The Shanes, a folk band from Trier, Germany, formed in 1991. The group released their debut album Songs from the Urban Country Hell in 1992 through Strangeways Records. Their second album, Polka Hard, was produced by Kathrin Achinger and included a polka version of Joy Division's "Love Will Tear Us Apart", which was broadcast by BBC Radio DJ John Peel. The band continued to release albums and EPs such as These Days (1995), The Haunted House of Polka (2001), Pölka (2005), and Polka Over Serbja! Live in Chóśebuz (2007). They also released a series of live albums, including the 2009 release Squandering Youth, which featured covers of G.G. Allin's "Bite it, You Scum" and Turbonegro's "Sailorman". The Shanes disbanded in late 2015 but reunited for a show in December 2019 with a new lineup.
