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The Pogues were an English or Anglo-Irish
Celtic punk band fronted 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 MacGow ...
and others, founded in
Kings Cross, London
Kings Cross is a district on either side of Euston Road, in north London, England, north of Charing Cross. It is bordered by Barnsbury to the north, Clerkenwell and Islington to the east, Holborn to the south and Euston to the west. It is ...
in 1982, as "Pogue Mahone" – the
anglicisation
Anglicisation is the process by which a place or person becomes influenced by English culture or British culture, or a process of cultural and/or linguistic change in which something non-English becomes English. It can also refer to the influen ...
of the
Irish Gaelic
Irish (Standard Irish: ), also known as Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Insular Celtic branch of the Celtic language family, which is a part of the Indo-European language family. Irish is indigenous to the island of Ireland and was the ...
''póg mo thóin'', meaning "kiss my arse". The band reached international prominence in the 1980s and early 1990s, recording several hit albums and singles. MacGowan left the band in 1991 owing to drinking problems, but the band continued – first with
Joe Strummer
John Graham Mellor (21 August 1952 – 22 December 2002), known professionally as Joe Strummer, was a British singer, musician and songwriter. He was the co-founder, lyricist, rhythm guitarist and co-lead vocalist of punk rock band the Clash, ...
and then with
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 ...
on vocals – before breaking up in 1996.
The Pogues re-formed in late 2001, and played regularly across the UK and Ireland and on the US East Coast, until dissolving again in 2014. The group did not record any new material during this second incarnation.
Their politically tinged music was informed by MacGowan and Stacy's
punk
Punk or punks may refer to:
Genres, subculture, and related aspects
* Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres
* Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...
backgrounds,
[ Biography)))">allmusic (((The Pogues > Biography)))/ref> yet used traditional Irish instruments such as the ]tin whistle
The tin whistle, also called the penny whistle, is a simple six-holed woodwind instrument. It is a type of fipple flute, putting it in the same class as the recorder, Native American flute, and other woodwind instruments that meet such criteria. ...
, banjo
The banjo is a stringed instrument with a thin membrane stretched over a frame or cavity to form a resonator. The membrane is typically circular, and usually made of plastic, or occasionally animal skin. Early forms of the instrument were fashi ...
, cittern
The cittern or cithren ( Fr. ''cistre'', It. ''cetra'', Ger. ''Cister,'' Sp. ''cistro, cedra, cítola'') is a stringed instrument dating from the Renaissance. Modern scholars debate its exact history, but it is generally accepted that it is d ...
, mandolin
A mandolin ( it, mandolino ; literally "small mandola") is a stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally plucked with a pick. It most commonly has four courses of doubled strings tuned in unison, thus giving a total of 8 ...
and accordion
Accordions (from 19th-century German ''Akkordeon'', from ''Akkord''—"musical chord, concord of sounds") are a family of box-shaped musical instruments of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone type (producing sound as air flows past a reed ...
.
Band history
Pre-Pogues years: 1977–1982
The future members of the Pogues first met when MacGowan (vocals), Peter "Spider" Stacy (tin whistle
The tin whistle, also called the penny whistle, is a simple six-holed woodwind instrument. It is a type of fipple flute, putting it in the same class as the recorder, Native American flute, and other woodwind instruments that meet such criteria. ...
), and 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 ...
(banjo
The banjo is a stringed instrument with a thin membrane stretched over a frame or cavity to form a resonator. The membrane is typically circular, and usually made of plastic, or occasionally animal skin. Early forms of the instrument were fashi ...
) were together in an occasional band called The Millwall
Millwall is a district on the western and southern side of the Isle of Dogs, in east London, England, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It lies to the immediate south of Canary Wharf and Limehouse, north of Greenwich and Deptford, east ...
Chainsaws in the late 1970s after MacGowan and Stacy met in the toilets at a Ramones
The Ramones were an American punk rock band that formed in the New York City neighborhood of Forest Hills, Queens, in 1974. They are often cited as the first true punk rock group. Despite achieving a limited commercial appeal in the United ...
gig at The Roundhouse
The Roundhouse is a performing arts and concert venue situated at the Grade II* listed former railway engine shed in Chalk Farm, London, England. The building was erected in 1846–1847 by the London & North Western Railway as a roundhouse, ...
in London in 1977. MacGowan was already with The Nips
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
, though when they broke up in 1980 he concentrated more on Stacy's Millwall Chainsaws, who changed their name to The New Republicans.
