The Men They Couldn't Hang

Formed in Southampton in 1984, The Men They Couldn't Hang sit within the British folk-punk scene with a sound that blends rock guitars, mandolin, bouzouki, nervous rhythms and collective vocals, in writing marked by social history, popular memory and street narratives. The band originally brought together Philip "Swill" Odgers, Stefan Cush, Paul Simmonds, Shanne Bradley and Jon Odgers, with roots both English and Scottish. From its beginnings, The Men They Couldn't Hang made a mark with its cover of The Green Fields of France, before following with several albums that have become milestones in its career, from Night of a Thousand Candles in 1985 to How Green Is the Valley in the same year, then Waiting for Bonaparte in 1987, Silver Town in 1988 and The Domino Club in 1990. Often linked to the English folk and punk wave of the 1980s, the band nevertheless develops its own identity, more rooted in narrative rock, political song and British folk traditions. Split in 1991 and then reformed in 1996, The Men They Couldn't Hang again hit the road and continued their discography with Never Born to Follow in 1996, The Cherry Red Jukebox in 2003, Devil on the Wind in 2009, The Defiant in 2014 and Cock-A-Hoop in 2018. After the death of Stefan Cush in 2021, The Men They Couldn't Hang continued to exist around Philip Odgers and Paul Simmonds.