# UK Dopers- How did the Pogues reunion shows go? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 30, 2004, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-dopers-how-did-the-pogues-reunion-shows-go/282287 "2004-12-30T18:59:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Wartime\_Consigliori](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/9d8465/32.png) [@Wartime\_Consigliori](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wartime_Consigliori)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2004, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-dopers-how-did-the-pogues-reunion-shows-go/282287/1 "2004-12-30T18:59:18Z")
I just found out that The Pogues, complete with Shane MacGowan and Cait O’Riordan (AKA- The Most Beautiful Woman Ever) did a few reunion shows before Christmas. Anybody lucky enough to attend? Any word on how the shows were? Will a CD from the shows be released? And, of course, did Shane get through the gigs in a somewhat reasonable manner? 😃 ---
**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:** [December 30, 2004, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-dopers-how-did-the-pogues-reunion-shows-go/282287/2 "2004-12-30T20:45:45Z")
Cait O’Riordan was there? Wow, that’s fantastic news! I thought she was dead! I’m not sure why I thought that, but damn, am I ever glad to know I was wrong! ---
**Author:** ![Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hey_It_s_That_Guy)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2004, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-dopers-how-did-the-pogues-reunion-shows-go/282287/3 "2004-12-30T20:50:34Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > Cait O’Riordan was there? Wow, that’s fantastic news! I thought she was dead! I’m not sure why I thought that, but damn, am I ever glad to know I was wrong! Maybe you were thinking of Kirsty McColl, who sang that beautiful duet with Shane on “Fairytale of New York”? She died tragically a year or two ago, in a car accident. ---
**Author:** ![gum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bbe5ce/32.png) [@gum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gum)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2004, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-dopers-how-did-the-pogues-reunion-shows-go/282287/4 "2004-12-30T20:54:18Z")
Oh, wow. I didn’t know about the reunion show. ☹ Yes, please, UK Dopers, tell us how it went. ---
**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:** [December 30, 2004, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-dopers-how-did-the-pogues-reunion-shows-go/282287/5 "2004-12-30T20:59:40Z")
> [@Big Bad Voodoo Lou](#): > > Maybe you were thinking of Kirsty McColl, who sang that beautiful duet with Shane on “Fairytale of New York”? She died tragically a year or two ago, in a car accident. Boat accident, not car. She was swimming in the Gulf of Mexico and got run over by a speedboat. And it was almost exactly four years ago. And her last name was MacColl. I’m a bit of a fan, if you hadn’t guessed. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2004, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-dopers-how-did-the-pogues-reunion-shows-go/282287/6 "2004-12-30T21:09:21Z")
> [@Big Bad Voodoo Lou](#): > > She died tragically a year or two ago, in a car accident. Worse than that: she was mashed by a speedboat while swimming in Mexico. ---
**Author:** ![Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hey_It_s_That_Guy)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2004, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-dopers-how-did-the-pogues-reunion-shows-go/282287/7 "2004-12-30T21:12:27Z")
I stand corrected; my ignorance has been fought and vanquished. She is still missed, regardless. ---
**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:** [December 30, 2004, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-dopers-how-did-the-pogues-reunion-shows-go/282287/8 "2004-12-30T21:46:31Z")
Well, you were right about one thing: “Fairytale in New York” really is amazingly beautiful. Which is pretty impressive for a song that contains the lyric, “You scumbag. you faggot, you cheap lousy maggot, Happy Christmas my ass, I thank God it’s our last.” ---
**Author:** ![Moirai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/96bed5/32.png) [@Moirai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moirai)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2004, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-dopers-how-did-the-pogues-reunion-shows-go/282287/9 "2004-12-30T22:20:01Z")
A reunion show?!? Maybe more than one?!? I would have flown over if I’d known more than a week in advance! How was it? I am so jealous! ---
**Author:** ![seosamh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce7236/32.png) [@seosamh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/seosamh)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2004, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-dopers-how-did-the-pogues-reunion-shows-go/282287/10 "2004-12-30T23:27:27Z")
Unfortunately I was not there in Brixton myself. But the reviewer in the _Daily Telegraph_ had some interesting things to say about it. He described Shame McGowan as looking “half-embalmed” but that his “enunciation got better the more he drank”. Apparently, he managed to balance “a pint of colourless liquid - realistically, gin & tonic” on his head and was lucid enough to remove it before it fell off. The rendition of “Fairy Tale of New York” with Ms O’Riordan (who hadn’t played with the Pogues for 18 years) was “bleary but beautiful”. Sounds like a hoot. ---
**Author:** ![Osip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/4491bb/32.png) [@Osip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Osip)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2004, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-dopers-how-did-the-pogues-reunion-shows-go/282287/11 "2004-12-30T23:40:53Z")
> [@Big Bad Voodoo Lou](#): > > Maybe you were thinking of Kirsty McColl, who sang that beautiful duet with Shane on “Fairytale of New York”? She died tragically a year or two ago, in a car accident. Side question, Which one married Elvis Costello? I could have sworn one of them did. Anybody? ---