Early years: 1982–1986
In 1982, 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 ...
(accordion
Accordions (from 19th-century German ''Akkordeon'', from ''Akkord''—"musical chord, concord of sounds") are a family of box-shaped musical instruments of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone type (producing sound as air flows past a reed ...
), who had been a guitarist with The Nips, joined MacGowan, Stacy, and Finer, forming the band, then known as Pogue Mahone. The new group played their first gig at The Pindar of Wakefield on 4 October 1982.
They then appeared at Gossips in Dean Street Soho on Thursday 3 November 1983 with Trash Trash Trash and The Stingrays.
They later added 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) ...
(bass) and Andrew Ranken (drums). The band played London pubs and clubs, and released a single, "Dark Streets of London
"Dark Streets of London" is the debut single by the London-based Celtic punk band The Pogues, released in 1984. The song was written by Pogues frontman Shane MacGowan and is featured on the band's 1984 debut album ''Red Roses for Me''. The B-si ...
", on their own, self-named label, gaining a small reputation – especially for their live performances, and national airplay on BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...
. They came to the attention of the media and 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 ...
when they opened for The Clash on their 1984 tour. Shortening their name to The Pogues (partly due to BBC censorship following complaints from Gaelic speakers in Scotland) they released their first album, ''Red Roses for Me
''Red Roses for Me'' is the debut studio album by the London-based band the Pogues, released on 15 October 1984. It was produced by Stan Brennan, who had managed the Nipple Erectors/The Nips and Rocks Off Records shop in London.
Overview
''Red ...
'', on Stiff Records that October.
The band gained more attention when the UK Channel 4's influential music show '' The Tube'' made a video of their version of "Waxie's Dargle
"The Waxies' Dargle" is a traditional Irish folk song about two Dublin "aul' wans" (older ladies/mothers) discussing how to find money to go on an excursion. It is named after an annual outing to Ringsend, near Dublin city, by Dublin cobblers (w ...
" for the show. The performance, featuring Spider Stacy repeatedly smashing himself over the head with a beer tray, became a favourite with the viewers, but Stiff Records refused to release it as a single, feeling it was too late for it to help ''Red Roses for Me''. Nevertheless, it remained a favourite request for the show for many years.
With the aid of 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 ...
, they recorded the follow-up, ''Rum Sodomy & 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 ...
'', in 1985 during which time guitarist 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 ...
joined. The album title is a famous comment falsely attributed to Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 Winston Churchill in the Second World War, dur ...
who was supposedly describing the "true" traditions of the British Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...
. The album cover featured ''The Raft of the Medusa
''The Raft of the Medusa'' (french: Le Radeau de la Méduse ) – originally titled ''Scène de Naufrage'' (''Shipwreck Scene'') – is an oil painting of 1818–19 by the French Romantic painter and lithographer Théodore Géricault (1791 ...
'', with the faces of the characters in Théodore Géricault
Jean-Louis André Théodore Géricault (; 26 September 1791 – 26 January 1824) was a French painter and lithographer, whose best-known painting is ''The Raft of the Medusa''. Although he died young, he was one of the pioneers of the Romantic ...
's painting replaced with those of the band members. The album shows the band moving away from covers to original material. Shane MacGowan came into his own as a songwriter with this disc, offering up poetic storytelling, such as " The Sick Bed of Cúchulainn" and "The Old Main Drag", as well as definitive interpretations of Ewan MacColl
James Henry Miller (25 January 1915 – 22 October 1989), better known by his stage name Ewan MacColl, was a folk singer-songwriter, folk song collector, labour activist and actor. Born in England to Scottish parents, he is known as one of the ...
's "Dirty Old Town
"Dirty Old Town" is a song written by Ewan MacColl in 1949 that was made popular by The Dubliners and The Pogues.
History
The song was written about Salford, Lancashire, England, the city where MacColl was born and brought up. It was original ...
