The Men They Couldn't Hang (TMTCH) are a British

folk punk Folk punk (known in its early days as rogue folk) is a fusion of folk music and punk rock. It was popularized in the early 1980s by the Pogues in England, and by Violent Femmes in the United States. Folk punk achieved some mainstream success in t ...

group. The original group consisted of Stefan Cush (vocals, guitar), Paul Simmonds (guitar, bouzouki, mandolin, keyboards), Philip "Swill" Odgers (vocals, guitar, tin whistle, melodica), Jon Odgers (drums, percussion) and Shanne Bradley (bass guitar).

1984–1991: Formation, controversy and success

The Men They Couldn't Hang came together in 1984 to perform at the alternative music festival in Camden Town alongside

The Pogues The Pogues are an English Celtic punk band founded in King's Cross, London, in 1982, by Shane MacGowan, Spider Stacy and Jem Finer. Originally named Pogue Mahone—an anglicisation of the Irish language, Irish phrase :wikt:póg mo thóin, ''p� ...

and the Boothill Foot Tappers. Paul Simmonds, Philip 'Swill' Odgers and his brother Jon, veterans of the Southampton-based pop-punk band Catch 22, met Pogues roadie Stefan Cush whilst busking in

Shepherd's Bush Shepherd's Bush is a suburb of West London, England, within the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham west of Charing Cross, and identified as a major metropolitan centre in the London Plan. Although primarily residential in character, its ...

in London. Their early line-up was Stefan Cush, Philip Odgers, Paul Simmonds, Jon Odgers and Shanne Bradley. The band's name is inspired by " The Man They Couldn't Hang", and was originally coined by

Shane MacGowan Shane Patrick Lysaght MacGowan (25 December 195730 November 2023) was a British-born Irish singer-songwriter and musician, best known as the lead vocalist and primary lyricist of Celtic punk band the Pogues. He won acclaim for his lyrics, whic ...

- with whom Bradley previously played in The Nipple Erectors - as a potential name for his own band, who eventually became The Pogues. Their first single, a cover version of " The Green Fields of France", was released in 1984. Written by

Eric Bogle Eric Bogle (born 23 September 1944) is an Australian folk music, folk singer-songwriter. Born and raised in Scotland, he emigrated to Australia at the age of 25 to settle near Adelaide, South Australia. Bogle's songs have covered a variety of to ...

(of " And The Band Played Waltzing Matilda" fame), the song's protagonist imagined having a conversation with one of the fallen soldiers of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

whilst sitting by his graveside. It received airplay on the

John Peel John Robert Parker Ravenscroft (30 August 1939 – 25 October 2004), better known as John Peel, was an English radio presenter and journalist. He was the longest-serving of the original disc jockeys on BBC Radio 1, broadcasting regularly from ...

show on

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and Contemporary hit radio, current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including ...

, and finished at Number 3 in Peel's Festive 50 for that year. It became a No.1 hit in the

UK Indie Chart The UK Independent Singles Chart and UK Independent Albums Chart are charts of the best-selling independent singles and albums, respectively, in the United Kingdom. Originally published in January 1980, and widely known as the indie chart, the ...

. The following year they were signed to the

Demon A demon is a malevolent supernatural entity. Historically, belief in demons, or stories about demons, occurs in folklore, mythology, religion, occultism, and literature; these beliefs are reflected in Media (communication), media including f ...

label, which released their début album, '' Night of a Thousand Candles'', and its accompanying single "Ironmasters", a self-penned number by main songwriter Simmonds, linking the

Industrial Revolution The Industrial Revolution, sometimes divided into the First Industrial Revolution and Second Industrial Revolution, was a transitional period of the global economy toward more widespread, efficient and stable manufacturing processes, succee ...

to the present-day treatment of the working class. The original final line of the song, "and oh, that iron bastard, she still gets her way" (a reference to the then Prime Minister

Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013), was a British stateswoman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of th ...

), had to be removed for the recorded version to ensure radio airplay. They were again named in Peel's yearly Festive 50, this time at Number 11. They followed this up with a new single not taken from the album, "Greenback Dollar", a cover of the song written by Hoyt Axton and recorded by

The Kingston Trio The Kingston Trio is an American folk and pop music group that helped launch the folk revival of the late 1950s to the late 1960s. The group started as a San Francisco Bay Area nightclub act with an original lineup of Dave Guard, Bob Shane, ...

. The single was produced by

Nick Lowe Nicholas Drain Lowe (born 24 March 1949) is an English singer-songwriter, musician and producer. A noted figure in Pub rock (United Kingdom), pub rock, power pop and New wave music, new wave,How Green Is The Valley''. The record included "Ghosts of Cable Street", a political song concerning the Battle of Cable Street in 1936 and "Shirt of Blue", which referenced the miners' strike of 1984–85. At the end of promotion for the album, Shanne Bradley left to create music with

Wreckless Eric Eric Goulden (born 18 May 1954), known as Wreckless Eric, is an English rock music, rock and New wave music, new wave singer-songwriter, best known for his 1977 single "Whole Wide World (song), Whole Wide World" on Stiff Records. More than two d ...

and The Chicken Family; she was replaced on bass by Ricky McGuire (ex

UK Subs U.K. Subs are an English punk rock band, among the earliest in the first wave of British punk. Formed in 1976, the mainstay of the band has been vocalist Charlie Harper, originally a singer in Britain's R&B scene. One of the first hardcore pu ...

