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| INCREDIBLE SHANE |
| Special thanks to reporters and the best regards to all Shane's fans all over the world |
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| This section contains the latest rumours, news, gossip, reviews I find rummaging about Pogues/Popes/music sites/messageboards/guestbooks and is dedicated to |
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| HOW I CAME TO LOVE THEM fans' love stories |
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| JUNE 2008 - AUGUST 2008 |
| ROCKIN BOPPIN LUNATIC |
| ARCHIVES |
| FANDOM |
| FRIENDS OF SHANE mailing list |
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| JOEY CASHMAN fan page |
| FANFICS |
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| All FANFICS on one page (22 for the moment) |
| MARCH 2006 - APRIL 2006 (USA TOUR) |
| While working on the Pirates of the Carribean films, director Gore Verbinski and his star Johnny Depp became fascinated with the lore and fable of the pirates and sailors who ran the high seas before the days of upright tray-tables and airsick bags. Not too far behind was Hal Willner, who quickly joined into the mix, dragging a very impressive list of musicians to create what we now know as Rogue’s Gallery: Pirate Ballads, Sea Songs and Chanteys.
London, Dublin and Gateshead will be the venues for these songs to be performed live for the first time. Shane MacGowan is to take part in all of three shows: 18th July, Fri - Analog Festival, Dublin 24th July, Thu - The Sage, Gateshead 28th July, Mon - Barbican, London Shane MacGowan with Sharon Shannon & Big Band, Mundy and Dessie O Halloran dates (July-Aug, 2008): 25th July, Fri - WOMAD, Charlton Park, near Malmesbury in Wiltshire, UK - tickets on sale! Web: http://womad.org 31st July, Thu - Mary From Dungloe International Festival, Dungloe, Co, Donegal, Ireland Web: http://www.maryfromdungloe.com Address: Mary From Dungloe International Festival 3 Chapel Road Dungloe Co. Donegal Ireland Telephone: +(0) 353 7495 21254 Fax: +(0) 353 7495 22120 E-mail: info@maryfromdungloe.com 1st August, Fri - World Fleadh Portlaoise, Ireland - tickets on sale! Address: The World Fleadh, Portlaoise, County Laois, Republic Of Ireland Telephone: +353 (0)57 8681155 E-mail: Portlaois@theworldfleadh.com Web: http://www.theworldfleadh.com 23rd August, Sat - Festival Dome, Rose Of Tralee, Tralee, Co.Kerry, Ireland Web: http://www.roseoftralee.ie Adress: Rose of Tralee Office, Ashe Memorial Hall, Denny St, Tralee, Co. Kerry, Republic of Ireland Telephone: 00353 (0)66 7121322 (9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. Monday to Friday) 29.08.2008 The original full-length text of the abridged story that appeared in the Irish Post last week. By courtesy of Martin Doyle and always nice and helpful Carol Clerk. The Man, The Myth, The Legend By Martin Doyle Irish Post August 2008 28.08.2008 A Pint With Shane MacGowan interview for Totally Dublin magazine by Conor Creighton, photos by Steve Ryan 26.08.2008 ROSE OF TRALEE FESTIVAL Tralee, Co.Kerry, Ireland, 23 Aug, 2008 A BLEARY-EYED Shane MacGowan made a surprise appearance at the Festival after popping down to Kerry to perform at the Rose Dome. Looking slightly incongruous among all the ardent festival fans - not to mention the Roses themselves - the Pogues frontman came down to the Kingdom to play a set alongside folk singer Sharon Shannon. He took to the stage with fellow artists like Declan O'Rourke, Jon Kenny and Dessie O'Halloran for one of the opening stages of the festival. -- herald.ie UPDATE: "MacGowan, never being one to disappoint, delighted fans halfway through the night by silencing the whispers whistling through the crowd of ‘that fucker had better show up’ and stumbling on to stage, can in hand, keeping true to form. The can didn’t stay in his hand for long though and halfway through shouting his way through a rowdy rendition of what I presume was once a beautiful and heartfelt sea ballad he lobbed said can of Guinness into the crowd and proceeded to attempt self-asphyxiation with his mic. lead. Well, he certainly knows how to hold his audiences attention, even if he does near assault them in the process." -- by Sheenalm regarding Rougue's Gallery, Dublin. 22.08.2008 A Rogue you cant forget: Pogue Monotone by Caroline I went through all my Shane McGowan pictures taken at Rogue’s Gallery Dublin and put the best of the bunch in a dedicated set. My experiences with McGowan have been limited to spotting him hovering legless backstage at various gigs in Dublin and Ireland. <...