Shane MacGowan dead - latest: Pogues singer known for Fairytale of New York dies as tributes paid
His death comes one week after he was discharged from hospital
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The Pogues frontman Shane MacGowan has died at the age of 65, just a week after he was discharged from hospital.
The news of his death was confirmed by his wife, Irish journalist and author Victoria Mary Clarke, who said in a statement: “Shane will always be the light that I hold before me and the measure of my dreams and the love of my life”.
Tributes have since flooded in, with Irish premier Leo Varadkar writing he had “beautifully captured the Irish experience”, while his former bandmate shared a black and white image of MacGowan smiling on stage.
Last week, it was announced he was being discharged from hospital ahead of his upcoming birthday on Christmas Day. In a post last Wednesday evening, his wife tweeted an image of him wearing a scarf and bobble hat, thanking the nursing staff for their support.
MacGowan revealed he was diagnosed with encephalitis last year in a video posted to social media on New Year’s Eve.
It is an uncommon but serious condition in which the brain becomes inflamed, according to the NHS website.
From the 1980s, he lead the Irish punk band The Pogues. The band are best known for their 1987 hit, the festive song “Fairytale Of New York”.
Bono posts illustrated tribute to MacGowan
U2 frontman Bono has posted an illustration of MacGowan on social media in tribute to his passing.
The image includes lyrics from The Pogues’ song “A Rainy Night in Soho” and is accompanied by the caption: “Shane MacGowan’s songs were perfect so he or we his fans didn’t have to be…”
The two Irishmen were longtime friends, with MacGowan living for a time in Bono’s guest house at his home on the south coast of Dublin, overlooking the bay and the railway line. In a 2022 interview with The Times, MacGowan recalled: “Bono put in a glass roof and wall. I used to wave my willy at the train as it passed and hope that they thought it was Bono’s.”
Paul Weller remembers MacGowan: ‘What a life mate'
Back in January 1977, Shane MacGowan played his part in getting up-and-coming band The Jam signed when he told Polydor’s A&R Man Chris Parry he should check them out supporting Bearded Lady at The Marquee. Today, The Jam’s erstwhile frontman Paul Weller posted a short, sweet message of remembrance: “What a life mate, love ya.”
Bob Dylan said MacGowan’s songwriting ‘reflects an ethnic pride’
Bob Dylan played The Pogues’ debut single “Dark Streets of London” on his Theme Time Radio Hour show in 2008. Introducing the song, Dylan said: “Let’s give a listen to a famous Irishman. He’s performed some of the most interesting Irish music of the past few years, and his writing reflects an ethnic pride. Talkin’ about Shane MacGowan, and here he is with his band The Pogues. The band were originally called Pogue Mahone, which is Gaelic for ‘kiss my ass’. The BBC figured that out and banned this single. They shortened their name to The Pogues, and that’s how we know them today.”
The Charlatans’ Tim Burgess remembers ‘an inspiration to so many of us’
The Charlatans frontman Tim Burgess is among the many musicians paying tribute to MacGowan today. “Farewell Shane MacGowan,” he wrote on X/Twitter. “A life lived to the full. A lyrical genius. An inspiration to so many of us who wanted to be in bands. I followed The Pogues to far flung places, met Shane a few times and watched some of the most exhilarating shows I’ve ever witnessed”.
Bruce Springsteen predicted MacGowan’s songs will still be sung ‘a hundred years from now’
Bruce Springsteen was a longtime fan of MacGowan’s, and paid a visit to the late Pogues frontman last Christmas while he was in hospital.
In a resurfaced interview with Irish television channel RTÉ One, Springsteen said: “He’s the man... I truly believe that a hundred years from now most of us will be forgotten, but I do believe that Shane’s music is going to be remembered and sung. It’s just deep in the nature of it. He’s a master, for me. I have a deep, deep appreciation of his work.”
The Wire creator David Simon recalls meeting 'one of our greatest songsmiths and storytellers’
The Wire creator David Simon has paid tribute to MacGowan as “one of our greatest songsmiths and storytellers”.
The Pogues’ song “Body of an American” was often used in the acclaimed series as the soundtrack to police funerals in Baltimore.
Writing on X/Twitter, Simon said: “We met twice only -- once backstage in D.C. and once for a dinner in Dublin and only because I owed him -- and still do -- the book on a musical featuring the Pogues songbook.
