Farewell to a legend

News of the passing of frontman and singer of The Pogues, Shane MacGowan, on Nov 30 sent shockwaves of sadness around the world of Irish music. Tributes were published across media, from the Irish president to his former bandmates.

Known for his masterful writing on songs like A Rainy Night In Soho, Streams Of Whiskey and, above all, Fairytale Of New York (one of the UK’s most popular Christmas songs and a contender for the top slot on the charts this festive season), MacGowan’s writing was the key to the band’s success. The Pogues, which began in 1982 as Pogue Mahone (an Anglicisation of the Irish Gaelic phrase, kiss my arse) successfully blended politically-inspired punk rock with Irish traditional music.

Performing in small clubs and pubs in London in the early 1980s, the band released a cult single, Dark Streets Of London, changed their name to The Pogues and…