**Author:** ![Osip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/4491bb/32.png) [@Osip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Osip)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2004, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-dopers-how-did-the-pogues-reunion-shows-go/282287/12 "2004-12-30T23:41:38Z")
> [@Big Bad Voodoo Lou](#): > > Maybe you were thinking of Kirsty McColl, who sang that beautiful duet with Shane on “Fairytale of New York”? She died tragically a year or two ago, in a car accident. Side question, Which one married Elvis Costello? I could have sworn one of them did. Anybody? ---
**Author:** ![medstar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f07891/32.png) [@medstar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/medstar)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2004, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-dopers-how-did-the-pogues-reunion-shows-go/282287/13 "2004-12-30T23:52:06Z")
> [@Osip](#): > > Side question, > Which one married Elvis Costello? I could have sworn one of them did. > > Anybody? I’m not a UK Doper, but I believe that Diana Krall is married to Elvis Costello. ---
**Author:** ![Anamorphic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/anamorphic/32/3057_2.png) [@Anamorphic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anamorphic)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2004, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-dopers-how-did-the-pogues-reunion-shows-go/282287/14 "2004-12-31T00:03:39Z")
> [@medstar](#): > > I’m not a UK Doper, but I believe that Diana Krall is married to Elvis Costello. He is now, but he _was_ married to Cait O’Riordan. Man, do I wish I could’ve seen one of these shows… ---
**Author:** ![seosamh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce7236/32.png) [@seosamh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/seosamh)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2004, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-dopers-how-did-the-pogues-reunion-shows-go/282287/15 "2004-12-31T00:07:06Z")
Yep, Mr Costello married the aforesaid Ms O’Riordan in 1985 after divorcing his first wife. ---
**Author:** ![jackelope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a6a055/32.png) [@jackelope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackelope)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2004, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-dopers-how-did-the-pogues-reunion-shows-go/282287/16 "2004-12-31T00:10:24Z")
> [@Big Bad Voodoo Lou](#): > > Maybe you were thinking of Kirsty McColl, who sang that beautiful duet with Shane on “Fairytale of New York”? My familiarity with the Pogues is extremely slight, but is this song by any chance related to the J. P. Donleavy novel [A Fairy Tale of New York](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0871132648/qid=1104452106/sr=2-3/ref=pd_ka_b_2_3/002-0364360-8233625)? Donleavy + Pogues would seem to be a natural match. ---
**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:** [December 31, 2004, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-dopers-how-did-the-pogues-reunion-shows-go/282287/17 "2004-12-31T02:00:10Z")
> [@jackelope](#): > > My familiarity with the Pogues is extremely slight, but is this song by any chance related to the J. P. Donleavy novel [A Fairy Tale of New York](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0871132648/qid=1104452106/sr=2-3/ref=pd_ka_b_2_3/002-0364360-8233625)? Donleavy + Pogues would seem to be a natural match. According to [this](http://www.pogues.com/Releases/Lyrics/LPs/IfIShould/Fairytale.html) site, yes. ---
**Author:** ![Wartime\_Consigliori](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/9d8465/32.png) [@Wartime\_Consigliori](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wartime_Consigliori)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2005, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-dopers-how-did-the-pogues-reunion-shows-go/282287/18 "2005-01-02T05:20:16Z")
Okay, so none of our Dopers in Ireland or the UK saw any of shows. Fair enough. I wish I could have been there. Maybe someone had the foresight to record the shows, and I hope I will hear then some day. Aw, man, Cait singing Fairytale of NY in her own way. I’m a freeborn man of the USA. ---
**Author:** ![Misnomer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/misnomer/32/14897_2.png) [@Misnomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Misnomer)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2005, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-dopers-how-did-the-pogues-reunion-shows-go/282287/19 "2005-01-02T05:44:38Z")
_Lorelei_ is the only Pogues song I know, but it’s one of my all-time favorites. 🙂 (The only other thing I know about the Pogues is that Black 47 mentions one of them in _Rockin’ The Bronx_. :D) ---
**Author:** ![Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hey_It_s_That_Guy)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2005, 6:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-dopers-how-did-the-pogues-reunion-shows-go/282287/20 "2005-01-02T06:29:24Z")
> [@Misnomer](#): > > _Lorelei_ is the only Pogues song I know, but it’s one of my all-time favorites. 🙂 > > (The only other thing I know about the Pogues is that Black 47 mentions one of them in _Rockin’ The Bronx_. :D) Oh wow, if you like Black 47, you will LOVE the Pogues. They were probably the biggest influence on Black 47, Flogging Molly, and the Dropkick Murphys, all amazing bands in their own right. I strongly recommend you pick up the Pogues’ “Rum, Sodomy, and the Lash,” which is my personal favorite of their albums and a great way to intoduce yourself to the band. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-dopers-how-did-the-pogues-reunion-shows-go/282287.md?page=2)