbag, Maximum Joy, Head, the Slits and Rip Rig + Panic, the latter notable for the involvement of Neneh Cherry.

[9] Stewart subsequently embarked on a solo career and went on to collaborate with Adrian Sherwood and On-U Sound, prior to a series of albums on Mute Records.

In 2010, The Pop Group reunited for a special edition of ATP festival curated by Simpsons creator Matt Groening, with members Mark Stewart, Gareth Sager, Bruce Smith and Dan Catsis.

In support of the reissues, the band undertook a seven-day tour of the UK, and in February 2015, released Citizen Zombie, their first studio album in 35 years.

"[19] Rolling Stone described the group as "an explosive mutant gene," asserting that "among their rabble-rousing post-punk contemporaries, none boasted as much sheer musical inventiveness and audacity.

"[20][21] The group was inspired by diverse musical sources as diverse as Albert Ayler, Ornette Coleman, Captain Beefheart, King Tubby, Miles Davis, Pharoah Sanders, Sun Ra, John Cage, Debussy, Neu!, Funkadelic, Television, the New York Dolls, Jacques Brel, The Who, Subway Sect and Steve Reich in addition to non-musical sources such as French romanticism, Antonin Artaud, Beat poetry, Comte de Lautréamont, Jean Baudrillard, the Situationists,[7][22][23][24][25][26][27] and existential philosophy.

They are cited as an influence by artists and bands like Minutemen, Primal Scream, Sonic Youth, Steve Albini of Big Black,[30][31] Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails and Massive Attack.

[32][33] The Australian artist Nick Cave attended a gig of the Pop Group and was so inspired by their performance, he stated that: "...It was one of those moments we just feel the cogs of your mind shift and your life is going to be irreversibly changed forever.

Outside of music, The Simpsons creator Matt Groening, is a fan of the band and instigated their return when he invited them to reform for All Tomorrow’s Parties in 2010.