The Men They Couldnt Hang

The Men They Couldnt Hang

An Intimate Up Close and Personal Show.

The Men They Couldn't Hang emerged from the busking scene in the subways of Hammersmith and Shepherds Bush, London in 1984. Their unique combination of barnstorming live performance, rich storytelling ability, often rooted in historical and social themes, and mix of Celtic, Folk and Country flavours saw them rise rapidly to national and international prominence where they have remained through dint of sheer tenacity and a passionate fan base.

Now into their 4th decade, TMTCH have travelled far and wide; from Egypt to Iceland, Canada to Slovenia and all points in between, featuring at huge festivals and intimate folk clubs alike. In fact it has been said that they have the ability to make a huge festival seem like an intimate folk club and vice versa! In between regular touring the band has recorded 10 studio albums and seen their music appear in films, tv shows, adverts and even on the courses of academic syllabuses. Up until the Covid pandemic, the TMTCH star was rising again with sold out tours booked and another record in the planning.

Now, despite the tragic loss of co vocalist Stefan Cush in 2021, the band are re assembled to begin the next chapter of their roller coaster career and to celebrate, defend and enhance their acclaimed legacy.

Recent review

"This is an old story, that's rarely ever told…"

I travelled over to London this weekend for The Men They Couldn't Hang 40th anniversary gig. Shortly after take-off from Dublin Airport, on a bright clear morning, I had a perfect view of Lambay Island below. And that was a moment of synchronicity, as it on the island where I first heard the band (though it was 39 years ago, not quite 40).

Once upon a time, back in those olden days, I was on Lambay Island (of all places) and the Dave Fanning show was playing on the little transistor radio. The song which I eventually discovered was "Ironmasters" came on. I shushed Mary so I could hear it properly, but at the end Fanning never announced who it was ! That of course was pre internet or google or whateverso I'd no idea who it was. My opinion at the time was – "It sounds like the Pogues, but it's not".

My instincts weren't too far wrong. It took a while to discover who the artists were, and I got my hands on their debut album as soon as I possibly could, which wasn't always easy in 1980's Dublin. I never actually had that single. I'm going to be honest and say that it was only a few years ago that I realised that Philip Chevron had produced TMTCH's early single and half the album.

Released during the miners strike, the song is not only brilliant, but it got banned by the BBC for insulting Margaret Thatcher ("the Iron bastard always gets her way"), so really, what's not to like ?

The 40th anniversary show was amazing. After four decades and more than ten studio albums and about twenty singles & EP's to choose songs from it was classic after classic for 90 minutes of non stop energy. There were at least two songs I'd never seen them play live before. This was also the first time I'd seen them seen the sad passing of Stefan Cush in 2021. He was well remembered tonight.

Special guests included John for an appearance on drums (brother of Phil Odgers) and Shanne Bradley. Great support also from Skinny Lister.

Hoping to catch The Men They Couldn't Hang again later in the year in Bristol, where I've been lucky to see them on quite a few occasions.

Joe Mooney, April 2024