). In 1987 the band switched to Magnet Records and the new record released was '' Waiting for Bonaparte''. "The Colours" told of an English mutineer sailor during the

Napoleonic War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Napoleonic Wars , partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars , image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg , caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...

and "The Crest" a stretcher bearer during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Whilst "The Colours" was at Number 61 in the UK Singles Chart it was blacklisted by

because of the line "You've come here to watch me hang", which echoed the events happening in South African townships at the time, in particular the plight of the Sharpeville Six. In 1988, the band were on the move again and signed for new label Silvertone. The band was joined by Nick Muir (ex Fire Next Time) at this time on piano, organ and accordion, who remained with the band during their time at Silvertone. Muir later found success as an electronic music producer and half of the duo

Bedrock In geology, bedrock is solid rock that lies under loose material ( regolith) within the crust of Earth or another terrestrial planet. Definition Bedrock is the solid rock that underlies looser surface material. An exposed portion of bed ...

. The band recorded two albums for Silvertone, the first being ''Silver Town''. Highlights of ''Silver Town'' included "Rain, Steam and Speed", "A Place in the Sun" and "Rosettes". ''Silver Town'' was the only TMTCH album to reach the Top 40 of the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is the United Kingdom's industry-recognised national record chart for album, albums. Entries are ranked by sales and audio streaming. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the O ...

, peaking at No. 39. They followed this up in 1990 with ''The Domino Club'', which had a more conventional rock sound dispensing with much of the folk element. In August 1990, the band supported

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer, songwriter and actor. Regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Bowie was acclaimed by critics and musicians, pa ...

in his concerts at the

Milton Keynes Bowl The National Bowl (originally the Milton Keynes Bowl) is an entertainment venue located in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. The site was a former clay pit (for brick-making), filled in and raised to form an amphitheatre using sub-soil e ...

, as part of his

Sound+Vision Tour In physics, sound is a vibration that propagates as an acoustic wave through a transmission medium such as a gas, liquid or solid. In human physiology and psychology, sound is the ''reception'' of such waves and their ''perception'' by the br ...

. The band split in 1991 after releasing the live album ''Alive, Alive-O'', a performance recorded at London's Town & Country Club that was later released as a DVD, ''The Shooting'', by

Cherry Red Records Cherry Red Records is a British independent record label founded in Malvern, Worcestershire by Iain McNay in 1978. The label has released recordings by Dead Kennedys, Everything but the Girl, The Monochrome Set, and Felt, among others, as w ...

. Paul Simmonds and "Swill" Odgers then formed Liberty Cage who released an album, ''Sleep of the Just'', in 1994 and an EP, ''I'll Keep It With Mine'', in 1995.

1996–present: Reformation

The band reformed in 1996, but minus drummer Jon Odgers who had become

Therapy? Therapy? are a Northern Irish rock band from Larne, formed in 1989 by guitarist-vocalist Andy Cairns and drummer-vocalist Fyfe Ewing. Therapy? recorded their first demo with Cairns filling in on bass guitar. To complete the lineup, the band ...

's drum technician. He was replaced by Kenny Harris of The Screaming Blue Messiahs. Their new album was ''Never Born To Follow'', released on the

label in 1996. The following year the band released the mini-album ''Big Six Pack''. Two "Best Of" collections followed, ''Majestic Grill'' and ''The Mud, The Blood and the Beer'', both in 1998. The band again withdrew into semi-retirement, during which time Odgers and Simmonds again released new material together (this time under their own names), ''Baby Fishlips'' (originally released under the pseudonym Preacher Jethro Brimstone and the Watermelon Kid) in 1999 and ''Folk at the Fortress'' in 2002. The band released a brand new CD in 2003, ''The Cherry Red Jukebox''. In 2005 the band released two DVDs, ''Shooting'', and ''21 Years of Love And Hate'' (released on Secret Records) to celebrate 21 years together. The latter was later released as a live double CD ''Smugglers and Bounty Hunters''. During further breaks from the band, Phil "Swill" Odgers released two CDs with his band The Swaggerband, which includes Ricky McGuire and Jon Odgers, plus lyrical contributions from Paul Simmonds: ''The Day After'' in 2004 and ''Elvis Lives Here'' on Irregular Records in 2006. The group continue to play occasional live concerts. Their next planned release is an acoustic folk-orientated CD, including the reworking of several popular old songs from their back catalogue. In October 2006 the band announced on their website titles of five new tracks they are demoing for their new album: "Brixton Hill", "Jam Tomorrow", "Madelaine", "Man in the Subway" and "The Winter Wind". In January 2007 more song titles were announced: "Cocaine Housewife", "Love Tomorrow", "Pair of Shoes", "Lead Me to the Gallows", "Whisky & Wine", "Snow Is Falling" and "Call Me Darling". Although these were originally identified primarily as songs that would appear on the next TMTCH album this was not to be the case. All except "Jam Tomorrow" and "Man in the Subway" subsequently appeared on Paul Simmonds' solo country album titled ''The Rising Road'', released in June 2008. In January 2007, Paul Simmonds' book ''A Bag of Songs'' was published. It featured a personal selection of 50 songs with lyrics, chords and commentary. In March 2007, the band released a new CD through their website '' Demos & Rarities Volume 1''. This album is a collection of rare unreleased TMTCH recordings from the '' Silver Town'' and '' The Domino Club'' albums. The band are joined by Tom Spencer (The Yo Yo's, Fastlane Roogalator, The Loyalties) bringing banjo to the line-up and additional guitar and backing vocals. They released a new album, ''Devil on the Wind'', on Robb Johnson's label Irregular Records on 1 June 2009. As a prelude to the album the band released a six track EP CD ''Devil on the Wind EP'' via their website. The EP contains an alternative mixes of "Devil on the Wind" and "Aquamarine", plus four songs not available on the full album. On 8 October 2009, almost 25 years since The Men They Couldn't Hang played their first proper gig in