" and Eric Bogle
Eric Bogle (born 23 September 1944) is a Scottish-born Australian folk singer-songwriter. Born and raised in Scotland, he emigrated to Australia at the age of 25, to settle near Adelaide, South Australia. Bogle's songs have covered a variety of ...
's "And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda
"And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda" is a song written by Scottish-born Australian singer-songwriter Eric Bogle in 1971. The song describes war as futile and gruesome, while criticising those who seek to glorify it. This is exemplified in the s ...
" (this had previously been covered by Shane's fellow punk contemporaries Skids in 1981).
The band failed to take advantage of the momentum created by the strong artistic and commercial success of their second album. They first refused to record another album (offering up the four-track EP ''Poguetry in Motion
''Poguetry in Motion'' is an EP by The Pogues, released on Stiff Records in the UK on 24 February 1986, and in the US & Canada on MCA Records. It was the band's first single to make the UK Top 40, peaking at number 29 and the first Pogues rec ...
'' instead); O'Riordan married Costello and left the band, to be replaced by bassist Darryl Hunt, formerly of Plummet Airlines and Pride of the Cross; and they added a multi-instrumentalist in 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, ...
, formerly of Steeleye Span
Steeleye Span are a British folk rock band formed in 1969 in England by Fairport Convention bass player Ashley Hutchings and established London folk club duo Tim Hart and Maddy Prior. The band were part of the 1970s British folk revival, and we ...
. Looming over the band at this period (as throughout their entire career) was the increasingly erratic behaviour of their vocalist and principal songwriter, Shane MacGowan. Their record label, 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 ...
, went bankrupt soon after the 1987 release of the single "The Irish Rover" (with The Dubliners
The Dubliners were an Folk music of Ireland, Irish folk band founded in Dublin in 1962 as The Ronnie Drew Ballad Group, named after its founding member; they subsequently renamed themselves The Dubliners. The line-up saw many changes in personn ...
). Members of the band, including O'Riordan, acted in Alex Cox
Alexander B. H. Cox (born 15 December 1954) is an English film director, screenwriter, actor, non-fiction author and broadcaster. Cox experienced success early in his career with ''Repo Man (film), Repo Man'' and ''Sid and Nancy'', but since th ...
's '' Straight to Hell'', and five songs by the band were included on the film's soundtrack
A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack o ...
album.
Mainstream success and break-up: 1987–1996
The band remained stable enough to record ''If I Should Fall from Grace with God
''If I Should Fall from Grace with God'' is the third studio album by Irish folk-punk band the Pogues, released on 18 January 1988. Released in the wake of their biggest hit single, "Fairytale of New York", ''If I Should Fall from Grace with God ...
'' with its Christmas hit duet with Kirsty MacColl
Kirsty Anna MacColl (10 October 1959 – 18 December 2000) was a British singer and songwriter, daughter of folk singer Ewan MacColl. She recorded several pop hits in the 1980s and 1990s, including "There's a Guy Works Down the Chip Shop Swears He ...
"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 ...
". "Fairytale of New York" was released as a single in 1987 and reached No. 1 in the Irish charts and No. 2 in the British charts over Christmas (the time of peak sales). The song has become a festive classic in the UK and Ireland over the years, and was voted the best Christmas song of all time three years running in 2004, 2005, and 2006 in polls by music channel VH1 UK
VH1 was a British and Irish pay television channel that was owned by ViacomCBS. The channel was based on the original VH1 American channel of the same name. On 24 November until 26 December 2017, VH1 was renamed temporarily as VH1 Christmas. T ...
, despite not achieving Christmas Number One
In the United Kingdom, Christmas number ones are singles that top the UK Singles Chart in the week in which Christmas Day falls. The singles have often been novelty songs, charity songs or songs with a Christmas theme. Historically, the volume ...
when it was released. It was also voted as the 27th greatest song never to reach UK#1 in another VH1 poll, and also voted as the 84th greatest song of all time by BBC Radio 2
BBC Radio 2 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It is the most popular station in the United Kingdom with over 15 million weekly listeners. Since launching in 1967, the station broadcasts a wide range of content. ...
listeners in the "Sold on Song" top 100 poll. In 2007 the record was briefly censored by the BBC because of the word "faggot" being deemed potentially offensive to homosexual people. Following protests from listeners, including the mother of Kirsty MacColl
Kirsty Anna MacColl (10 October 1959 – 18 December 2000) was a British singer and songwriter, daughter of folk singer Ewan MacColl. She recorded several pop hits in the 1980s and 1990s, including "There's a Guy Works Down the Chip Shop Swears He ...
