Andrew Brown's Brown Paper Sack #1 'zine is to be commended for finally unravelling the myths and presenting the full and fascinating story of this group (amongst many others, so go grab a copy). In brief, The Hangmen were a quintet from around San Antonio,Texas. Following their self-promoted debut on their own label (which misprinted their name as 'The Hangman'), they came to the attention of a local self-styled promoter 'Colonel' Paul Beckingham (as in Colonel Tom Parker or Major Bill Smith). He imposed a new name on them based on the logic that non-local groups were more exotic and got more air-play - along the same lines I guess as US bands adopting British names, even accents, in the wake of the British Invasion. So, the Five Canadians were born and the band were publicised as invaders from North of the border (Toronto). No wonder there has been so much confusion and debate ever since. At the time the hype only achieved limited success and despite out-of-state forays the band would remain a local phenomenon. Bobby Flores moved on to The Infinite Staircase and later solo 45s. Bruce Svoboda released a psych 45 as Grapple Ethereal Genesis/Snail (Rush 1394) - in 1969. -
Despite the confusion and doubts perpetuated as to their origins, what is not in doubt is the testosterone drive of their music whose climax is Writing On The Wall. It is rightfully regarded as a classic of the garage genre and no collection is complete without it. The article mentions that it impressed others at the time - it was covered by the XL's (from St.Louis). But it is with the Pebbles generation that appreciation has matured and this song has now been covered by the likes of Germany's Broken Jug on their Grand Junction EP, girl-garage queens the Brood, and the Nines.
