Shane McGowan RIP

JupiterKid

Adios Shane. Remarkably gifted songwriter, MacGowan fused Irish trad with punk and created an amazing new sound with The Pogues.

I'm frankly amazed he made it to almost 66 given his alcoholism (recovering alcoholic myself, nearly 5 years sober) and drug use over the decades.

Three Irish music legends lost this year- Christy, Sinead and now Shane. 😢

RIP

Say Your Number

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121442678#Comment_121442678

Would have been great if he managed to kick the booze and was still sharp and writing today, while we got a good amount of classic songs from him, he had a lot more in him.

10000maniacs

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121442715#Comment_121442715

And Dolores & Cathal not so far back either.

rogber

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121442678#Comment_121442678

Sorry to disappoint you but there is no "up above", when you're gone you're gone.

Agree with the rest of your post though. Those who were close to Macgowan personally are of course sad, but artistically he was long since finished. So the rest of us can honour his legacy by listening to the peak Pogues stuff

Odhinn

Terrible loss. However he was both an alcoholic and a junkie, so in a way its a bit suprising he lasted until 65.

gotaf

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121442895#Comment_121442895

Who knows eh.

NewbridgeIR

What a loss. I got a copy of Rum, Sodomy & The Lash & was blown away by it. Those first three albums are part of my youth and come with so many memories attached.

I saw The Pogues three times. 1986 at The Bridge Hotel, Waterford - mayhem but some buzz at the front.

1988 Town & Country Club, London. St Patrick's Day. Went over on the Slattery's bus from Rosslare, arrived sometime in the late afternoon. We hung around for a few hours after the gig and then straight back to Fishguard on the bus, before getting the ferry back. Kirsty MacColl, Joe Strummer and Steve Earle also appeared on stage. The place was heaving. The energy was unbelievable.

And Féile 1991. The end was nigh but capped off a great weekend.

Photobox

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121443202#Comment_121443202

I'm feeling very nostalgic here, saw many a great gig in The Bridge Waterford, place to go in the eighties for live music. Every Friday night a live band, never saw The Pogues though regrettably.

NewbridgeIR

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121443474#Comment_121443474

Great venue. Saw The Housemartins & The Proclaimers there in 1986 too, roughest gig ever. Went on to go to college at the RTC 1989-1991 so saw A House, That Petrol Emotion, The Waterboys and many others. A good spot and drinks in Downes, T&Hs beforehand. Place is very different now.

BlueSkyDreams

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121442895#Comment_121442895

Any proof to support your first statement?

gotaf

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121443202#Comment_121443202

Very jealous of the town and country show, pretty sure I've watched it many times on YouTube.

Stupid question but how would you hear about gigs in London back then. Pogues would have been advertised here in papers?

rogber

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121443486#Comment_121443486

No, in the same way I can't prove the Easter Bunny doesn't exist. The burden of proof is on people who propose such nonsense in the first place. Lacking evidence in favour, the sane response is to assume it's all rubbish.

But if someone wants to believe Shane is up there with Sinead and maybe Michael Collins having a whiskey and a good chat, I guess sane responses ain't going to talk them out of it.

For me, what lives on from Macgowan is the music, and that's good enough

NewbridgeIR

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121443517#Comment_121443517

Yes, it got an official release on VHS back in the day. Truncated with some interview clips thrown in - about an hour long. They actually played 29 songs on the night so the performance was double that length.

I used to buy the NME every week so all the gigs were advertised in that. If I Should Fall From Grace With God had got 10/10 when they reviewed it in January. My friend's two older brothers were living in London at the time, working on the sites. They sorted concert tickets for us - I think they were meant for a couple of other lads who had to bail out with a few days to go. We were able to get the ferry & bus tickets ok as we were going to England (most people were going in the opposite direction for St Patrick's Day). The two brothers were in digs, strict landlady who didn't like guests so we had nowhere to crash. Ended up going to a party in a squat after and killing a few hours before heading back. Don't know if I could do that now but back then it was some adventure.