, the censorship was lifted.
The band was at the peak of its commercial success, with both albums making the top 5 in the UK (numbers 3 and 5 respectively), but MacGowan was increasingly unreliable. He failed to turn up for the opening dates of their 1988 tour of America, and prevented the band from promoting their 1990 album ''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 ...
'', so in 1991 the band sacked him. Vocal duties were for a time handled by Joe Strummer
John Graham Mellor (21 August 1952 – 22 December 2002), known professionally as Joe Strummer, was a British singer, musician and songwriter. He was the co-founder, lyricist, rhythm guitarist and co-lead vocalist of punk rock band the Clash, ...
. Spider Stacy took over permanently after Strummer left in the winter of 1991. After Strummer's departure, the remaining seven Pogues recorded in 1993 ''Waiting for Herb
''Waiting for Herb'' is the sixth studio album by the Pogues, released in 1993, and their first without lead singer Shane MacGowan.
Overview
The album saw the band continue to expand their musical reach past the traditional Irish roots it had ...
'', which contained the band's third and final top twenty single, "Tuesday Morning", which became their best-selling single internationally. Terry Woods and James Fearnley then left the band and were replaced by David Coulter and James McNally respectively. Within months of their departures, ill health forced Phil Chevron to leave the band; he was replaced by his former guitar technician, Jamie Clarke. This line-up recorded the band's seventh and final studio album, ''Pogue Mahone
Pogue is American pejorative military slang for non-infantry MOS (military occupational specialty) staff, and other rear-echelon or support units.
History and etymology
The term was used as early as the First World War by US Marines to refer t ...
''. The album was a commercial failure, and, following Jem Finer's decision to leave the band in 1996, the remaining members decided it was time to call it quits. According to Shane MacGowan, among the reasons of the break-up was disagreement concerning the political orientation of his songs, the band not wanting to sing too obvious pro-Republican
Republican can refer to:
Political ideology
* An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law.
** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
songs – though some of their previous songs were already politically engaged: for instance, ''Streams of Whiskey'' is about the poet and IRA
Ira or IRA may refer to:
*Ira (name), a Hebrew, Sanskrit, Russian or Finnish language personal name
*Ira (surname), a rare Estonian and some other language family name
*Iran, UNDP code IRA
Law
*Indian Reorganization Act of 1934, US, on status of ...
member Brendan Behan
Brendan Francis Aidan Behan (christened Francis Behan) ( ; ga, Breandán Ó Beacháin; 9 February 1923 – 20 March 1964) was an Irish poet, short story writer, novelist, playwright, and Irish Republican activist who wrote in both English an ...
. Soon after the break-up Shane MacGowan recorded a song titled ''Paddy Public Enemy Number One'' as a tribute to the Republican leader Dominic McGlinchey
Dominic "Mad Dog" McGlinchey (1954 – 10 February 1994) was an Irish republican paramilitary leader, who moved from the Provisional IRA to become head of the Irish National Liberation Army (INLA) paramilitary group in the early 1980s.
McGlinch ...
, a former leader of the INLA killed a few years before.
Post-breakup
After the Pogues's break-up, the three remaining long-term members (Spider Stacy, Andrew Ranken and Darryl Hunt) played together briefly as The Vendettas. They played mainly new Stacy-penned tracks, though Darryl Hunt also contributed songs, and the band's live set included a few Pogues songs. First Ranken then Hunt left the band, the latter going on to become singer/songwriter in an indie band called Bish, whose self-titled debut album was released in 2001. Ranken has gone on to play with a number of other bands, including hKippers, The Municipal Waterboard and, most recently, The Mysterious Wheels. In addition to The Vendettas, who Stacy freely admits lost all attraction when the Pogues reformed, Spider continued to write and record music with various bands, including the James Walbourne, Filthy Thieving Bastards, Dropkick Murphys
Dropkick Murphys are an American Celtic punk band formed in Quincy, Massachusetts in 1996. Singer and bassist Ken Casey has been the band's only constant member. Other current members include drummer Matt Kelly (1997– ), singer Al Barr (199 ...
and Astral Social Club
Neil Campbell (born 19 May 1966) is a British musician, notable for his vast catalogue and his many collaborations. In 2005, ''The Wire'' declared that he, Richard Youngs and Matthew Bower had ''"provided the map co-ordinates for much of what pa ...
