The Men They Couldn't Hang

The Profile

English folk-punk band formed in the early 1980s, combining folk tradition and punk influences; noted for the 1985 debut Night Of A Thousand Candles and the follow-up How Green Is the Valley.

Founding members listed in the review: Stefan Cush, Philip "Swill" Odgers, Paul Simmonds, Shanne Bradley and Jon Odgers. The 1985 debut Night Of A Thousand Candles is mentioned in the review. Standout tracks highlighted: "Going Back To Coventry" and "Shirt Of Blue"; the latter is described in the review as recalling the 1984-85 British miners' strike.

The provided review praises How Green Is the Valley as a mature, compact follow-up to the 1985 debut Night Of A Thousand Candles. It singles out "Going Back To Coventry" and "Shirt Of Blue" as standout tracks, the former for its raw folk-punk energy and the latter for its emotional portrayal of the 1984-85 miners' strike. The reviewer places the band stylistically between the Pogues and the Long Ryders.