Shane MacGowan, the frontman and composer of the pioneering Celtic punk group the Pogues and a highly esteemed band leader, passed away at the age of 65 after a prolonged battle with poor health. In a statement from his family, it was announced that he passed away at 3:30am on November 30th and was lovingly remembered as “our most cherished, beloved, and adored.”
Reworded: In a statement on social media, Victoria Mary Clarke, Shane’s wife, expressed that he will always be her guiding light and the standard for her dreams. She considers him the love of her life and feels incredibly fortunate to have known him, loved him, and received his unconditional love in return.
In December of 2022, MacGowan was admitted to the hospital due to viral encephalitis. This resulted in him spending several months in intensive care during 2023.
MacGowan aimed to incorporate the strength and depth of Irish folk music into the world of rock. He drew inspiration from literature, mythology, and the Bible in his songwriting. In an interview with NME in 1983, as the Pogues were beginning to gain attention, he stated, “It was clear that there was nothing new or impressive being done with traditional rock music. We wanted to introduce a more rooted, powerful, and emotionally charged genre to the mainstream, which was saturated with shallow pop music.”
He often discussed Irish culture, nationalism, and the struggles of the Irish diaspora in his writing. He also worked to challenge and break down the negative stereotype of the “Paddy” figure, though some viewed his efforts as perpetuating it. In the beginning of his career, he would sometimes perform in a suit adorned with the Union Jack. However, in Julien Temple’s 2020 documentary, Crock of Gold: A Few Rounds With Shane MacGowan, he admitted that he regretted not having the courage to join the IRA and saw his involvement in The Pogues as a way to make up for it.
In 2018, he was honored with the Ivor Novello songwriting inspiration award for his commitment to his craft. He has released five albums with the Pogues and several solo projects. One of the Pogues’ most successful songs, Fairytale of New York, featuring a duet with Kirsty MacColl, peaked at No 2 in 1987 and has become a beloved Christmas tune.
Irish president Michael Higgins was among those paying tribute, writing: “His words have connected Irish people all over the globe to their culture and history … The genius of Shane’s contribution includes the fact that his songs capture within them, as Shane would put it, the measure of our dreams – of so many worlds, and particularly those of love, of the emigrant experience and of facing the challenges of that experience with authenticity and courage, and of living and seeing the sides of life that so many turn away from.”
Billy Bragg praised MacGowan’s talent, stating that he is one of the most exceptional songwriters of his time. Bragg also noted that the Pogues revitalized folk music in the 1980s, and MacGowan’s lyrics paved the way for other artists, including himself.
MacGowan was born on December 25, 1957, in the vicinity of Tunbridge Wells. His parents were Irish immigrants who lived in Kent and traveled throughout the south-east of England. Music ran in his family, as he learned a new song every day from relatives on his mother’s side. He made his debut performance at the age of three, when his family placed him on the kitchen table to sing. According to MacGowan, the performance was a success and he continued to give public performances regularly after that.
The young MacGowan was noted for his literary gifts and received a scholarship to Westminster school but was expelled for possessing drugs in his second year. As a teenager he considered joining the priesthood – but then he found punk. “I was happy during punk. Incredibly happy,” MacGowan told Vox. “You call it chaos. I don’t regard it as chaos. I regard it as natural living.”
As a child, he started consuming alcohol to aid in sleeping, which led to struggles with substance abuse. However, in 1990, he defended his behavior by saying that it could also be seen as a form of creativity.
In 1976, he was first acknowledged after a picture of him with an injured ear at a performance at the ICA in London was published in the NME with the title “Cannibalism at Clash gig”. Under the name Shane O’Hooligan, MacGowan created his own punk group, the Nipple Erectors (later known as the Nips), and recorded a demo for Polydor under the guidance of Paul Weller.
In the early 1980s, MacGowan and John Hasler, who had recently joined the band Nips and previously played with Madness, left the group as it was starting to fall apart. They teamed up with members of the Millwall Chainsaws and created a new band called Pogue Mahone, which was a play on the Gaelic phrase “póg mo thóin” meaning “kiss my arse”. Due to censorship from the BBC, they changed their name to the Pogues and became known for their intense live shows.