Photobox

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121443482#Comment_121443482

Yep saw those bands and more. Downes great spot, alas T & H's is no more.

Comhrá

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121442895#Comment_121442895

Maybe refrain from imposing your beliefs on everyone? no-one cares what you believe or don't believe regarding an afterlife. You're no more informed on the subject than anyone else so spare us your pontification.

Leg End Reject

6 pages in and an argument in a tribute thread about the existence of God. 🙄🙄

rogber

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121443703#Comment_121443703

If I Should Fall From Grace With God ...

BlueSkyDreams

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121443594#Comment_121443594

The burden of proof works both ways.

breezy1985

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121443517#Comment_121443517

Only speaking second hand as my time in London was much later but back in the 70/80s you need to think of every council centre or high street as its own town.

I lived near Catford Broadway Theatre for a will in the 10's and was surprised not only by its concert history but also by that of New Cross and Lewisham only a quick bus away.

Those areas are still like that in a lot of ways but just with music I don't have a clue about.

realdanbreen

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121438271#Comment_121438271

I'd say your knowledge of Tipperary is similar to your knowledge of pretty much any subject, in the " 0 to Doh! " bracket!

buried

True artistic genius. Like JupiterKid said up there, he fused Irish Traditional with elements of the Punk sound, and he did it at a time when the vast majority of his generation who were situated in Ireland, they ran to create music influenced by the likes of Bowie and other foreign sound templates. McGowan tapped into the Irish gold that was already here, fell in love with it, tweaked it and then created some of the greatest lyrical songs ever written.

Makes you wonder what other ancient forms of Irish culture are there to be tweaked and made relevant to a popular audience. That was his genius.

And may the God's bless him for it.

Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam

padd b1975

How it started.

We watched our friends grow up together

And we saw them as they fell

Some of them fell into heaven

Some of them fell into hell.

How it ended up.

Whack for me daddy I'm a rock and roll Paddy

Whack for me daddy I'm a rock and roll queen

Stick another record in the record machine.

Don't do drugs kids.

jmreire

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121444177#Comment_121444177

Breezy1985 is a great man for calling bullshit.. just jumps straight in and pronounces "Bulshit", Not so quick to respond when he's called on his own Bullshit though, Peig Sayers how are ye.....

Hellrazer

While I was probably a bit too young to see the Pogues at the height of their careers I did meet Shane one night in the irish film institute. It was for the launch of a friends movie "Dead meat " back in 2004. He was sitting in the bar in a wheel chair with a pint and about 6 whiskeys and for every sip of the pint he knocked back a whiskey. Went over and had a few word with him and that was that - sound enough and really down to earth and it made me go out and buy a few Pogues Cds - looking back on it now you can really see that he really was one of the greats in song writing but it was kinda sad to see him like that even that long ago. Surprised he lasted that long after seeing him like that.

ned rierson

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121443482#Comment_121443482

That Housemartins gig was mental. How no one was injured. Band were lucky to leave in one piece

Beechwoodspark

yes he wrote some great songs in the 80s and 90s.

The Pogues band were good musicians to back it up.

the last 20 years any time he was on TV he was pissed drunk and nobody could understand what he was saying.

The odd phrase or words would be deciphered if everyone stayed quiet and focused on it.

it’s just very Sad to see people celebrating him as a “legend” who lived a great life - when clearly he was in the throes of multiple addictions for many years and which totally ruined his health.

rogber

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121448506#Comment_121448506

It really is hard to separate Shane from the booze, about a third of Pogues songs reference drunkenness in some form or another.

But yeah, from late 90s onwards any public appearance of his was basically a warning against excessive alcohol and drug abuse, sad how he ended up

Beechwoodspark

Very much so. Sadly We lost out on decades more of Shane McGowan’s talents.

Look at Dylan, Neil Young etc going strong well into their 70s +

BurnsCarpenter

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121448506#Comment_121448506

Not sure what your point is. Is anyone actually glossing over his issues with addiction?

He deserves to be celebrated. The first 3 albums are absolute classics.