Shane MacGowan (Pogues) RIP

This one really hurts.

"In 1988 Kirsty MacColl collaborated with The Pogues for the Christmas song Fairytale of New York, written by MacGowan, which got to number two in the UK chart and remains one of the UK's best-loved Christmas songs."

Irish President Michael D Higgins described Shane MacGowan as one of "music's greatest lyricists".

"Like so many across the world, it was with the greatest sadness that I learned this morning of the death of Shane MacGowan," he said.

[www.bbc.com]



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/30/2023 02:50AM by BCE.

I resisted The Pogues for as long as I could. I typically break out in hives when presented with Irish Folk music, but even I had to capitulate when "If Should I Fall From Grace With God" happened. Glad I did, too. What a collection of songs! Seeing a song as spiritedly scabrous as "Fairytale Of New York" become a christmas classic has been a delicious, least likely underdog tale of wonderment. McGowan had lived on the knife edge of life for so long, it's a minor miracle he lasted until now.

Former TP subscriber [81, 82, 83, 84]

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A rough year for the New Wave Holiday Music genre, with Shane and Mars Williams both passing. Will tear up a bit the hundreds of times I hear "Fairytale of New York" and "Christmas Wrapping" this year.

That aside, Shane was a monumental songwriter and talent. I was fortunate enough to get to see the Pogues live on the Fall From the Grace of God tour and it remains one of the five best shows I ever saw.

Yeah this is a bit of a sock in the gut…i cannot overemphasize how huge the Pogues were to Irish music, and how much they meant to all of us in the Irish diaspora, including Yours Truly (heck, my high school mascot was The Celts). “Rum Sodomy & the Lash” dropped like a bomb, and pretty much invented the Irish folk-punk genre that many bands now play. Any Irish pub band will play at least one (or 2, or 3…)Pogues songs, just as any reggae cover band will play at least one Bob Marley song (or 2, or 3…)

Back when I first heard a college radio dj announce a new band she described playing punk Irish drinking songs, I instantly thought “ what a brilliant idea!” and I had zero interest in folk music at the time.

Fuck fuck fuck fuck FUCK.

I mean, no surprise, but still...FUCK.

Hearing If I Could Fall From Grace With God in 1988 blew my 21-year-old mind. It's still one of my all-time favorite records by anyone. I know he hasn't been active in decades, but I still think he's leaving a mighty large hole in the songwriting firmament.

Fuck.

Never a big Pogues fan, but I have been trying to listen to MacGowan's work today to get a better handle on his impact, but this duet with Sinéad O'Connor just floored me. Hard to imagine how much art and culture Ireland lost this year.

Ohhh man, what a loss. McGowan was a great songwriter, and an ideal singer and frontman for his band, despite his addiction problems. (I never saw the Pogues onstage, but I saw them on David Letterman's show with Spider Stacy providing the lead vocals. Say what you might about the sometimes mush-mouthed delivery that McGowan had provided; Stacy's singing was a completely unintelligible rasp.)

My wife introduced me to the Pogues' work, through the album Rum, Sodomy and the Lash. I had never been particularly keen on Irish music, but I fell for the Pogues from the get-go. Since then, as Fab said, the Pogues' songs have been a popular fixture at any pub that offers Irish sing-along nite. I can't tell you how many times we visited Jack Quinn's, a popular spot in Colorado Springs, and found ourselves singing along to "Sally McLennane," "Thousands Are Sailing" or "The Body of an American."

Rest in peace, Shane, and thanks.

Heck, if all he’d ever done is pogo in Don Letts’ “punk rock movie” he’d be aces in my book…