''Poguetry in Motion'' is an EP by
The Pogues
The Pogues were an English or Anglo-Irish Celtic punk band fronted by Shane MacGowan and others, founded in Kings Cross, London in 1982, as "Pogue Mahone" – the anglicisation of the Irish Gaelic ''póg mo thóin'', meaning "kiss my arse". T ...
, released on
Stiff Records
Stiff Records is a British independent record label formed in London, England, by Dave Robinson and Jake Riviera. Originally active from 1976 to 1986, the label was reactivated in 2007.
Established at the outset of the punk rock boom, Stiff ...
in the UK on 24 February 1986,
and in the US & Canada on
MCA Records
MCA Records was an American record label owned by MCA Inc., which later became part of Universal Music Group.
Pre-history
MCA Inc., a powerful talent agency and a television production company, entered the recorded music business in 1962 wit ...
. It was the band's first single to make the
UK Top 40
The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...
, peaking at number 29 and the first Pogues recording to feature
Philip Chevron
Philip Ryan (17 June 1957 – 8 October 2013), professionally known as Philip Chevron, was an Irish singer-songwriter and guitarist and record producer. He was best known as the lead guitarist for the celtic punk band The Pogues and as the fron ...
and
Terry Woods
Terence Woods (born 4 December 1947 in Dublin, Ireland) is an Irish folk musician, songwriter/singer and multi-instrumentalist.
He is known for his membership in such folk and folk- rock groups as The Pogues, Steeleye Span, Sweeney's Men, ...
.
Overview
''Poguetry in Motion'' features the songs "London Girl", "
Rainy Night in Soho", "The Body of an American" and "Planxty Noel Hill". The songs were recorded with producer
Elvis Costello
Declan Patrick MacManus Order of the British Empire, OBE (born 25 August 1954), known professionally as Elvis Costello, is an English singer-songwriter and record producer. He has won multiple awards in his career, including a Grammy Award in ...
in August 1985, in the same sessions that produced the first versions of "
Fairytale of New York
"Fairytale of New York" is a song written by Jem Finer and Shane MacGowan and recorded by their London-based band the Pogues, featuring singer-songwriter Kirsty MacColl on vocals. The song is an Irish folk-style ballad and was written as a du ...
" (with bass player
Cait O'Riordan
Caitlín O'Riordan (born 4 January 1965) is a British musician of Irish and Scottish descent. She played bass guitar for the Irish punk/folk band the Pogues from 1983 to 1986. She later played with Elvis Costello (her husband from 1986 to 2002) ...
singing the female part of the duet) and a
cover version
In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...
of
The Lovin' Spoonful
The Lovin' Spoonful is an American rock band popular during the mid- to late-1960s. Founded in New York City in 1965 by lead singer/songwriter John Sebastian and guitarist Zal Yanovsky, the band is widely known for a number of hits, including " ...
's song "
Do You Believe In Magic". Both tracks were intended to feature on the EP, but were eventually left off it.
[Carol Clerk: "The Story of the Pogues" Chapter 16] The tracks were later issued on ''Just Look Them Straight in the Eye and Say... POGUE MAHONE!!''
"Planxty Noel Hill" refers to
Noel Hill, a renowned traditional Irish musician who, at the time of the release of the band's second album, ''
Rum Sodomy and the Lash
''Rum Sodomy & the Lash'' is the second studio album by the London-based folk punk band The Pogues, released on 5 August 1985. The album reached number 13 on the UK charts. The track "A Pair of Brown Eyes", based on an older Irish tune, reached ...
'', claimed that The Pogues were disrespecting the whole
Irish music
Irish music is music that has been created in various genres on the island of Ireland.
The indigenous music of the island is termed Irish traditional music. It has remained vibrant through the 20th and into the 21st century, despite globalis ...
tradition. Planxty has come to mean something akin to "cheers", though its use in the song's title is insincere. On the first Pogues tour of
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
, some members of the band participated along with Hill in a panel discussion on Irish radio, during the course of which Hill described the music of The Pogues as a "terrible abortion" (the incident is described in and the quote is taken from "The Lost Decade"). The confrontation occurred during the course of a studio debate on
RTÉ Radio
RTÉ Radio is a division of the Irish national broadcasting organisation Raidió Teilifís Éireann. RTÉ Radio broadcasts four analogue channels and five digital channels nationwide.
