8857 - THE MEN THEY COULDN'T HANG - THE DEFIANT (2014)
THE MEN THEY COULDN'T HANG
''THE DEFIANT''
AUGUST 2014
44:53
1 Raising Hell 03:34
2 Bonfires 02:56
3 Scavangers 04:41
4 Carrying The Flame 03:22
5 Turquoise Bracelet Bay 04:24
6 Silver Chains 02:43
7 Night Ferry 02:23
8 Tavarado 03:10
9 Atheni Dreams 03:58
10 Fail To Comply 03:16
11 Hardworking People 02:20
12 Twilight Road 04:21
13 Horse With No Name 03:39
REVIEW
By Robin Denselow
Folk punk lives. It’s been 30 years since The Men They Couldn’t Hang became John Peel favourites with their debut single Green Fields of France, and they are still in impressively energetic, rousing and angry form on a new album that was funded by a hugely successful Pledge campaign. This is a fists-in-the-air festival band who specialise in full-tilt anthems and shanties, often with a political message, and the best songs here include the furious opener, Raising Hell, featuring fine violin work from guest musician Bobby Valentino, and a glorious, harmonica-driven folk-punk stomp, Fail to Comply. It’s a tuneful set in which music and message sometimes clash: Turquoise Bracelet Bay is a nostalgic mood piece that becomes another grand, sing-along anthem, while Tavarado is a bleakly thoughtful history lesson about murder and rape by English forces in Spain set to a gutsy melody. Their followers won’t be disappointed.
MORE REVIEW
By Piccadillyrecords
The revered British folk punk group The Men They Couldn’t Hang celebrate their 30th anniversary in 2014 with the release of a brand new album, ‘The Defiant’. Previewed with a sold out London show at Shepherds Bush Empire in April that won rave reviews in The Guardian and on The Arts Desk and an accompanying EP that saw significant specialist airplay on BBC Radio 2, 6 Music BBC Scotland and BBC Wales, the release of ‘The Defiant’ will be followed by a UK tour and a return visit to SBE.
The Men They Couldn't Hang formed in 1984. Championed by John Peel, their debut single 'Green Fields of France' was a huge hit on the UK Indie chart and was no. 3 in Peel’s Festive Fifty for 1984 (behind The Smiiths and Cocteau Twins). The song subsequently appeared on their first album, ‘Night of a Thousand Candles’ [1985]. The following year, they recorded ‘How Green Is The Valley’ with producer Mick Glossop, while by 1988 and their third album ‘Waiting for Bonaparte’, TMTCH had also achieved recognition in mainland Europe for their political comment and raucous live shows.
Touring in support of 1989’s ‘Silvertown’, the band played to a crowd of more than 250,000 in Estonia as communism started to crumble, prior to an unforgettable appearance at Reading Festival. At the height of their career, they recorded the acclaimed ‘Domino Club’ [1990] with producer Pat Collier, but then went on hiatus in 1991 following a ‘farewell tour’. Performing sporadically for the next few years, TMTCH reunited permanently in 1996 and released a new album, ‘Never Born To Follow’ and the ‘Six Pack EP’ [1997] that delighted their fans by displaying a fresh power and vitality to their music. Two ‘Best Of’ collections, ‘Majestic Grill’ and ‘The Mud, The Blood And The Beer’ [both 1998] were eventually followed by the well received albums ‘The Cherry Red Jukebox’ [2003] and the Pat Collier produced ‘Devil On The Wind’ in 2009. TMTCH have spent the last few years touring regularly throughout Europe and playing at numerous festivals alongside the likes of The Levellers, Billy Bragg and Nick Lowe. They also headlined the 10th anniversary commemoration of Joe Strummer’s Acton Town Hall show in November 2012.
ABOUT THE BAND
The Men They Couldn't Hang came together, as Paul Simmonds, Philip 'Swill' Odgers and his brother Jon, who played in the pop-punk band 'Catch 22', met Stefan Cush in London. Their early line up was Stefan Cush (Vocals, Guitar), Paul Simmonds (Guitar, Bouzouki, Keyboards), Philip Odgers (Vocals, Guitar, Tin Whistle, Melodica), Jon Odgers (Drums, Percussion) and Shanne Bradley (Bass, Flute). In the early eighties, TMTCH appeared at a number of alternative country music festivals and released a fantastic cover version of Eric Bogle's 'Green Fields Of France' (1984), which soon became a big hit on the UK Indie charts. Their first album, "Night Of A Thousand Candles", was released in 1985. It includes the singles 'Ironmasters' and 'Greenback Dollar'. The following year, they recorded their second album, "How Green Is The Valley". Included on this album are the singles 'Gold Rush', 'Shirt Of Blue' and 'Ghosts Of Cable Street'.
In 1987 Shanne Bradley left the band and was replaced by Ricky McGuire. With their third release in 1988, "Waiting For Bonaparte", The Men They Couldn't Hang were propelled to stardom in Europe. The album includes 'Island In The Rain', 'The Crest' and 'The Colours'. One year later, they followed up the success of "Waiting For Bonaparte" with their fourth album, "Silvertown". Singles from this album include 'Rain, Steam & Speed', 'A Place In The Sun' and 'A Map Of Morocco'. At the height of their career, TMTCH recorded the brilliant "Domino Club" (1990) with 'Great Expectations', 'Kingdom Of The Blind' and 'The Lion & The Unicorn'. Unfortunately, this appeared to be their last studio album - shortly after the following tour, TMTCH disbanded. In 1991, TMTCH came together for one live performance at London's Town and Country Club. That night, they showed the world what they are - one of the best live bands ever. This emotional gig is immortalized on the album 'Alive, Alive-O', released later that same year.
Much to the delight of their fans, TMTCH reunited in 1996. They returned with a new power and excitement to their music.
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