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Shane MacGowan has died
- seanhunter 3y agoFrom a lot of points of view the surprising thing is not that he died now it's that he lasted this long. I remember seeing the Pogues back in the 90s in the Joe Strummer period and they were awesome but it was "common knowledge" back then that Shane was extremely ill and not long for the world.
- acdanger 3y agoSaw the Pogues play about 10 years. Shane was offstage most of the time and was brought on to stage in a wheelchair for a couple of songs to just sort of sit there and wave. It was sad and I thought he had days to live at the time.
- ilikerashers 3y agoI saw the Pogues in Brixton 3 times and each one was the last time. There were a lot of last times.
- justinator 3y agoI saw the Pogues in Brixton too, and I couldn't believe Shane could stand - I think I remember that when he was dancing during the break or outro of Fairytale, he DID fall down! He looked like a pickled piece of fish in a glass jar. He made noise, but it wasn't singing.
- mikhailfranco 3y agoI saw the 1991 Xmas gig at Brixton Academy with Joe. They played a few Clash songs (London Calling, I Fought The Law, Brand New Cadillac, IIRC). I'm sad to say ... I did not see Shane. (if they) ...stick (him) in a box ... and shove (him) in the ground ... (I'm sure he'll) stick (his) head back out and shout "we'll have another round"
- thr0waw4yz 3y agoWhat a character he was. Rest in peace!
- bilekas 3y agoIt's honestly a miracle he survived as long as he did. He was definitely a character and the man had his own so voice style that would be recognised straight away.
- pvaldes 3y agoSinnead O'Connor give him a few years more by the uncommon procedure of send him to the jail
- pieter_mj 3y ago:) Yeah Sinéad saved him more than once. It was said at the time of her passing a few months ago that is was ironic she should go before him. Not ironic at all if you're getting saved by Sinéad. In their wonderful duet "Haunted", she aptly sings about him "you've got a way of talking". Not a bad writer herself if you read her autobiography.
- jacquesm 3y ago"I love Shane," Ms O'Connor said, "and it makes me angry to see him destroy himself selfishly in front of those who love him." That's just too much irony.
- secondcoming 3y agoSinead O'Connor developed some quite serious mental health issues, and the suicide of her son finished her. McGowan was just a hard-core partier.
- jacquesm 3y agoYes. Terrible, all of it.
- pieter_mj 3y agoGP's comment that MacGowan was a partier is correct. But there was a terrible misdiagnosis in the case of Sinéad. She was never bipolar but was prescribed medication for it, after she had a mastectomy which caused hormonal unbalances. Depressed and maybe borderline she was, but above all devastated by the preventible suicide of her son. (which is a huge story of Ireland's health service momumental fuckups on its own.)
- canucker2016 3y agofrom https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-20125315 https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-20125315: "It was not until he formed Pogue Mahone (a variant of Irish phrase póg mo thóin, which means "kiss my a*se"), that he was finally able to mix the rawness of punk with the Irish poetry and sentimentality of his lyrics, to huge critical and commercial acclaim." Fairytale of New York on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j9jbdgZidu8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j9jbdgZidu8 Shane, Kirsty - RIP
- osullish 3y agoAn absolute wordsmith, 'a pair of brown eyes' is as close to a perfect song. Novels of thousands of pages haven't told a story as deeply as that song. His version of the Band played waltzing Matilda is one of the most moving songs I've ever heard - and amazingly wrote fairytale of New York as a bet, when Elvis Costello bet him he couldn't write a Christmas song.
- ta456745754 3y agoAgreed on those, I'll add Lullaby of London as one I've really enjoyed over the years too. Terrible shame to see him gone.
- coldtea 3y agoAlso A Rainy Night in Soho
- beezlewax 3y agoWordsmith is correct and a man with abundant talent. There's a great fairly recent documentary about his rocky life called Crock of Gold. Regarding his aptitude for song writing there's a interview with Nick Cave where he covers a Pogues song... Cave describes spending time with Shane McGowan and him having a pile of songs in a mound on the floor. Picking them up he sees there are beautiful songs just lying there most destined for oblivion. A prolific song writer to say the least. You'd wonder how many gems were lost to his irreverent nature.
- kuhewa 3y agoSickbed of Cuchulainn.
- crmd 3y agoI saw Shane and the Popes (and a great New York band Black 47) open for Elvis Costello in NYC many years ago. Shane walks on stage and immediately hocks a loogie in the face of a random audience member standing up front. ‘Twas a hell of a show.
