# Shane McGowan of the Pogues has died **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** celebrity-death, music\ **Created:** [November 30, 2023, 12:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shane-mcgowan-of-the-pogues-has-died/993900 "2023-11-30T12:07:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2023, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shane-mcgowan-of-the-pogues-has-died/993900/21 "2023-11-30T18:07:06Z")
I only saw them once, in '96 at the Filmore, a few months before their first break up. Shane had been out of the group for five years at that point, but somehow, ended up touring with the band during their US leg. He was drunk enough to be noticeably slurring during the show, but not so drunk that he didn’t show up on time (or at all), or have to stop half way through, so that was mostly a win. ---
**Author:** ![Stratocaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stratocaster/32/16393_2.png) [@Stratocaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stratocaster)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2023, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shane-mcgowan-of-the-pogues-has-died/993900/22 "2023-11-30T18:29:31Z")
Very sad. So loved the Pogues and I believe Shane was a genius. I read a critic once who asked if the Pogues were a Celtic band that played punk, or a punk band that played Celtic. Both I suppose. _Rum, Sodomy, and the Lash_ and _If I Should Fall from Grace with God_ are both masterpieces. I saw the lads in Philly years ago at the Electric Factory. Shane was shit-faced and in good voice. They started with an instrumental which they later repeated—my unconfirmed theory was that they couldn’t locate Shane for a bit. Was _exactly_ what you’d hope for in a Pogues concert—just tremendous. R.I.P., Shane. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2023, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shane-mcgowan-of-the-pogues-has-died/993900/23 "2023-11-30T18:50:28Z")
The Pogues were my favourite band since I first heard them on KXLU in 1984. I saw them three times at The Coachhouse in San Juan Capistrano, and once at The WIltern in L.A. (with Joe Strummer filling in for Shane – He was with Shane at The Coachhouse once). Last time I saw them was in South Seattle. I think it was 2009. I’ll have to check my T-shirt. I have all of their studio albums, most on vinyl and CD, _Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah_ on CD at least, a miniature CD (‘CD single’?) of something, and a… coloured vinyl LP? Not to mention The Nips ‘n’ The Nipple Erectors _Bops, Babes, Booze & Bovver_. I never saw Shane not drunk. I bought [_If I Should Fall from Grace - The Shane MacGowan Story_](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00008R9LB) in the middle of 2003. In the comfort of my home, without crowds and extraneous noise, I still thought it needed subtitled. His death is not unexpected – I’m surprised he’d made it this long – but it is still a loss of a great singer and songwriter. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2023, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shane-mcgowan-of-the-pogues-has-died/993900/24 "2023-11-30T18:52:24Z")
In what way was Shane McGowan a genius? My first impression of McGowan was formed when I saw The Pogues performing on Saturday Night Live in 1990 and it was pretty negative. I saw a guy on stage whom I thought was drunk, with bad teeth, mumbling verses into the microphone I couldn’t understand. Even in studio recordings, like Fairy tale in New York, I can scarcely understand McGowan when he sings. I’m not asking to be rude here, obviously many people hold McGowan in high esteem, but I just don’t understand why and I’m genuinely interested in learning why. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2023, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shane-mcgowan-of-the-pogues-has-died/993900/25 "2023-11-30T18:55:13Z")
> [@Odesio](#): > > In what way was Shane McGowan a genius? Well, his songs were really, really good. Like, some of the best songs I’ve ever heard. What sort of an answer are you looking for, here? ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2023, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shane-mcgowan-of-the-pogues-has-died/993900/26 "2023-11-30T18:58:16Z")
> [@raventhief](#): > > A great light, snuffed out. He’s one that I would wonder, from time to time, if he was still alive, and was mildly surprised to find that he was. I guess that mild surprise has been put to rest now, along with Shane. Yes, me, too. I got an email from Amanda Palmer’s blog this morning which is how I heard. Haven’t listened to the Pogues in a little while. Need to listen today. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2023, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shane-mcgowan-of-the-pogues-has-died/993900/27 "2023-11-30T18:58:42Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > Well, his songs were really, really good. Like, some of the best songs I’ve ever heard. > > What sort of an answer are you looking for, here? I don’t know. Something like, “Here’s how his work changed music” or something I guess. As LoPan once told me, this is just one of those things I’ll have to accept I wasn’t put on this Earth to get. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2023, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shane-mcgowan-of-the-pogues-has-died/993900/28 "2023-11-30T19:03:37Z")
Granted, the SNL performance wasn’t their best. I still liked it; but if you didn’t, it’s nothing to judge their body of work on. > [@Odesio](#): > > Even in studio recordings, like Fairy tale in New York, I can scarcely understand McGowan when he sings. You could say the same thing about The Dickies or The Sex Pistols. Still great bands. > [@Odesio](#): > > “Here’s how his work changed music” I don’t recall a fusion of Punk and Celtic music before The Pogues (and Boiled In Lead shortly thereafter). And now we have The Dropkick Murphys and Flogging Molly. ---
**Author:** ![veryfrank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/87869e/32.png) [@veryfrank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/veryfrank)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2023, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shane-mcgowan-of-the-pogues-has-died/993900/29 "2023-11-30T19:11:01Z")
> [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > > [@veryfrank](#): > > > > I only got to see the Pogues in concert once, and it was sadly during Shane’s period of exile from the band. It was a blazing show, but I always felt I had missed something epic. > > Was it with Joe Strummer on the mic? Because that would have been some kind of consolation, at least for me. Sadly, I never saw the Pogues, with or without Shane, which is a shame. Sadly no. It was 1994 and they were touring with neither Joe nor Shane. The Clash may be my favorite band, but the closest I came to seeing them live was a B.A.D. show in 1995 (which, still, is likely in my top five shows ever). ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2023, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shane-mcgowan-of-the-pogues-has-died/993900/30 "2023-11-30T19:21:37Z")