.
Shane MacGowan founded Shane MacGowan and The Popes
The Popes are a band originally formed by Shane MacGowan (of the Pogues) and Paul "Mad Dog" McGuinness, who play a blend of rock, Irish folk and Americana.
Shane MacGowan and The Popes released two studio and one live album in the 1990s, perfor ...
in 1992. They released two studio albums and broke up in 2002. His autobiography ''A Drink With 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 ...
'', co-written with his journalist girlfriend Victoria Mary Clarke, was released in 2001. Jem Finer went into experimental music, playing a big part in a project known as "Longplayer
''Longplayer'' is a self-extending composition by British composer and musician Jem Finer which is designed to continue for one thousand years. It started to play at midnight on 1 January 2000, and if all goes as planned, it will continue w ...
", a piece of music designed to play continuously for 1,000 years without repeating itself. In 2005, Finer released the album ''Bum Steer'' with DB Bob (as DM Bob and Country Jem). James Fearnley moved to the United States shortly before leaving the Pogues. He was a member of The Low And Sweet Orchestra and later the Cranky George Trio. Philip Chevron reformed his former band The Radiators, which briefly included former Pogue Cait O'Riordan. Terry Woods formed The Bucks with Ron Kavana, releasing the album ''Dancin' To The Ceili Band'' in 1994. Later, he formed The Woods Band, releasing the album ''Music From The Four Corners of Hell'' in 2002.
Reunion: 2001–2014
The band, including MacGowan, re-formed for a Christmas tour in 2001 and performed nine shows in the UK and Ireland in December 2004. In 2002 ''Q'' magazine named the Pogues one of the "50 Bands To See Before You Die". In July 2005, the band – again including MacGowan – played at the annual Guilfest festival in Guildford before flying out to Japan where they played three dates. Japan is the last place they all played together before MacGowan was originally sacked in 1991, and they have a strong following there. They played a date in Spain in early September. The reunited Pogues played dates in the UK with support from the Dropkick Murphys
Dropkick Murphys are an American Celtic punk band formed in Quincy, Massachusetts in 1996. Singer and bassist Ken Casey has been the band's only constant member. Other current members include drummer Matt Kelly (1997– ), singer Al Barr (199 ...
in late 2005, and re-released their 1987 Christmas classic "Fairytale of New York" on 19 December, which went straight in at No. 3 in the UK Singles charts on Christmas Day 2005, showing the song's enduring popularity. On 22 December 2005 the BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
broadcast a live performance (recorded the previous week) on the
Jonathan Ross
Jonathan Stephen Ross (born 17 November 1960) is an English broadcaster, film critic, comedian, actor, writer, and producer. He presented the BBC One chat show ''Friday Night with Jonathan Ross'' during the 2000s, hosted his own radio show on ...
Christmas show with
Katie Melua
Ketevan Katie Melua (; ka, ქეთევან "ქეთი" მელუა, ; born 16 September 1984) is a Georgian and British singer and songwriter. She was born in Kutaisi and raised in Belfast and London. Under the management of comp ...
filling in for the late
Kirsty MacColl
Kirsty Anna MacColl (10 October 1959 – 18 December 2000) was a British singer and songwriter, daughter of folk singer Ewan MacColl. She recorded several pop hits in the 1980s and 1990s, including "There's a Guy Works Down the Chip Shop Swears He ...
, the first time the band had played the song live on television. The following week they performed live on the popular music show ''
CD:UK''.
Shane MacGowan wrote a blog for ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' in 2006, detailing his thoughts on the current tour.