“The damn thing has already been through about fifteen drafts and still isn’t sufficiently wonderful to stand with Shane’s own magnificent storytelling. And if you think George Pelecanos, Laura Lippman and I are not sufficiently intimidated by having to create a stage narrative that can stand with the likes of “Fairytale” or “Body of an American,” imagine for a moment how intimidated one might be to be standing backstage after a torrid Pogues show at the 9:30 Club and being eyed warily by MacGowan himself.
“He was certainly in his post-encore reverie and a bit unsteady in his gait, but to be clear, he was eyef***ing me like an enemy. I busied myself talking to Spider and Jem and the rest, but at some point, it was time to kiss the pope’s ring. I walked over. “So you’re The Wire guy...” “I am. And thank you for letting us have Body of an American for our cop funerals. A perfect song.” He shrugged. “And can I also say it’s an honor to meet one of the greatest songsmiths and storytellers of our time...”
“I believe I gibbered a few more sentences of hagiography before he gave me a look of what I took to be certain disgust. Seriously, the man scared the hell out of me. Finally, he leaned into my face. “Da Rockin’ Roll Da Dubbing.” Excuse me? I asked him to repeat himself....
““Da Roggin Roll Da Dubbing.” S***. I couldn’t make that out. I thought about nodding sagely, but then imagined myself being called out on it and beaten savagely with a Powers bottle. “I’m sorry. One more time on that.” He rolled his eyes and enunciated with a certain exaggerated and forced sobriety. “The Rocky Road To Dublin,” he said. I finally realized. “The Rocky Road to Dublin” I repeated proudly. “Oh yes.” “Now that’s a f***ing song,” he said, smiling just enough so that I could breathe. “And nobody knows who f***ing wrote it.”
“And then he hissed his magnificent laugh at me, shook my hand and went to get another drink. May his memory be a blessing to everyone who knew or loved him, or admired his great art. Draft number sixteen upcoming and f*** all, it’s got to be good enough for the man. I owe him.”
A Personal Reminiscence
I was fortunate enough to interview MacGowan in 2012 for the music site The Quietus. At the time he was laid up in bed like Cúchulainn, the mythical Irish warrior he’d written about on the opening track of The Pogues’ monumental 1985 album Rum, Sodomy & The Lash.
Despite suffering with gastroenteritis, MacGowan was on sparkling, sharp-witted form as we shared wine and discussed angels, ghosts and his approach to songwriting. He told me he had no regrets. “There are things that I wish had gone the other way, but there are no regrets. I savagely get rid of them. I won’t dwell on regrets. If it means going out and having a skin full then I’ll go out and have a skin full.” He paused, then added with an impish grin: “Then I’ll have something else to regret.”
My thoughts are with his wife Victoria Mary Clarke today - we’d all be blessed to know a love like theirs.
Sopranos and The White Lotus actor Michael Imperioli pays tribute to ‘one of the most soulful artists of our time'
Writing on Instagram, The Sopranos and The White Lotus star Michael Imperioli has added his voice to the chorus of tributes to MacGowan.
“The great SHANE MacGOWAN has left us,” he wrote. “One of the most soulful artists of our time. Thank you for all the great music.”
The night Kiefer Sutherland met Shane MacGowan
Among the clips doing the rounds on social media is an interview Canadian actor Kiefer Sutherland gave on Ireland’s The Late Late Show in 2019.
In it, the 24 star recalled meeting MacGowan for the first time while he was out to dinner with Ronnie Wood and Sinéad O’Connor.
The pair apparently had a disagreement over politics and ended up “rolling around on the floor” fighting.
“Shane MacGowan at that time had a cast on his right arm that looked as well lived in as anything I’ve ever seen,” Sutherland said, “and he did not have a lot of teeth at the time either, so fighting just seemed unfair.”
Hours later, the actor said MacGowan tapped him on the shoulder and said he needed a place to stay that night.
“I was so impressed with his directness that I said, ‘well do you want a drink?’”
The two went back to Sutherland’s hotel and when he got up early the next day, “all the blankets were perfectly folded... [and] there was a note that he had written on hotel stationery and it was the most beautiful letter I’d ever read.
“It was like poetry. It was just a thank you note but it was so generous, the things he had to say about me and our night and humanity, and it was quite long. And I’ve still got this letter to this day, because it changed my perspective - don’t judge a book by its cover and very rarely trust first encounters.”
Carol Vorderman mourns loss of Sinead O’Connor and MacGowan ‘incredible rebels of my generation’
“Christmas in our house, as in many, starts with ‘Fairytale of New York’...The Pogues,” the TV presenter wrote.
“Incredible photo here of a very young Sinead O’Connor and Shane MacGowan together A loss of both this year... The incredible rebels of my generation.”
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