> [@Odesio](#): > > I don’t know. Something like, “Here’s how his work changed music” or something I guess. [Here’s an article that contains some statements from the president, taoiseach, tanaiste of Ireland on the cultural importance of Shane MacGowan to Ireland.](https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/music/2023/11/30/tributes-pour-in-for-the-pogues-frontman-nobody-told-the-irish-story-like-shane/) Statements from other musicians don’t seem to have come in much, yet, but I expect they’ll be voluminous. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2023, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shane-mcgowan-of-the-pogues-has-died/993900/31 "2023-11-30T19:24:43Z")
This is my Nelson Mandela moment: I could have sworn that he died from alcoholism 15-20 years ago, and that I read obituaries about him then. So weird. ---
**Author:** ![74westy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/74westy/32/3950_2.png) [@74westy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/74westy)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2023, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shane-mcgowan-of-the-pogues-has-died/993900/32 "2023-11-30T19:34:47Z")
Hven’t seen The Pogues live but I did hear Mojo Nixon sing this while climbing the light towers at the Winnipeg Folk Festival. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/1aeFjeaJAH4/maxresdefault.jpg "Shane's Dentist (Remastered)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1aeFjeaJAH4) ---
**Author:** ![Treppenwitz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treppenwitz/32/3445_2.png) [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2023, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shane-mcgowan-of-the-pogues-has-died/993900/33 "2023-11-30T20:08:53Z")
I was lucky enough to see the Pogues live - and I really mean lucky. A piece of pure good fortune. [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/M5kQWq16--Y/hqdefault.jpg "The Pogues - Fiesta - Friday Night Live 1988") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M5kQWq16--Y) Somewhere in that crowd are me and the missus. It was a recording of Friday Night Live, which always had a couple of bands on, and it wasn’t until we turned up (with our free tickets!) for the recording that we found out that they were The Christians and The Pogues. Disbelief! Fiesta is far from my favourite Pogues song; but they also played Streets of Sorrow/Birmingham Six, which was blindingly good. They went into the commercial break with it, but you can hear a piece of it preserved for posterity in [this (much inferior quality) video](https://youtu.be/Jey1E007x_k?feature=shared&t=264), starting at 4.24 (I think I’ve managed to set it up at that.) j ---
**Author:** ![Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/half_man_half_wit/32/21766_2.png) [@Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Half_Man_Half_Wit)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2023, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shane-mcgowan-of-the-pogues-has-died/993900/34 "2023-11-30T20:22:56Z")
> [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > Look at it this way: who will leave the greater legacy? I predict people will still enjoy Shane’s songs in 100 years. And singing the best version of the greatest anti-war song ever is the greater achievement than for instance toppling democratically elected governments by force in your backyard and replacing them with fascists. I’ll drink to that. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2023, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shane-mcgowan-of-the-pogues-has-died/993900/35 "2023-11-30T20:26:54Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > I saw the Pogues in a small Hollywood club in the mid80s. My favorite concert review was for a show just like this, maybe even the show you were at: _“A Bar-room brawl with instruments”_ ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2023, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shane-mcgowan-of-the-pogues-has-died/993900/36 "2023-11-30T20:28:00Z")
> [@Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](#): > > I’ll drink to that. Prost! 🍻 ---
**Author:** ![kk\_fusion](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kk_fusion/32/15276_2.png) [@kk\_fusion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kk_fusion)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2023, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shane-mcgowan-of-the-pogues-has-died/993900/37 "2023-11-30T20:41:16Z")
I’ve seen them once live (including Shane), and it seems there are recordings of the show. > **[The Pogues - Fiesta - Colmar - 12/08/2012](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qf0UppH1yJk%2F)** > > Le tube phare des Pogues pour clôturer leur concert à la foire aux vins de Colmar le dimanche 12 août 2012.Une ambiance festive au rendez-vous !!!! Shane actually looked the youngest of the bunch, but I guess shoe polish rubbed in the hair does the trick. RIP Shane. Last of the idols of my youth, I guess. ---
**Author:** ![Stratocaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stratocaster/32/16393_2.png) [@Stratocaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stratocaster)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2023, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shane-mcgowan-of-the-pogues-has-died/993900/38 "2023-11-30T21:37:44Z")
If I should fall from grace with God Where no doctor can relieve me If I’m buried 'neath the sod But the angels won’t receive me Let me go, boys Let me go, boys Let me go down in the mud Where the rivers all run dry 😭 ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2023, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shane-mcgowan-of-the-pogues-has-died/993900/39 "2023-11-30T22:08:42Z")
Dark news. But what a bright legacy. _Because I am goin’, I am goin’ Any which way the wind may be blowin’ I am goin’, I am goin’ Where streams of whiskey are flowin’_ _Oh, the words that he spoke Seemed the wisest of philosophies There’s nothing ever gained By a wet thing called a tear When the world is too dark And I need the light inside me I’ll walk into a bar And drink 15 pints of beer_ ---
**Author:** ![El\_DeLuxo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_deluxo/32/9043_2.png) [@El\_DeLuxo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_DeLuxo)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2023, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shane-mcgowan-of-the-pogues-has-died/993900/40 "2023-12-01T03:07:01Z")
I’m saddened but not surprised. He and died like a drunk, but he was a brilliant singer and writer, and unlike that other dead “celebrity” in the news (whose death will get much more attention, people being what they are), Shane actually meant something in, and added something to, my world. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shane-mcgowan-of-the-pogues-has-died/993900.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shane-mcgowan-of-the-pogues-has-died/993900.md?page=3)