It's apparently a known phenomenon called "electrovibration" - I wound up googling it the first time that it happened.
https://blog.somaticlabs.io/electrovibration-in-ungrounded-m...
https://blog.somaticlabs.io/electrovibration-in-ungrounded-m...
It was much more noticeable on the MacBook Air, with pretty much the entire aluminium surface of the case having the issue.
Edit, I am using it with the UK plug, unsure how this is a grounding issue.