A FISTFUL OF COVERS

Phil 'Swill' Odgers is well known as one half of the legendary joint vocal strike force of UK folk rebel rockers The Men They Couldn't Hang. He is also a formidable solo artist in his own right. Audiences around the world from Cairo to Reykjavik, Brisbane to Tokyo and Berlin to London have submitted to his effervescent and heartfelt vocal style in stadium, theatre, hall and after hours lock in. Since his highly acclaimed solo album The Godforsaken Voyage (2013) and between raising hell with The Men They Couldn't Hang (and recording The Defiant in 2014), a hugely successful Pledge campaign and writing a plethora of new songs for his next album Mr Odgers has found the time to put together a side project of cover songs with a special meaning. A Fistful of Covers! For the last few years at TMTCH gigs there is often a point midday through the set where Swill (or Cush) will remain on stage and sing a couple of songs while the rest of the gang take a break to freshen up, recharge their drinks or wipe down the sweat from the gigs excesses. 'I have a growing hoard of songs that I like to pick out and play in these 'acoustic sections'. I ll strum my guitar and what comes out will depend on the mood of the night and is often not what I had planned when I walked on to the stage'. This album brings together a bunch of songs that Odgers has grabbed and made his own. These are his interpretations of other peoples hangovers, heartbreak and hopelessness. He can relate to them all - he's lived hard (The Men have a reputation to uphold). These are songs that, at one time or another, he's played during the acoustic section of The Men They Couldn't Hang shows or have been carefully placed alongside his own material during solo gigs or impromptu busking sessions. They're in his gig bag. Some have been strummed in Canadian Clubs or beside African lakes, some on Scottish hills or in Irish back rooms. All have been played at many gatherings and family occasions and all take on new meaning w.