Stefan Cush, co-lead vocalist of the folk-punk group The Men They Couldn’t Hang, has died aged 60 following a heart attack. A statement on the band’s Facebook page said: “With unbearable sadness we have to let you all know that our brother, friend, inspiration, life of the party and soul of the band Stefan Cush died of a sudden heart attack on Thursday. We are beyond devastated. Our love goes out to his family … We loved him.” Billy Bragg was among those paying tribute to the charismatic performer, saying: “He played a big part in their raucous show and always had a smile for everyone. He’ll be greatly missed.” In 1984, Cush – then a roadie for the Pogues – formed the group alongside the songwriter Paul Simmonds, Cush’s fellow vocalist Philip “Swill” Odgers, Odgers’ brother Jon, and Shanne Bradley (who was later replaced on bass by UK Subs’ Ricky McGuire). Their rousing, often boisterously high-energy sound won them a sizeable following in the British indie scene, including early champion John Peel, as the band’s songs made robust criticism of Margaret Thatcher and celebrated political activism, from the miners’ strikes to the 1936 anti-fascist Battle of Cable Street. Their biggest chart success came with the 1989 album Silver Town, which reached No 39, and the group supported David Bowie the following year at his outdoor Milton Keynes Bowl concerts. The group went on hiatus in 1991, but reformed in 1996 and continued to tour and release studio albums, most recently Cock-a-Hoop in 2018. Cush also formed his own group, Stefan Cush & the Feral Family, which released the album Brough Superior in 2012. Other tributes to Cush came from the Pogues’ Spider Stacy, who said he was “cut from a strong and excellent cloth, they just don’t make them like that any more”.