- deleted 3y ago[deleted]
- ChrisArchitect 3y agoTitle clarification: Shane MacGowan: Pogues singer dies aged 65
- johnnyanmac 3y agoMeta: what's the historical reason HN titles their obituary articles this way? Just a name, "has died" (a very kurt but passive line, many articles typically say "passed away", or at least "dead at X age"), no clarification of the person like any news article would do. I don't think this is in any rules I read, so probably faster to ask than deep dive through 15 years+ of history.
- notahacker 3y agoI'm not convinced it's a good thing, anyway (beyond maybe stripping out controversial descriptions, which is more likely to be a problem for Kissinger than MacGowan) I'm sure there are plenty of HNers who don't instantly recognise the name who would be much better placed to decide whether the article interested then if the title was in its original form.
- vr46 3y agoA total shambles getting to and from the stage, but a devilish charisma once on it, great performer, RIP Shane, fecking hell
- toomuchtodo 3y agohttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shane_MacGowan https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shane_MacGowan
- x0x0 3y agoI found this interview with Shane MacGowan... something. Maybe touching? Two excerpts: > I didn’t, of course, expect him to look like the gangly youth with the terrible teeth who looked as if he’d bleed adrenalin. I knew that the terrible teeth, or at least a lot of the terrible teeth, had gone. But I didn’t expect him to look like this. He has, it’s true, been ill. He has, apparently, had gastroenteritis. (The doctor said he could only eat clear liquids, which MacGowan, unfortunately, took to mean gin). But the man sitting opposite me, behind a table covered with packets of pills and cigarettes, reminds me both of a hobbit and a china doll. His hair is wild. His skin is pale. His lips cover gums where there should be teeth. But his eyes are clear, bright, piercing, beautiful blue. and > I’m not quite sure how to follow this, so I ask what ambitions he’s got left. This time there’s no pause. “To live as long as I possibly can, and to come to terms with dying before I do.” > For a moment, we’re both quiet. For some people, this might seem like a small thing. But when you’ve drunk as much as Shane MacGowan (and not all that many people have drunk as much as Shane MacGowan) then staying alive isn’t a small thing at all. https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/lunch-and-several-drinks-with-shane-macgowan-8297816.html https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/featu...
- strangesmells06 3y agoThen they'll take you to Cloughprior and shove you in the ground But you'll stick your head back out and shout "We'll have another round"
- wyclif 3y agoIt's a great line, isn't it?
- strangesmells06 3y agoThe entire song is pretty good.
- dalbasal 3y agoYiooo!
- kerrsclyde 3y agoSomething in the British/Irish mentality which appeals to flawed geniuses such as him. We like our hero’s to have a drink/drug problem.
- coldtea 3y agoThe French too. Beats them being some total bores, with a sorted domestic life and bank account.
- LemmyInThePub 3y agoThe expression used in Blighty is piss artist. A piss artist isn't a drunk. They are somebody who elevates drinking to an art form.
- fermigier 3y ago"I'm sad to say I must be on my way So buy me beer or whiskey, 'cause I'm going far away" Farewell Shane. My first concert was the Pogues in late 1986 or early 1987. "Boys from the county hell", "Dirty old town" and "Waltzing Matilda" (the last two, he didn't write, but made his) are some of my favorite songs ever.
- desiarnezjr 3y agoI managed to see him perform several times around that era. One concert I recall Shane managed to sing only three or so songs. He fell backwards, and was eventually dragged off stage. The rest of the band carried on. Another, Shane made it about half way, but noticeably inebriated, and then just disappeared. The rest of the band just carried on. The concert with the Popes, Shane had to carry the show, so he made it all the way through a couple of hours. RIP Shane.
- wyclif 3y agoThere are very few artists that have the gift of writing great songs and reinterpreting the songs of others in such a way that they make the song their own. Shane MacGowan was one of those artists. When I first heard the Pogues in the late 1980's, I knew that "Dirty Old Town" was a Ewan MacColl song and "Waltzing Matilda" was an Australian bush ballad. It didn't matter because his interpretations stamped those songs with his personality. And it's hard to believe that "Fairytale of New York" was written on a bet. It's a song that has so much life and spirit; I could listen to it hundreds of times and never get tired of it.
