The Men They Couldn’t Hang were championed by the late, great John Peel and their first single, a cover of Eric Bogle’s Green Fields of France in 1984, became a big hit on the U.K. Indie charts and a staple of Peel’s festive 50 and now this iconic band have announced they will be performing at Eric’s on Mathew Street on March 11th.
The Men They Couldn’t Hang came together in 1984 to perform at the alternative music festival in Camden town alongside the legendary Pogues and the Boot Hill Foot-Tappers. Their first album, Night of a Thousand Candles, was released in 1985. It includes the singles Ironmasters and Greenback Dollar. Signing for MCA the following year, they recorded their second album, How Green Is the Valley, produced by Mick Glossop.
With their third release in 1988, Waiting for Bonaparte, The Men They Couldn’t Hang were starting to achieve recognition across Europe for their political comment and raucous live shows.
The band have spent the last couple of years touring across Europe including festival appearances alongside The Levellers and headlining a roots festival in Slovenia. They also boast of appearances at Mike Peter’s The Gathering and festival appearances alongside Billy Bragg and Adam Ant to name but a few. They also headlined the 10th anniversary commemoration of Joe Strummer’s Acton Town Hall show which also featured a special guest appearance by Hard Fi.
2013 will see the release in March of Swill’s anticipated solo album produced by the legendary Mick Glossop, as well as appearances at several festivals, including the Folkpunkrock festival in Berlin in February. They are very pleased to be supporting Stiff Little Fingers on their UK tour in March, which will be a great prelude to T.M.T.C.H.’s 30th anniversary in 2014.
Tickets for The Men They Couldn’t Hang’s night at Eric’s are available from the Box office or by telephone on 0151 2369994. Tickets are priced at £12.
Ian D. Hall