https://www.cnn.com/2023/11/30/entertainment/shane-macgowan-death-scli-intl/index.html
While I never bought into the Punk movement/genre 100% I did have some favorites. Maybe it was their blending of Irish/Celtic forms in with the angst that did it for me - whatever it was, I was a GIGANTIC fan of the Pogues.
The center of the Pogues ... existence was lead singer, Shane MacGowan. His onstage persona and antics - generally in the form of slurred speech and staggering about the stage often made me wonder if it wasn't part of an elaborate act. The realization was, no - this was Shane MacGowan being Shane MacGowan!
I have a friend who saw the Pogues in their earliest days - at a show in London, I think. He was unfamiliar with the Pogues at this point (might've been an opening act). He said that before the show started he noticed this tall guy staggering around the hall. He watched the guy closely - considered notifying staff/bouncers that someone might've consumed a bit too much. He watched as the guy walked closer to the stage where he paused long enough to vomit all over the floor. Said the guy then stepped up onto the stage, where the band launched into the Rolling Stones', "Honky Tonk Women". As the band passed the intro bars the aforementioned drunk guy began the vocal.
I had the pleasure of seeing the Pogues on a couple of occasions. Whatever you think or make of them - I personally never saw anything else like them.
Long live the memory of Shane MacGowan. May the road to Heaven rise up to meet you, Shane!
Lastly - a Christmas wish ... or story, that only Shane MacGowan could deliver:
The anchor on CBS Radio News in New York had the story at 10 this morning on the radio.
She said Shane was 65 and when the band lost much of it's following, Shane developed a long standing alcohol and drug addiction problem.
She stopped short of saying that problem is why Shane passed away.
@robertdee I'm pretty sure he had an alcohol/substance abuse issue at the peak of the Pouges' popularity. If it was a "problem", they made the most of it! Please do not accept this as an endorsement of substance abuse. There have been many artists who functioned like this. Maybe fans (like me) are to blame for being enablers to a degree. At the same time, a sober Shane MacGowan wouldn't have had the same impact as a drunken one. I guess fans (like me) tend to live vicariously through artists like this. ... I think I've just depressed myself with this self-realization. Peace to Shane.
