THE MEN THEY COULDNT HANG at the BARROWLANDS

"Fuchs Goin'On" is how timmys here feel about a St.Pats day final and no Tic to pick up easy silverware , even the evening entertainment had a bitter taste , a Concert i attended at the barrowlands was a double bill with The Men They Couldnt Hang and SLF.However , i learned after buying ticket,SLF have spread such a vile lie about our Greatest Legend.Then added injury to insult with a cheap corporate-style apology.

This news left me with a bit of a moral dilemma , should i accept the insult and treat the SLF gig as some entertainment or does artistic integrity mean that bands and artists have to be held to some degree of standard , especially when they have made a career of being a point of transcending the petty and destruction partisanships which have held their community back for so many decades.

I took some soundings from fans of SLF before this news came to light to see how they dealt with the situation.These are some of the responses received.

"Pictured wearing a baseball cap with the big lie on it. Jake Burns didn't do the right thing and bin him. Haven't listened to them since."

 "Scumbag

At the time I believed that it was extremely important that the public in general should be made aware that such terrible crimes happened, so as never to happen again within such a huge organisation.
I now believe the original campaign is doing no one any favours, and should stop.
I no longer wear said baseball cap.

I sincerely apologise.
It was a mistake on my part.

Ian McCallum"

" yep, fucking scumbag. mccallum apologized saying he thought he was bringing the subject out into the open and regretted doing it.

i.e. I'm a fucking bigot who uses child abuse as banter. i only regret the fact it might hit us in the pocket.
and so it should, fuck him and jake burns for their shitey 'we apoligize, please still gonna spend your money on us' type apologies"

" i hate them with a passion and most i know who went to see them have stopped since this was made public"

" would love to see men They Couldn't hang also, but fuck the SLF"

 "Having worked with and drank with TMTCH I can assure you there is not a bigoted bone in their collective bodies. I wonder if they know about Mr McCallum and his opinions?"

        " Paid for now, go and see the support act then leave!"

Having already paid for the ticket i determined no way was i going to be able to enjoy watching SLF with a clear conscience.After much tortuous soul-searching , decided to see TMTCH and then leave.

There was a slight bonus as there was a third act in the form of Edward Tenpole Tudor doing a game, enthusiastic acoustic set.



The Men They Couldnt Hang were fit,fresh and sharp , looking every inch a band that is not resting on its laurels but  have found  a new second wind for a world ready to hear their message anew.

All the songs were catchy yet deeply meaningful , touching on subjects such as The fight against Fascism , The plight of the working man, running down of essential industries and needless victims of war.A sure sign we are in a age of regression and need more universal ideas and solutions.

Videos of live performances of this set are not of the premium quality , but some of the songs are worth detailing, the first is one about who it was left to ordinary people on the streets to defeat fascism on British Streets in the 30s when such a movement , if the Orwell Diaries of the period are to be believed, was enjoying an unsettling amount of respectability in the upper classes.

The Ghosts Of Cable Street. 



The Green Fields of France



Ironmasters