![The Pogues 2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b7/The_Pogues_2.jpg)
The band was awarded the lifetime achievement award at the annual
Meteor Ireland Music Awards in February 2006. In March 2006, the band played their first US dates with Shane in over 15 years. The band played a series of sold-out concerts in Washington, D.C.,
Atlantic City
Atlantic City, often known by its initials A.C., is a coastal resort city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. The city is known for its casinos, Boardwalk (entertainment district), boardwalk, and beaches. In 2020 United States censu ...
,
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
, and New York. Later they played a series of highly acclaimed and sold-out gigs during mid-October 2006 in San Francisco,
Las Vegas
Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...
, and Los Angeles, and toured
Glasgow
Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...
, Manchester,
Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...
, London,
Dublin
Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...
, and
Nottingham
Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east ...
in mid-December 2006. They began a second US tour in March 2007, once again to coincide (and conclude) with a
Roseland Ballroom
The Roseland Ballroom was a multipurpose hall, in a converted ice skating rink, with a colorful ballroom dancing pedigree, in New York City's theater district, on West 52nd Street in Manhattan.
The venue, according to its website, accommodated ...
New York City show on
Saint Patrick's Day
Saint Patrick's Day, or the Feast of Saint Patrick ( ga, Lá Fhéile Pádraig, lit=the Day of the Festival of Patrick), is a cultural and religious celebration held on 17 March, the traditional death date of Saint Patrick (), the foremost patr ...
. 2007 has proved to be the most prolific year of touring since the reunion. A tour of the west coast of America and eleven dates in the UK in December complement the headlining festival appearances made in the summer across Europe (Sweden, Belgium and Spain). They continue to be in huge demand, often selling out very large venues, despite criticism of selling out, and claims that arenas and festivals do not suit the band's sound.
![Pogues Munich 2011](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/61/Pogues_Munich_2011.jpg)
Guitarist Phil Chevron has stated there were no plans to record new music or release a new album. Chevron said that one way to keep enjoying what they were doing was to avoid making a new album, although he did say that there still is a possibility in the future for new music, but certainly not in the near future. Terry Woods has commented that MacGowan has been writing, and most of it sounds good. In 2008 the band released a box set ''Just Look Them Straight in the Eye and Say....POGUE MAHONE!!'', which included rare studio outtakes and previously unreleased material.
The band received mixed reviews of their performances though they continued to pull the crowds. Reviewing a March 2008 concert, ''
The Washington Post
''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
'' described MacGowan as "puffy and paunchy," but said the singer "still has a banshee wail to beat
Howard Dean
Howard Brush Dean III (born November 17, 1948) is an American physician, author, lobbyist, and retired politician who served as the 79th governor of Vermont from 1991 to 2003 and chair of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) from 2005 to 200 ...
's, and the singer's abrasive growl is all a band this marvelous needs to give its amphetamine-spiked take on Irish folk a focal point". The reviewer continued: "The set started off shaky, MacGowan singing of 'goin' where streams of whiskey are flowin,' and looking like he'd arrived there already. He grew more lucid and powerful as the evening gathered steam, through two hours and 26 songs, mostly from the Pogues' first three (and best) albums". In December 2010 the Pogues (with support from
Crowns
A crown is a traditional form of head adornment, or hat, worn by monarchs as a symbol of their power and dignity. A crown is often, by extension, a symbol of the monarch's government or items endorsed by it. The word itself is used, partic ...
) played what was billed as a farewell UK Christmas tour.
In March 2011, the Pogues played a six-city/ten-show sold out US tour titled "A Parting Glass with The Pogues" visiting Chicago, Detroit,
Baltimore
Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...
, Washington, D.C.,
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
, and New York City (in that order), with only the last three cities getting more than one show. Stacy said "I think we are basically pretty certain this is the last tour of this type we'll be doing in the States. There might be the odd sort of one-off here and there. We're not saying this is absolutely, definitely the end".
In August 2012, the Pogues embarked on a 30th Anniversary Summer 2012 8-city European Tour scheduled from 4 August 2012 at the Stockton Weekender Festival in
Stockton-on-Tees
Stockton-on-Tees, often simply referred to as Stockton, is a market town in the Borough of Stockton-on-Tees in County Durham, England. It is on the northern banks of the River Tees, part of the Teesside built-up area. The town had an estimated ...
