Shane MacGowan

Shane MacGowan
MacGowan at the WOMAD festival, Yokohama, 1991
Born	Shane Patrick Lysaght MacGowan (1957-12-25)25 December 1957 Pembury, Kent, England
Died	30 November 2023(2023-11-30) (aged 65) Dublin, Ireland
Other names	Shane O'Hooligan
Citizenship	United Kingdom Ireland
Occupations	Singer-songwriter musician
Years active	1977–2023
Spouse	Victoria Mary Clarke ​ ​ (m. 2018)​
Relatives	Siobhan MacGowan (sister)
Musical career
Genres	Celtic punk Celtic rock folk punk folk rock
Instruments	Vocals guitar piano bodhran banjo
Formerly of	The Pogues Shane MacGowan and The Popes The Nipple Erectors The Shane Gang
Musical artist
Website	shanemacgowan.com

Shane Patrick Lysaght MacGowan (25 December 1957 – 30 November 2023) was a British-born Irish^[a] singer-songwriter, musician and poet best known as the lead vocalist and primary lyricist of Celtic punk band the Pogues. An acclaimed songwriter, he wrote or co-wrote lyrics that often focused on the Irish emigrant experience, including "Dark Streets of London", "The Body of an American" and "Fairytale of New York". He received widespread media attention for his lifestyle, which included decades of heavy alcohol and drug use. His New York Times obituary noted his "twin reputations as a titanically destructive personality and a master songsmith whose lyrics painted vivid portraits of the underbelly of Irish immigrant life."^[1]

Born in Kent, England, to Irish parents, MacGowan spent his early childhood in Tipperary, Ireland, before moving back to England with his family at age six. He attended Holmewood House preparatory school and won a literary scholarship to Westminster School but was expelled in his second year for drug offences. At age 17, he entered psychiatric care at Bethlem Royal Hospital in London due to his drug and alcohol abuse; he remained there for six months. He became active on the London punk scene under the alias Shane O'Hooligan, attending gigs, working in the Rocks Off record shop, and writing a punk fanzine. In 1977, he and his then-girlfriend Shanne Bradley formed the punk band the Nipple Erectors (subsequently the Nips). In 1982, with Spider Stacy and Jem Finer, he co-founded the Pogues—originally called Pogue Mahone, an anglicisation of the Irish phrase póg mo thóin, meaning "kiss my arse"—who fused punk influences with traditional Irish music. He was the principal songwriter and lead vocalist on the band's first five studio albums, including Rum Sodomy & the Lash (1985) and the critically acclaimed and commercially successful If I Should Fall from Grace with God (1988). With Finer, he co-wrote the Christmas hit single "Fairytale of New York" (1987), which he recorded as a duet with Kirsty MacColl. A perennial Christmas favourite in Ireland and the UK, the song was certified sextuple platinum in the UK in 2023.

During a 1991 tour of Japan, the Pogues dismissed MacGowan due to the impact of his drug and alcohol dependency on their live shows. He formed a new band, Shane MacGowan and The Popes, with which he released two further studio albums and had a hit single with "That Woman's Got Me Drinking" (1994). His cover versions of "What a Wonderful World" (with Nick Cave, 1992) and "My Way" (1996) both charted in the UK, as did the single "Haunted" (with Sinéad O'Connor, 1995). MacGowan's other collaborations included work with the Jesus and Mary Chain, Dropkick Murphys and Cruachan. In 2001, he rejoined the Pogues for reunion shows and continued to tour with the group until it dissolved in 2014. At a January 2018 gala concert to celebrate his 60th birthday, the president of Ireland, Michael D. Higgins, presented him with a lifetime achievement award for outstanding contributions to Irish life, music and culture. Later that year, he married his long-term partner, journalist and writer Victoria Mary Clarke. Following years of deteriorating health, he died from pneumonia in Dublin in November 2023, aged 65.

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