Camden Town Camden Town () is an area in the London Borough of Camden, around north-northwest of Charing Cross. Historically in Middlesex, it is identified in the London Plan as one of 34 major centres in Greater London. Laid out as a residential distri ...

at The

Electric Ballroom The Electric Ballroom is a 1,500-capacity performance venue (primarily for rock and roll, rock bands) and indoor market located at 184 Camden High Street in Camden Town, London, England. History The Electric Ballroom started as an Irish ballr ...

, they returned for the official 25 Year Anniversary Celebration. 2012 saw the release of an album from Stefan Cush's new band the Feral Family, and Paul Simmonds was recording and touring with roots singer Naomi Bedford as well as numerous live dates for TMTCH. The latter including appearances at Mike Peter's "The Gathering", and festival appearances alongside Billy Bragg and Adam Ant. They headlined the 10th anniversary commemoration of Joe Strummer's Acton Town Hall show which also featured a special guest appearance by Hard Fi. March 2013 saw the release of Phil (Swill) Odgers' solo album, ''The Godforsaken Voyage'', produced by Mick Glossop. On the day of release of ''The Godforsaken Voyage'', The Men They Couldn't Hang joined

Stiff Little Fingers Stiff Little Fingers are a Northern Irish punk rock band from Belfast. They formed in 1977 at the height of the Troubles, which informed much of their songwriting. They started out as a schoolboy band called Highway Star (named after the Deep P ...

for three weeks on their UK tour. This combined with several festival appearances in UK and German acted as a prelude to TMTCH's 30th anniversary in 2014. 2014 marked the band's 30th anniversary, and they released their ninth album, ''The Defiant''. In 2019, the band won Best Live Band in Folking.com's annual awards, voted for by 10,000 registered subscribers to the folk website. Co-lead singer Stefan Cush died on 5 February 2021, after suffering a heart attack.

Discography

Musical references

Canadian rock band

The Tragically Hip The Tragically Hip, often referred to simply as the Hip, was a Canadian rock band formed in Kingston, Ontario in 1984, consisting of vocalist Gord Downie, guitarist Paul Langlois, guitarist Rob Baker (known as Bobby Baker until 1994), bassis ...

make apparent reference to the band in the song "

Bobcaygeon Bobcaygeon is a community on the Trent–Severn Waterway in the Kawartha Lakes, City of Kawartha Lakes, east-central Ontario, Canada. Bobcaygeon was incorporated as a village in 1876, and became known as the "Hub of the Kawarthas". Its reco ...

of the Pogues named an instrumental " Shanne Bradley", after the original bassist of The Men They Couldn't Hang and member of his previous band The Nipple Erectors. The track appeared on the 12" of "

Fairytale of New York "Fairytale of New York" is a song written by Jem Finer and Shane MacGowan and recorded by their London-based band the Pogues, featuring English singer-songwriter Kirsty MacColl on vocals. The song is an Irish folk-style ballad and was writ ...

" and remastered versions of ''

If I Should Fall from Grace with God ''If I Should Fall from Grace with God'' is the third studio album by Celtic folk-punk band the Pogues, released on 18 January 1988. Released in the wake of their biggest hit single, "Fairytale of New York", ''If I Should Fall from Grace with G ...

'' CDs.

References

External links

The Men They Couldn't Hang official site

John Peel Sessions
* AMG profile
The Men They Couldn't Hang
on

Discogs Discogs ( ; short for " discographies") is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. Database contents are user-generated, and described in ''T ...

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Men They Couldn't Hang, The English folk rock groups Folk punk groups Musical groups established in 1984 Magnet Records artists MCA Records artists Warner Music Group artists Jive Records artists British political music groups