MacGowan speculated that the ageless nature of their music was the main reason for its popularity. In a 1983 interview with NME, he stated, “You don’t need to be a part of the youth culture to connect with it – it’s not filled with adolescent angst or anything so ridiculous. It’s built on powerful melodies, which, to me, is the essence of a song.”
The band received enthusiastic critiques for their first album, Red Roses for Me, released in 1984. However, they faced difficulties in capitalizing on their triumph due to frequent changes in their lineup. At times, Joe Strummer from the Clash would step in to replace the absent MacGowan. They went on to release two more acclaimed albums, Rum Sodomy & the Lash in 1985, produced by Elvis Costello, and If I Should Fall From Grace With God in 1988.
In 1990, the band’s fifth album, Hell’s Ditch, was released with MacGowan as a member. However, after collapsing while traveling to a Bob Dylan concert in 1988, he was diagnosed with hepatitis and warned that he would not survive if he continued to consume spirits. MacGowan was eventually dismissed from the band in 1991 for not showing up to scheduled performances during a tour in Japan.
“At the conclusion, I despised every moment,” he stated to the Telegraph in 1997. “They had strayed too far from our original intentions. I no longer enjoyed the music we were creating. I refused to conform and become a professional.”
I moved from Thailand to Tipperary and started the group Shane MacGowan and the Popes, releasing two albums. I later rejoined a complete reunion of The Pogues in 2001, which continued until 2014.
In the year 2000, Sinéad O’Connor notified the authorities about MacGowan’s possession of heroin, in hopes of persuading him to stop using the drug. Despite his initial anger, MacGowan later expressed appreciation towards O’Connor for aiding him in overcoming his addiction. When O’Connor’s 17-year-old son Shane passed away in January 2022, MacGowan honored her by stating: “You have always strived to heal and assist.” After O’Connor’s death in July, Clarke shared the couple’s gratitude for “your affection, your companionship, your empathy, your humor, and your incredible music.”
During the late 2000s, Fairytale of New York experienced a yearly comeback on the Christmas singles chart due to the popularity of downloads and later streaming. This increased attention sparked discussions about the song’s inclusion of the word “faggot” and led to BBC censorship, resulting in the word being muted on certain radio stations.
In 2018, MacGowan stood by his use of the word “Fairytale” and argued that it was fitting for the character it portrayed. He explained that not all characters in songs and stories are portrayed as perfect or admirable. In the following years, he dismissed the controversy as being absurd.
Since 2015, he had been using a wheelchair due to a fall that resulted in a fractured pelvis, and later falls that caused damage to his knees.
MacGowan’s last album was the Popes’ The Crock of Gold in 1997, although since 2015 he had been working on an as yet unreleased album of covers and originals with the Irish band Cronin. Among his final artistic output was The Eternal Buzz and the Crock of Gold, a lavish art book which was praised by critic Waldemar Januszczak for MacGowan’s “demented, wild, fascinating, scabrous kind of energy”. Copies of the book were sold for £1,000 each to raise money for MacGowan’s care.
MacGowan’s surviving family includes his wife, Clarke, whom he wed in 2018. They first crossed paths when he was 24 and she was 16. He also claimed to have a son, born approximately in 1991. In an interview with the Telegraph, he expressed regret about being a father and stated that he would not want to have himself as a parent. He is also survived by his sister, Siobhan, and his father, Maurice.
Other artists honoring him included Lankum, a folk band from Ireland who were nominated for the Mercury prize. They described him as a “titan”. Singer-songwriter Frank Turner also praised him as “one of the greatest of all time”. Tim Burgess from The Charlatans referred to him as a “genius” when it came to lyrics and credited him for putting on some of the most exciting performances he has ever seen.
During one of his last interviews, with Simon Hattenstone of the Guardian, MacGowan declared that even though he was known for having a desire for death, he actually wanted to live. He exclaimed, “I do enjoy life, of course!”
Source: theguardian.com