Founded in January 1926 as 2RN, the first broadcaster in th ...
hosted by
BP Fallon.
The song "Body of an American" was featured prominently on the TV series ''
The Wire
''The Wire'' is an American Crime film, crime drama Television show, television series created and primarily written by author and former police reporter David Simon. The series was broadcast by the cable network HBO in the United States. ''The ...
'' during police officer
wakes. The Pogues also played this song as their second song on the 1990
St. Patrick's Day episode of ''
Saturday Night Live
''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock. Michaels currently serves a ...
''. A cigarette-smoking MacGowan, appearing quite inebriated, finished the song smoking and drinking while sitting on the drum riser during the extended live instrumental outro.
The EP was originally released only on cassette and vinyl in both 7" and 12" formats, except in Canada where it was also released on compact disc.
[Philip Chevron, writing on The Pogues online forum, 12 May 2008 http://pogues.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=2510&p=140255&hilit=rainy+night+in+soho+canada#p140569] The 7" played at 33⅓ rpm and the 12" at 45 rpm, although both contained the same tracks.
The EP was re-issued, including on CD, in 1991. The EP's tracks were not originally featured on any Pogues album but are included as bonus tracks on the 2004 re-issue of ''
Rum, Sodomy, and the Lash
''Rum Sodomy & the Lash'' is the second studio album by the London-based folk punk band The Pogues, released on 5 August 1985. The album reached number 13 on the UK charts. The track "A Pair of Brown Eyes", based on an older Irish tune, reached ...
''. Several of the tracks have appeared on various "best of" and other compilation albums.
An alternate version of "Rainy Night in Soho", a slightly longer mix featuring
oboe
The oboe ( ) is a type of double reed woodwind instrument. Oboes are usually made of wood, but may also be made of synthetic materials, such as plastic, resin, or hybrid composites. The most common oboe plays in the treble or soprano range.
A ...
instead of
flugelhorn
The flugelhorn (), also spelled fluegelhorn, flugel horn, or flügelhorn, is a brass instrument that resembles the trumpet and cornet but has a wider, more conical bore. Like trumpets and cornets, most flugelhorns are pitched in B, though some ...
, was included on Canadian and US editions of the EP. During the recording of the EP, producer
Elvis Costello
Declan Patrick MacManus Order of the British Empire, OBE (born 25 August 1954), known professionally as Elvis Costello, is an English singer-songwriter and record producer. He has won multiple awards in his career, including a Grammy Award in ...
and singer/songwriter
Shane MacGowan
Shane Patrick Lysaght MacGowan (born 25 December 1957) is an Irish singer, songwriter, and musician. He is best known as the lead singer and songwriter of Celtic punk band the Pogues. He was also a member of the Nipple Erectors and Shane MacGo ...
had a huge fight over this, with MacGowan insisting on the flugelhorn version.
The oboe version was re-issued on the 2008 boxset ''Just Look Them Straight in the Eye and Say....POGUE MAHONE!!'' A third mix released in 1991 is available and on the remastered ''
Hell's Ditch
''Hell's Ditch'' is the fifth studio album by The Pogues, released in November 1990, and the last to feature frontman Shane MacGowan as a member.
Overview
''Hell's Ditch'' continued the group's slow departure from Irish music, giving more em ...
'' album.
Track listing
All songs written and composed by
Shane MacGowan
Shane Patrick Lysaght MacGowan (born 25 December 1957) is an Irish singer, songwriter, and musician. He is best known as the lead singer and songwriter of Celtic punk band the Pogues. He was also a member of the Nipple Erectors and Shane MacGo ...
except where noted.
Side one
# "London Girl" – 3:03
# "
A Rainy Night in Soho
"A Rainy Night in Soho" is a song by The Pogues released in 1986, originally included on their ''Poguetry in Motion'' EP.