, UK to 11 & 12 September 2012 at
L'Olympia
The Olympia (; commonly known as L'Olympia or in the English-speaking world as Olympia Hall) is a concert venue in the 9th arrondissement of Paris, France, located at 28 Boulevard des Capucines, equally distancing Madeleine church and Opéra G ...
, Paris, two shows filmed and recorded for a live album and DVD released on 19 November 2012.
In March 2013, the Pogues released ''30:30: The Essential Collection'', a 2-disc set featuring 30 songs along with eleven videos. In October 2013, the Pogues released a box set titled ''Pogues 30'' containing remastered versions of all of their studio albums plus a previously unreleased live album featuring Joe Strummer at the London Forum in December 1991.
Guitarist
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 ...
died on 8 October 2013 in Dublin, Ireland from oesophageal cancer, aged 56.
In December 2013, the Pogues went on a four-date UK Christmas tour, followed by a few shows during spring and summer 2014. The Pogues' last performance on British soil occurred on 5 July 2014 at the
British Summer Time festival in
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
's
Hyde Park
Hyde Park may refer to:
Places
England
* Hyde Park, London, a Royal Park in Central London
* Hyde Park, Leeds, an inner-city area of north-west Leeds
* Hyde Park, Sheffield, district of Sheffield
* Hyde Park, in Hyde, Greater Manchester
Austra ...
.
The Pogues' last ever performance (to date) occurred on 9 August 2014 during the "Fête du bruit dans Landerneau" festival in
Landerneau
Landerneau (; br, Landerne, ) is a commune in the Finistère department of Brittany in north-western France.
It lies at the mouth of the Elorn River which divides the Breton provinces of Cornouaille and Léon, east of Brest. The name is from ...
,
Brittany
Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, Historical region, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known ...
,
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
.
About his future with the Pogues, in a 24 December 2015 interview with Vice Magazine,
when the interviewer asked whether the band were still active, Shane MacGowan said: "We're not, no", saying that, since their 2001 reunion happened, "I went back with
hePogues and we grew to hate each other all over again", adding, "I don't hate the band at all – they're friends. I like them a lot. We were friends for years before we joined the band. We just got a bit sick of each other. We're friends as long as we don't tour together. I've done a hell of a lot of touring. I've had enough of it".
Long-time Pogues bassist Darryl Hunt died in London on 8 August 2022, at the age of 72.
[https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/shane-macgowan-twitter-celtic-hampshire-england-b2141646.html]
Members
*
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 ...
– vocals,
tin whistle
The tin whistle, also called the penny whistle, is a simple six-holed woodwind instrument. It is a type of fipple flute, putting it in the same class as the recorder, Native American flute, and other woodwind instruments that meet such criteria. ...
(1982–1996, 2001–2014)
*
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 ...
–
banjo
The banjo is a stringed instrument with a thin membrane stretched over a frame or cavity to form a resonator. The membrane is typically circular, and usually made of plastic, or occasionally animal skin. Early forms of the instrument were fashi ...
,
mandola
The mandola (US and Canada) or tenor mandola (Ireland and UK) is a fretted, stringed musical instrument. It is to the mandolin what the viola is to the violin: the four double courses of strings tuned in fifths to the same pitches as the viola ...
, saxophone,
hurdy-gurdy
The hurdy-gurdy is a string instrument that produces sound by a hand-crank-turned, rosined wheel rubbing against the strings. The wheel functions much like a violin bow, and single notes played on the instrument sound similar to those of a vio ...
, guitar, vocals
(1982–1996, 2001–2014)
*
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 ...
–
accordion
Accordions (from 19th-century German ''Akkordeon'', from ''Akkord''—"musical chord, concord of sounds") are a family of box-shaped musical instruments of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone type (producing sound as air flows past a reed ...
,
mandolin
A mandolin ( it, mandolino ; literally "small mandola") is a stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally plucked with a pick. It most commonly has four courses of doubled strings tuned in unison, thus giving a total of 8 ...
, piano, guitar
(1982–1993, 2001–2014)
*
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 MacGow ...
