SHANE MACGOWAN, THE PUNK IRISH POET & SINGER

Today, The Grandma has been listening to some music written, composed and sung by Shane MacGowan, the Irish musician and member of The Pogues, who has passed away today.

Shane Patrick Lysaght MacGowan (25 December 1957-30 November 2023) was an English-born Irish musician, best known as the co-founder, lead vocalist and songwriter of Celtic punk band the Pogues. 

MacGowan's songs were influenced by Irish history, Irish nationalism, the Irish diaspora, and London life.

Born in Kent, England, to Irish parents, MacGowan spent his early childhood in Tipperary before returning to England aged six and a half. He won a scholarship to Westminster School (a public school) but, at 16, was expelled for possession of drugs. Three years later (1977), he joined the punk band the Nipple Erectors.

In 1982, he co-founded the Pogues, which fused punk with influences from traditional Irish music; his songwriting and vocals appear on the band's first five studio albums, released between 1984 and 1990, of which the critically acclaimed If I Should Fall from Grace with God (1988) was the most commercially successful. He co-wrote Fairytale of New York (1987) and recorded it as a duet with Kirsty MacColl; the song has become a perennial Christmas favourite.

During a 1991 tour, MacGowan was dismissed from the Pogues for behaviour relating to his alcohol dependency. He subsequently formed a new band, Shane MacGowan and The Popes, with which he recorded two studio albums.

In 2001, MacGowan rejoined the Pogues for reunion shows, remaining with the group until it dissolved in 2014. He also produced solo material and collaborated with artists such as Joe Strummer, Nick Cave, Steve Earle, Sinéad O'Connor, and Ronnie Drew.

He received a 2018 Ivor Novello Inspiration Award and a Lifetime Achievement Award.

More information: Shane MacGowan

MacGowan was born on 25 December 1957 in Pembury, Kent, England, the son of Irish immigrants.

MacGowan drew upon his Irish heritage when founding the Pogues and changed his early punk style for a more traditional sound with tutoring from his extended family. Many of his songs were influenced by Irish nationalism, Irish history, the experiences of the Irish diaspora (particularly in England and the United States), and London life in general. These influences were documented in the biography Rake at the Gates of Hell: Shane MacGowan in Context. He often cited the 19th-century Irish poet James Clarence Mangan and playwright Brendan Behan as influences.

The Pogues' most critically acclaimed album was If I Should Fall from Grace with God (1988), which also marked the high point of the band's commercial success. Between 1985 and 1987, MacGowan co-wrote Fairytale of New York, which he performed with Kirsty MacColl, and remains a perennial Christmas favourite. 

In 2004, 2005 and 2006, it was voted favourite Christmas song in a poll by music video channel VH1. Other notable songs he performed with The Pogues include Dirty Old Town, Sally MacLennane and The Irish Rover (featuring the Dubliners). In the following years MacGowan and the Pogues released several albums.

In 1988, he co-wrote Streets of Sorrow/Birmingham Six, a song by the Pogues which proved highly controversial and was banned on British TV and radio.

After MacGowan had been dismissed from the Pogues, he formed a new band, Shane MacGowan and The Popes. The new band recorded two studio albums, a live album, three tracks on the Popes Outlaw Heaven (2010) and a live DVD; the band also toured internationally.

In 1997, MacGowan appeared on Lou Reed's Perfect Day, covered by numerous artists in aid of Children in Need. It was the UK's number one single for three weeks, in two separate spells. Selling over a million copies, the record contributed £2,125,000 to the charity's highest fundraising total in six years.

From December 2003 up to May 2005, Shane MacGowan and the Popes toured extensively in the UK, Ireland and Europe.

The Pogues and MacGowan reformed for a sell-out tour in 2001 and each year from 2004 to 2009 for further tours, including headline slots at Guilfest in England and the Azkena Rock Festival in the Basque Country.

In May 2005, MacGowan rejoined the Pogues permanently. That same year, the Pogues re-released Fairytale of New York to raise funds for the Justice For Kirsty Campaign and Crisis at Christmas. The single was the best-selling Christmas-themed single of 2005, reaching number 3 in the UK Charts that year.

In 2010, MacGowan played impromptu shows in Dublin with a new five-piece backing band, the Shane Gang, including In Tua Nua rhythm section Paul Byrne (drums) and Jack Dublin (bass), with manager Joey Cashman on whistle.

In November 2010, this lineup went to Lanzarote to record a new album. MacGowan and the Shane Gang performed at the Red Hand Rocks music festival in the Patrician Hall, Carrickmore County Tyrone in June 2011.

It was reported in July 2023 that MacGowan was hospitalised in an intensive care unit. He made his last public statement on 16 November 2023, complimenting Travis Kelce's cover of Fairytale of New York.

On 30 November 2023, after receiving last rites, MacGowan died at his home in Dublin with his wife by his side; he was 65.

More information: Instagram-Shane MacGowan

When I'm writing a song,
it gives me more actual pleasure
to hear someone else sing it
than do it meself.

 

Shane MacGowan