The Men They Couldn't Hang
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| The Men They Couldn't Hang | ||
|---|---|---|
| Background information | ||
| Origin |  London, England |
|
| Genre(s) | Folk Punk, Punk Rock, Celtic Punk | |
| Years active | 1984-1991, 1996-current | |
| Label(s) | Demon, Diablo, Magnet, MCA, Silvertone, WEA, Jive, Fun After All, Twah!, Recall | |
| Associated acts |
Swill And The Swaggerband, Odgers & Simmonds, Liberty Cage | |
| Website | tmtch.net | |
| Members | ||
| Phil Odgers, Paul Simmonds, Stefan Cush, Ricky McGuire | ||
| Former members | ||
| Jon Odgers, Nick Muir, Shanne Bradley | ||
The Men They Couldn't Hang (TMTCH) are a British rock band whose mixture of folk and punk is not dissimilar to that of The Pogues (in fact founder member Shanne Bradley was an original female punk artist and founder of Shane MacGowan's first band, The Nipple Erectors).
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).
Contents |
[edit] (1984-1991) Controversy and success
Their first single, "The Green Fields of France", was released in 1984. Written by Eric Bogle (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 whilst sitting by his graveside. It received considerable airplay on the John Peel show on BBC Radio 1 and finished at No.3 in Peel's Festive 50 for that year. It became a big hit on the UK Indie charts.
The following year they were signed by Elvis Costello to his Demon label, and released their debut album, "The Night of a Thousand Candles", and its accompanying single "Ironmasters", a self-penned number by main songwriter Simmonds, linking the Industrial Revolution 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) had to be removed for the single version to ensure radio airplay. They were again named in Peel's yearly Festive 50, this time at No.11.
In 1985 the band signed for MCA records and released "How Green Is The Valley". The record included "Ghosts Of Cable Street", a political number concerning The Battle of Cable Street in 1936 and "Shirt Of Blue", which regarded the miners' strike of 1984-5. At the end of promotion for the album Shanne Bradley left to create music with Wreckless Eric and The Chicken Family, she was replaced on bass by Ricky McGuire (ex UK Subs).
In 1987 the band switched to Magnet Records and the new record released was, what many fans consider their best "Waiting For Bonaparte". Once again the strongest songs were stories of historical origin. "The Colours" told of an English mutineer sailor during the Napoleonic War and "The Crest" a stretcher bearer during World War II. Sadly whilst "The Colours" was at no.61 in the British top 75 it was blacklisted by BBC Radio 1 due to the line "You've Come Here To Watch Me Hang", which echoed the events happening in South African townships at the time. However it didn't stop the album propelling the group to stardom in Europe.
In 1988 the band were on the move again and signed for new label Silvertone (who later put out The Stone Roses debut release). Highlights of "Silvertown" included "Rain, Steam and Speed", "A Place In The Sun" and "A Map Of Morocco". They followed this up in 1990 with "The Domino Club", which had a more conventional rock sound dispensing with much of the folk element. "The Domino club" was the only album to feature Nick Muir (ex Fire Next Time) as a band member on piano, organ and accordion. Muir later found success as an electronic music producer and half of the duo Bedrock .
In August 1990 the band supported David Bowie in his concerts at the Milton Keynes Bowl, as part of his Sound and Vision World Tour.
Surprisingly the band split in 1991 after releasing the live album, "Alive, Alive-O", a performance recorded at London's famous Town & Country Club. 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.
[edit] (1996—) Reformation
To the delight of their fans the band reformed, but minus drummer Jon Odgers who had become Therapy?'s drum technician. Their new CD was "Never Born To Follow", released on the Demon 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 Odgers and Simmonds again released new material together, "Baby Fishlips", in 1999 and "Folk At The Fortress", in 2002.
The band released a brand new CD in 2003 "The Cherry Red Jukebox", which most fans agreed was a real return to form. In 2005 the band released two DVD's, "Shooting", and "21 Years Of Love And Hate" to celebrate 21 years together. This latter was later released as a live double CD "Smugglers and Bounty Hunters".
During further breaks from the band Phill "Swill" Odgers released two CDs with his band "The Swaggerband", which includes Ricky McGuire and Jon Odgers, plus lyrical contribution 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. On October 19, 2006 the band announced on their web-site 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".
[edit] Album discography
| Year | Type | Album | Label |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1985 | Studio | The Night of a Thousand Candles | Demon, Diablo |
| 1986 | Studio | How Green Is The Valley | MCA |
| 1988 | Studio | Waiting For Bonaparte | Magnet, WEA |
| 1989 | Studio | Silvertown | Silvertone, Jive |
| 1990 | Studio | Domino Club | Silvertone, Jive |
| 1991 | Live | Alive, Alive-O | Fun After All |
| 1996 | Studio | Never Born To Follow | Demon |
| 1997 | Studio | Big Six Pack | Demon |
| 1998 | Studio | Majestic Girl: The Best of the Men They Couldn't Hang | Demon |
| 1999 | Studio | The Mud, The Blood And The Beer (Best Of, Volume 2) | Demon |
| 2003 | Studio | The Cherry Red Jukebox | Twah! |
| 2005 | Live | Smugglers and Bounty Hunters | Recall |
[edit] Trivia
Canadian rock band The Tragically Hip make apparent reference to the band in the song "Bobcaygeon".