– vocals, guitar,
banjo
The banjo is a stringed instrument with a thin membrane stretched over a frame or cavity to form a resonator. The membrane is typically circular, and usually made of plastic, or occasionally animal skin. Early forms of the instrument were fashi ...
,
bodhrán
The bodhrán (, ; plural ''bodhráin'' or ''bodhráns'') is a frame drum used in Irish music ranging from in diameter, with most drums measuring . The sides of the drum are deep. A goatskin head is tacked to one side (synthetic heads or othe ...
(1982–1991, 2001–2014)
* Andrew Ranken –
drums
A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...
, percussion, harmonica, vocals
(1982–1996, 2001–2014)
*
Darryl Hunt
Darryl Hunt (February 24, 1965 – March 13, 2016) was an African-American man from Winston-Salem, North Carolina, who, in 1984, was wrongfully convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment for the rape and the murder of Deborah Sykes, a young whi ...
– bass
(1986–1996, 2001–2014; died 2022)
*
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, ...
–
mandolin
A mandolin ( it, mandolino ; literally "small mandola") is a stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally plucked with a pick. It most commonly has four courses of doubled strings tuned in unison, thus giving a total of 8 ...
,
cittern
The cittern or cithren ( Fr. ''cistre'', It. ''cetra'', Ger. ''Cister,'' Sp. ''cistro, cedra, cítola'') is a stringed instrument dating from the Renaissance. Modern scholars debate its exact history, but it is generally accepted that it is d ...
,
concertina
A concertina is a free-reed musical instrument, like the various accordions and the harmonica. It consists of expanding and contracting bellows, with buttons (or keys) usually on both ends, unlike accordion buttons, which are on the front.
The ...
, guitar, vocals
(1986–1993, 2001–2014)
*
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) ...
– bass, vocals
(1982–1986, 2004)
*
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 ...
– guitar, vocals, mandolin, banjo
(1985–1994, 2001–2013; his death)
*
Joe Strummer
John Graham Mellor (21 August 1952 – 22 December 2002), known professionally as Joe Strummer, was a British singer, musician and songwriter. He was the co-founder, lyricist, rhythm guitarist and co-lead vocalist of punk rock band the Clash, ...
– vocals, guitar
(1991–1992; also replaced an ailing Phil Chevron for a US tour in 1987; died 2002)
* Dave Coulter – mandolin, violin, ukulele, percussion
(1993–1996)
*
James McNally – accordion, whistles, percussion
(1993–1996)
* Jamie Clarke – guitar, vocals
(1994–1996)
Timeline
Discography
* ''
Red Roses for Me
''Red Roses for Me'' is the debut studio album by the London-based band the Pogues, released on 15 October 1984. It was produced by Stan Brennan, who had managed the Nipple Erectors/The Nips and Rocks Off Records shop in London.
Overview
''Red ...
'' (1984)
* ''
Rum Sodomy & 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 ...
'' (1985)
* ''
If I Should Fall from Grace with God
''If I Should Fall from Grace with God'' is the third studio album by Irish folk-punk band the Pogues, released on 18 January 1988. Released in the wake of their biggest hit single, "Fairytale of New York", ''If I Should Fall from Grace with God ...
'' (1988)
* ''
Peace and Love'' (1989)
* ''
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 ...
'' (1990)
* ''
Waiting for Herb
''Waiting for Herb'' is the sixth studio album by the Pogues, released in 1993, and their first without lead singer Shane MacGowan.
Overview
The album saw the band continue to expand their musical reach past the traditional Irish roots it had ...
'' (1993)
* ''
Pogue Mahone
Pogue is American pejorative military slang for non-infantry MOS (military occupational specialty) staff, and other rear-echelon or support units.
History and etymology
The term was used as early as the First World War by US Marines to refer t ...
'' (1996)
Notes
References
External links
* – official site
*
*
* – official site
The Poguesarticle in ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pogues, The
Celtic punk groups
Folk punk groups
Musical groups disestablished in 1996
Musical groups established in 1982
Musical groups from London
Musical groups reestablished in 2001
1982 establishments in England
2014 disestablishments in England
Stiff Records artists
Island Records artists