Shane MacGowan: Pogues singer dies aged 65
Shane MacGowan: Pogues singer dies aged 65
The Irish singer-songwriter, whose hits include Fairytale of New York, was unwell for some time.
R.I.P. Shane. I hope they have Guinness wherever you are now.
Ah man, not really out of the blue but sad to see him go. Fairytale of New York is still my favorite Xmas song. Sláinte!
Sad to see but not surprising due to his history. He was a brilliant lyricist and I am a big fan of his work. RIP shane.
At the sick bed of Cuchulainn we'll kneel and say a prayer
And the ghosts are rattling at the door and the devil's in the chairThis is the best summary I could come up with:
"His words have connected Irish people all over the globe to their culture and history, encompassing so many human emotions in the most poetic of ways."
Author Tony Parsons posted on social media: "I remember Shane MacGowan when he was in his mid-teens and coming down the Roxy in Covent Garden to bang on unattended drums in his Union jack jacket.
The musician Nick Cave called him "a true friend and the greatest songwriter of his generation," adding it was "a very sad day."
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," he also said on social media.
Derry Girls actor Siobhan McSweeney has said that Shane MacGowan "was the voice of London for us Irish" and said when she was scared about moving to the capital "he lured me over with songs about chancers, drinkers, lovers, poets and scoundrels".
Fairytale of New York producer Steve Lillywhite told BBC Radio 5 Live MacGowan was "truly a poet", crediting him for inventing "a new style of music that was sort of the punk attitude with traditional Irish rhythms".
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Gonna be playing The Body of an American at The Sidebar tonight, boys