Skinny Lister – rollin’ in the Forge & Flagon for the Pub Shed Bootleg.

Release date: 5th July 2024

Label: Xtra Mile Recordings

Format: download/digital

Released back in October 2023, we felt the Skinnies’ Shanty Punk album was one that made a welcome to the roots of their Forge & Flagon debut from 2012. “In the finest tradition of those very songs that launched them with Forge & Flagon,” we said of the collection that did exactly what it said on the tin.

This new digital only release features 6 tracks from Shanty Punk , played live at the legendary venue and spiritual home of Skinny Lister, the Forge & Flagon pub shed earlier this year.

As Dan Heptinstall says: “The Forge & Flagon has been a big part of the Skinny Lister story from our very beginning. We named our first album after it and have enjoyed so many great and often messy nights in The Forge over the years. We recently shot the video for our single Company Of The Bar there. This time we brought along a crude recording setup to capture us playing a selection of songs taken from Shanty Punk. It was great to have Smudge and Mandy (landlord and landlady) along with a whole bunch of Forge regulars join us for the session to help fill the shed and the recordings with that truly unique atmosphere.“

Company Of The Bar kicks things off at a pace with the energy needle in the red and plenty of roaring and roistering. Immortalising their adventures in Dresden and Pittsburgh in song The fast and the furious twenty minutes see Lorna lead on the gentle roll of Mantra – “recognise what you have while you have it” styled lines of philosophy – that does Frank T and Beans in a Skinny coating and even living legend Party George is present for a guest appearance – “Party George in the Forge!” – to get the place bouncing (even more) with his self-penned song William Harker.

In the finest tradition of sing/shout along belters (oh yes, John Kanaka), 13 Miles wraps up the set in typically hoarse Skinny fashion. Yes – the Skinnies are long overdue a live album, although recapturing the raucousness of the actual live experience of a Skinny gig (especially down at the barrier with the flagon of rum), Pub Shed Bootleg goes some way to filling a need and capturing the fun and frolics.

The band will be heading around the UK for their traditional end-of-year headline tour bonanza. The message from the band is how they “can’t wait to get back out there for some serious partying! We might even find space in the set to test drive a few new tracks. See you at the barrier!”

Here’s the official vid for 13 Miles:

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