- ivanche 3y ago"I'm going, I'm going where streams of whiskey are flowing" Hope you've found an eternal stream Shane :(
- doktrin 3y agoFare the well, gone away, there's nothing left to say With a slainte Joe and Erin go my love's in Amerikay The calling of the rosary, Spanish wine from far away
- mauvehaus 3y agoFor a while yesterday, his picture and Henry Kissinger's were right next to each other on bbc.com. Surely the first time that's ever happened. There's also a story up from shooting the video for Fairytale of New York: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-67585275 https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-67585275
- wiredfool 3y agoI'm partial to the faster songs. The first three tracks on If I should fall from grace with God are basically perfect. But the early live stuff -- Found this version of Sally MacLennane: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qWSuwPzrog4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qWSuwPzrog4 Or this one of Spider playing a drinks tray with his head: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DAKyA2ttv0I https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DAKyA2ttv0I
- blimey74 3y agoGutted to see Shane gone even though we all knew it was coming. He was the poet laureate of the Irish in Britain and indeed throughout the world, who had incredible humanity and an unflinching eye for the life of the underdog. His heroes were the nameless working class people who made Britain tick as much as his literary heroes like Behan and James Clarence Mangan. Good luck Shane, I hope you don't find heaven too boring!
- gadders 3y agoFun fact: Despite his Irish working class persona, he was privately educated and grew up in Tunbridge Wells (A posh town in the UK for non-Brits).
- ehecatl42 3y agoBrits are also allowed to live there.
- jihadjihad 3y agoI read it as, "for non-Brits: a posh town in the UK"
- popularrecluse 3y agoI read it as, a joke.
- derriz 3y agoHe got into Westminster public school via a scholarship but was expelled after a few years.
- gadders 3y agoHe didn't get into his private prep school on a scholarship, I bet.
- bedhead 3y agoMinor miracle he lived to 65. RIP
- sybercecurity 3y agoI heard someone comment earlier: "MacGowan and Kissinger were both people who outlived repeated prophesies of their deaths. Odd that they died on the same day"
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- VoodooJuJu 3y agoFairytale of New York is one of the best Christmas songs. RIP
- ChrisMarshallNY 3y agoThis made me sad. I was an old Pogues fan. He was great (when sober enough to work). However, he did have an ... interesting ... life. I think his last few years were pretty terrible.
- Anthony-G 3y agoI saw Christy Moore (another great singer-songwriter who pushed the boundaries of Irish traditional music and has had his own share of drink-related health issues) play on Wednesday night. Before singing his version of “Fairytale of New York”, he reminisced about a night spent drinking and playing music with Shane. If I remember correctly, he acclaimed Shane as one of Ireland’s finest songwriters – if not the greatest. Great praise coming from someone of Christy’s stature – and retrospectively poignant.
- soylentcola 3y agoWas very glad to have discovered (and seen live at the pub/venue down the street from where I was living!) during a semester in Ireland in the mid-90s. Never saw Shane/Pogues though.
- anymouse123456 3y agoIf you're not familiar with The Pogues, The Sunny Side of the Street is the song (and the album, Hell's Ditch it was released on) are the quintessential sound (for me). Incredible and unique music that doesn't imitate or try to be anything other than what it is.
- wyclif 3y agoTo me it's the album Rum, Sodomy, & the Lash. It was produced by Elvis Costello and his goal was to capture the Pogues in their live glory, which I think he succeeded at doing in spades. That's really classic Pogues at the peak of their powers. If I Should Fall from Grace with God is also a great album and is the sound of them cresting the wave. After that I'm afraid it was all downhill, mostly because of a lot of problems involving substance abuse and alcoholism.
- InCityDreams 3y agoShould be a close run thing in the pubs this year, between "So here it is...." and "Fairytale...".
- davidwritesbugs 3y agoPersonally I bloody hate a Fairytale of New York. Give me Roy Wood any day.
- mattbee 3y agoI don't think this is going to be your Christmas, mate.
- tragomaskhalos 3y agoWhen it comes to Christmas songs, I'm afraid you will have to prise Slade from my cold dead fingers
- xwowsersx 3y agoFairytale of New York is a great song.
- psychanarch 3y ago"The most important thing to remember about drunks is that drunks are far more intelligent than non-drunks. They spend a lot of time talking in pubs, unlike workaholics who concentrate on their careers and ambitions, who never develop their higher spiritual values, who never explore the insides of their head like a drunk does." - Shane MacGowan, Melody Maker interview 1991
- justinator 3y agoI love Shane, I love the Pogues, but I think it's well overdue for us as a culture to stop romanticizing chronic alcoholism. It destroys people, it destroys families.
- sgt101 3y agoI agree but would caveat by saying that there are a lot of things in the world that destroy people and families. A lack of romance and escape being another of them.
- justinator 3y agoI think there is stark difference between being the victim of an alcoholic abusive relationship one cannot escape and, "a lack of romance and escape" Mr. Contrarian.
- sgt101 3y agoyeah for sure, I understand the hurt. I guess that I feel bad because I like a drink or four and I don't think I hurt anyone else but feel like I should be guilty all the time.. so I stop boozing and then I really miss it. In simpler times I'd live in the pub I think, I might be happier for it! Or dead.
