Let The Music Speak for Itself
Right… Through twelve great years, six albums and hundreds of gigs, Merry Hell have shared their music, joy and hope with as many people as possible.
This double CD is an attempt to distil all the above into a flavour of the band, who we are and what we do. For that reason, there could only be one title: Let The Music Speak for Itself.
This collection does not represent the beginning of the end; it represents the end of the beginning…
Out and about
Live in lockdown
Nice folk saying nice things
The best folk-rock band ever (...to come from Wigan).
Mike Harding
Merry Hell have got to be the best live band in the country
...bursting to spring out and make your existence brighter
The perfect folk festival band
... a national treasure... a band we need more than ever
Regular visitors to this website know that Merry Hell rank amongst my favourite acts. Born from the embers of folk punk collective, The Tansads, they have over the past twelve years, or so, through dint of sheer hard gigging and recording work, built up a dedicated and loyal following.
From the cotton mills of Wigan to the glassworks of Stourbridge, Merry Hell cherish a distinguished English heritage wrapped in a progressive blanket of unity, while expunging differences at every opportune moment.
To mark their path to date and to afford newcomers a useful introduction, this compilation gathers recordings from across their career, none tweaked in the process and, while the live version of The Baker's Daughter/Soldier's Joy only previously appeared on their DVD, there's none of that previously unreleased/new recording malarkey.