The Men They Couldn't Hang

The Men They Couldn't Hang, a British folk punk group, formed in 1984. The original lineup included Stefan Cush on vocals and guitar, Paul Simmonds on guitar, bouzouki, mandolin, and keyboards, Philip "Swill" Odgers on vocals, guitar, tin whistle, and melodica, Jon Odgers on drums and percussion, and Shanne Bradley on bass guitar. Their first single, a cover of "The Green Fields of France", was released in 1984 and became a Number 1 hit in the UK Indie Chart. The band's debut album, Night of a Thousand Candles, was released under Demon Records in 1985, featuring the politically charged song "Ironmasters". In 1987, they switched to Magnet Records for their next release, Waiting for Bonaparte. Notable songs from this period include "The Colours" and "The Crest", which faced radio blacklisting due to controversial lyrics. The band continued to evolve, signing with Silvertone in 1988 and releasing two albums: Silver Town (1988) and The Domino Club (1990). Silver Town peaked at number 39 on the UK Albums Chart. In August 1990, The Men They Couldn't Hang supported David Bowie during his Sound+Vision Tour. The band disbanded in 1991 after releasing the live album Alive, Alive-O. They reformed in 1996 with Kenny Harris replacing Jon Odgers on drums and released several albums including Never Born To Follow (1996) and The Cherry Red Jukebox (2003). The band continued to release music and perform live concerts intermittently.