- cleansingfire 3y agoHe claimed alcohol was a mystic sacrament, in an interview I read long ago. That's an awfully destructive spirituality, but it was very much his choice, whether rationalized addiction or not. Personally, I've seen that destruction too closely to find it anything but tragic, but I'm grateful for his poetry.
- JackFr 3y agoBeautiful analysis by Michael Brendan Dougherty: “MacGowan was able, as an Irish-Londoner, to take Irish music in hand with a joy, pride, and inventiveness that seemed impossible for the native Irish who either revered their musical tradition too much to experiment with it, or disdained it as a kind of false Paddyism.”
- pachico 3y agoTo someone that knows absolutely nothing about this person, can you tell me what he is famous and/or praised for? (I often find myself in this situation, to be honest...)
- borbulon 3y agoLead singer of the Irish tradpunk band The Pogues. One hell of a writer. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shane_MacGowan https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shane_MacGowan
- kgwgk 3y agoThe BBC can if you click on that link... Shane MacGowan: Pogues singer dies aged 65 (I don't know why the submission title doesn't coincide with the page title though.)
- Tistel 3y agoFamous Irish band's singer that was big in the 80-90s. If you have ever been in an Irish themed pub that plays music, you have probably heard one of their songs: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvfcW8XVa2Kj802P4l302Yw https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvfcW8XVa2Kj802P4l302Yw Shane was the lead singer for their heyday and was eventually kicked out of the band due to his drinking while touring. He went solo (pretty good) and the band tried to go on without him (so so). He was a famous wild man whose health has been in decline for many years. Many people were surprised he was still alive! RIP.
- Tistel 3y agosearch for "shane macgowan teeth" for a laugh.
- pixxel 3y agoDepending where you live you may recognise this popular Christmas song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j9jbdgZidu8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j9jbdgZidu8
- sjs382 3y agoExplore his art. You're in for a treat.
- derriz 3y agoIt's easy to underestimate his erudition and intelligence, probably because of his always seemed to impaired by booze. Decades ago I was on a train in Ireland and he was sitting at the table opposite to him. Like most on the train carriage, I recognised him but left him alone. Eventually someone walking through the carriage saw him and approached to quickly express his admiration/gratitude for his music and asked if he minded that he had a question about the lyrics of one of his songs. He seemed genuinely happy to engage in a conversation. I listened, of course, and for the next 30 minutes or so, was treated to a whirlwind but fascinating tour of his ideas covering politics, philosophy, history as well as literature. He was extremely well-read. I wish I could remember the details. Maybe this transcript - https://thequietus.com/articles/09277-mark-e-smith-nick-cave-shane-macgowan-nme-interview https://thequietus.com/articles/09277-mark-e-smith-nick-cave... - captures the tone of the conversation.
- iamthemonster 3y agoHe attended Holmewood House prep school and attained a scholarship to Westminster School. They are both very prestigious institutions in affluent areas. I think it surprises people to learn he had an excellent education and he came from a middle class (but probably not highly affluent) background.
- sjs382 3y agoFare thee well, gone away There's nothing left to say
- killthebuddha 3y agoOne summer evening drunk to hell I stood there nearly lifeless An old man in the corner sang Where the water lilies grow And on the jukebox johnny sang About a thing called love And its how are you kid and whats your name And how would you bloody know? In blood and death neath a screaming sky I lay down on the ground And the arms and legs of other men Were scattered all around Some cursed, some prayed, some prayed then cursed Then prayed and bled some more And the only thing that I could see Was a pair of brown eyes that was looking at me But when we got back, labeled parts one to three There was no pair of brown eyes waiting for me And a rovin, a rovin, a rovin I'll go For a pair of brown eyes I looked at him he looked at me All I could do was hate him While Ray and Philomena sang Of my elusive dream I saw the streams, the rolling hills Where his brown eyes were waiting And I thought about a pair of brown eyes That waited once for me So drunk to hell I left the place Sometimes crawling sometimes walking A hungry sound came across the breeze So I gave the walls a talking And I heard the sounds of long ago From the old canal And the birds were whistling in the trees Where the wind was gently laughing And a rovin, a rovin, a rovin I'll go A rovin, a rovin, a rovin I'll go And a rovin, a rovin, a rovin I'll go For a pair of brown eyes For a pair of brown eyes And a rovin, a rovin, a rovin I'll go And a rovin, a rovin, a rovin I'll go And a rovin, a rovin, a rovin I'll go For a pair of brown eyes For a pair of brown eyes
- osullish 3y agoI've always maintained this is the greatest set of lyrics ever put together. Love, loss, war, ptsd - it is up there with the finest poems and sonnets ever composed.
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