Two recordings and various mixes of the song were made in the studio. Songwriter Shane MacGowan and producer Elvis Coste ...
" – 5:35 (US & Canada mix featuring oboe is 5:47)
Side two
# "The Body of an American" – 4:47
# "Planxty Noel Hill" (
Jem Finer
Jeremy Max Finer (born 20 July 1955) is an English musician, artist and composer. He was one of the founding members of The Pogues.
Life and career
Finer was born in Stoke-on-Trent, England, the son of political scientist Samuel Finer. He took ...
) – 3:09
Personnel
;The Pogues
*
Philip Chevron
Philip Ryan (17 June 1957 – 8 October 2013), professionally known as Philip Chevron, was an Irish singer-songwriter and guitarist and record producer. He was best known as the lead guitarist for the celtic punk band The Pogues and as the fron ...
*
James Fearnley
James Fearnley (born 9 October 1954, Worsley) is an English musician. He played accordion in the Celtic punk band The Pogues.
Life and career
As a child he was a choir treble before his voice changed at the age of sixteen. He took piano less ...
*
Jem Finer
Jeremy Max Finer (born 20 July 1955) is an English musician, artist and composer. He was one of the founding members of The Pogues.
Life and career
Finer was born in Stoke-on-Trent, England, the son of political scientist Samuel Finer. He took ...
*
Cait O'Riordan
Caitlín O'Riordan (born 4 January 1965) is a British musician of Irish and Scottish descent. She played bass guitar for the Irish punk/folk band the Pogues from 1983 to 1986. She later played with Elvis Costello (her husband from 1986 to 2002) ...
*
Spider Stacy
Peter Richard "Spider" Stacy (born 14 December 1958, Eastbourne) is an English musician, singer, songwriter, and actor. He is best known for playing tin whistle and sometimes singing for The Pogues.
Early life
Stacy left school at 16 after fa ...
*
Terry Woods
Terence Woods (born 4 December 1947 in Dublin, Ireland) is an Irish folk musician, songwriter/singer and multi-instrumentalist.
He is known for his membership in such folk and folk- rock groups as The Pogues, Steeleye Span, Sweeney's Men, ...
*
Andrew Ranken
The Pogues were an English or Anglo-Irish Celtic punk band fronted by Shane MacGowan and others, founded in Kings Cross, London in 1982, as "Pogue Mahone" – the anglicisation of the Irish Gaelic ''póg mo thóin'', meaning "kiss my arse". ...
*
Shane MacGowan
Shane Patrick Lysaght MacGowan (born 25 December 1957) is an Irish singer, songwriter, and musician. He is best known as the lead singer and songwriter of Celtic punk band the Pogues. He was also a member of the Nipple Erectors and Shane MacGo ...
with:
*Tommy Keane -
uileann pipes
The uilleann pipes ( or , ) are the characteristic national bagpipe of Ireland. Earlier known in English as "union pipes", their current name is a partial translation of the Irish language terms (literally, "pipes of the elbow"), from their ...
*Henry Benagh - fiddle
*
Dick Cuthell
Dick Cuthell is a British musician and record producer. He plays flugelhorn, cornet, and trumpet, amongst a range of other brass instruments, including tenor horn and valve trombone. Cuthell is best known for his work with The SpecialsStrong, Ma ...
-
flugelhorn
The flugelhorn (), also spelled fluegelhorn, flugel horn, or flügelhorn, is a brass instrument that resembles the trumpet and cornet but has a wider, more conical bore. Like trumpets and cornets, most flugelhorns are pitched in B, though some ...
*
Fiachra Trench
Fiachra Terence Wilbrah Trench (born 7 September 1941, in Dublin, County Dublin, Ireland) is an Irish musician and composer from Drogheda, County Louth, Ireland.
Trench first studied Chemistry at Trinity College, Dublin, before moving on to t ...
- string arrangements
References
{{Authority control
1986 debut EPs
The Pogues albums
Stiff Records EPs