> Watching Shane sing live twice last month, much more together at the Dublin show than at the one in London, I saw glimpses of the natural born performer that he is. He still throws himself into the songs and plays to the crowd, egged on by his rowdy fans. MORE >>> 17.08.2008 V FESTIVAL Hylands Park, Chelmsford -Weston Park, Staffordshire. 16th & 17th August 2008 The Pogues @ V Festival 2008 Live review Virgin Radio While the band warm up their instruments, the crowd is steadily growing in the tent for The Pogues. Up against some other top acts at this time of the evening, this lot aren't doing badly at all. A surprising mix of ages given that the band were at their peak in the 80s, the crowd are loud enough to make a right racket when The Pogues start, and everyone in and around the tent area strangely suddenly thinks themselves the master of the Irish Jig. MacGowan wearing a sling on his arm doesn't detract from the performance, and although his slurry drawl makes both his banter and lyrics a bit hard to figure out, with such great poppy tunes - including 'Streams Of Whiskey', 'Dirty Old Town' and 'Irish Rover' - and an infectious mood from band and punters alike, it doesn't matter in the slightest. It appears to be impossible to not dance to The Pogues, whether the song in question is slow, fast, new to your ears or a favourite hit of the past. The number of festival-goers increases steadily throughout the set, and the band doesn't let up on the pace for a minute. One obvious fan in the crowd is waving a large Irish flag, revealing that for some of the people here tonight, The Pogues aren't just a band to watch in between drinks: they might just be THE band to see at V Festival 2008. And given the energy and excitement you come away with after seeing them, it's not hard to see why these lads were voted one of 'The 50 bands to see before you die'. Great stuff! "Having Irish roots means that to me The Pogues are more than just a band, it’s a soundtrack to my childhood. Fairytale of New York is more of a tradition in my family than burnt turkey and family squabbles. With this in mind, The Pogues were a definite visit in my weekend of musical mayhem. As the rowdy Jamie T crowd deserted I riverdanced my way to the front and planted myself firmly against the barrier. I wasn’t disappointed. The band came out and immediately the crowd enjoyed a proper irish jig as we waited for Shane to stumble on, arm in a sling and a large vat of some liquid, presumably ridiculous alcoholic. Highlights were Sally Maclennane, Sickbed of Cuchulainn and Dirty Old Town. Shane MacGowan which should rhyme with “mine’s a double” but doesn’t, had the velvety vocal chords that transported the crowd to a dirty old spit and sawdust pub in the mythical heart of Kilkenny. We loved every minute. Pogue Mahone, the original band name means ‘kiss my arse’, and their arses we did kiss. Not literally, that would be weird , and at a festival would probably frowned upon." -- Livvy, Virgin Music V Festival, Day 1 - photos at wireimage.com V Festival, Day 2 - photos at wireimage.com V Festival - gallery at efestivals.co.uk V Festival pics at flickr.com 12.08.2008 MACGOWAN HITS BACK OVER ILLNESS RUMOURS Contactmusic 11th Aug 2008 THE POGUES frontman SHANE MACGOWAN has dismissed rumours he is seriously ill - insisting he is fit and well. The Fairytale of New York hitmaker has long struggled with drug and alcohol addictions and was recently rumoured to have been diagnosed with deadly liver disease hepatitis. The news prompted his father, Maurice, to voice his fears for his son - urging him to give up drinking or face an early death. But MACGowan, 50, is adamant that he was diagnosed many years ago, and has since kicked the killer illness. He says, "I did have hepatitis, but it was alcoholic hepatitis, and that was 17 years ago. I was in very bad shape, I wouldn't advise anyone to drink that much. "But I was treated for it and it has now cleared up. I only stayed off the drink for three weeks." And MACGowan insists that his health is fine these days, despite the fact that has not given up alcohol. He adds, "I think the reason I'm still here is because I have a strong constitution. I don't feel 50, I feel younger every day." 07.08.2008 Shane proves he's well read! (with a pic) McGowan takes a break from World Fleadh gigs to catch up with The Irish World. By Staff Reporter Irish World 06 Aug 2008 Look who we caught up with at The World Fleadh in Portlaoise at the weekend! Irish World photographer Anne Mullen bumped into Pogues frontman Shane McGowan during her trip to the five-day Irish and Celtic music festival. Although McGowan had partied hard along with fellow musicians Sharon Shannon and Damien Dempsey, he still found time to relax with a copy of his favourite weekly newspaper. MORE pics >>> 04.08.2008 Don’t die, dad begs ill Shane <----- bullshite By GARY MENEELY The Sun 05 Aug 2008 HELLRAISER Shane MacGowan’s father last night begged his son not to drink himself to death — days after revealing he has hepatitis. Maurice MacGowan, 78, spoke out after the toothless rocker went on a gin and cider binge, with docs having warned another drink could kill him. Medics ordered him to stay sober for six months but he fell off the wagon after just three weeks. Maurice said: “Shane must heed the doctor’s advice. He’s had scares before but hepatitis is serious. "He has had a very good run on the drink but he must remember he is mortal.” Pogues legend Shane, 50, revealed he had hepatitis at an Irish gig on Thursday — after downing drink at FOUR pubs. The singer, who claims to have started drinking at the age of four, then fell on his backside and had to grab hold of his female duet partner to get back on stage at a show on Friday. MARY FROM DUNGLOE Dungloe, Co, Donegal, Ireland, 31 st July, 2008 I remember the festival fondly from my childhood when there was always a great atmostphere, however it has been absolutely rubbish over the last few years. This year the old magic of it was well and truelly back, Shane Mcgowan, Sharon shannon, Mundy and crew were a triumph- and i think there was a vibrancy back as a result of this 'younger' focus. -- Thumpette Mary From Dungloe official Gallery Photos from Dungloe by Eoin Mc Garvey on his own site 30.07.2008 WOMAD Charlton Park, UK, 25 July 2008 A WOMAD set at flickr.com (very special) "Shane McGowan of The Pogues - pissed as a fart, but we didn't give a shite." "...Shane MacGowan lost his voice years ago – in alcoholic mixers rather instrumental mixes – and as admiring I am of his timeless canon of London-Irish songs, his way-beyond-tiresome cartoon drunken Mick performance was an (albeit extremely well-received) blight to Sharon Shannon's ground-shaking Friday night ceilidh..." -- by conmurphy, World Of Music "On to the Big Irish Night with the Sharon Shannon Big Band..including Mundy - who was a pleasure to see again after quite a long time - and a VERY drunken Shane MacGowan who did impress me by still remembering his words - he must have lost an awesome amount of brain cells from the drinking..but he still walks..more or less - let?s say this gig was one to remember.." -- by Genographic at Last.fm WOMAD gallery at efestivals.co.uk ROGUES GALLERY SHOW Barbican Hall, London, UK, 28 July 2008 Rogue's Gallery @ Barbican, London, 28 July 2008 By Michael Hubbard musicOMH.com 30 July, 2008 "...MacGowan appeared to keep the piratical spirit alive as he supped his drink while rambling through some enlivening material and managing to give a chaperone the slip as he rushed back afterwards to find his brew." MORE >>> Rogue's Gallery, Barbican, London Sea shanties from superstars By Tim Cumming The Independent Wednesday, 30 July 2008 "... MacGowan blew a mouth harp on "Boney Was a Warrior", while shouting out a great lead vocal on "South Australia". Wainwright showed enough leg to get her invited on to any ship in port, and veered a course through the melodrama on the lovely "Lowlands Away", while the evening's last hurrah began with MacGowan and Robbins belting out the Liverpool Shanty, followed by a trio of Waterson/ Carthy performances, and closing with the whole cast on stage some three-and-a-half hours after they first arrived, and Baby Gramps doing "Old Man of the Sea". " MORE >>> "...The only times at which I felt thoroughly vindicated in my lack of pre-gig enthusiasm were during the performances of professional eejit Shane MacGowan and the occasions on which David Thomas took to the stage. These two, along with Keith Moline and a Gollum-like fiddle player, did a rendition of What Shall We Do With a Drunken Sailor? which simply was not music. In the interest of balance my boyfriend thought it was “magnificent” - I think David Thomas in particular is the anti-music, everything that music is not. Thank God in Heaven Pete Doherty didn’t get there, though in fairness he’d probably have done exactly what MacGowan did..." -- by basilexposition "Shane MacGowan was in typical form – heartbreaking, in every sense of the word – sheer genius mixed with moments of drunken buffoonery" -- hotpress. "Actor Tim Robbins tried to do Johny Cash, Irish Folk and Big Bad Rocker impressions all night but didn't have me convinced and Shane 'self parody' McGowan's appearance was pathetic in the truest sense of the word." -- Adam Tocock. uktheater.net "I have just emerged from the unforgettable mammoth voyage that was Hal Wilner’s Rogues Gallery Live. 3 concerts, 60 sea shanties, and more performers than you could shake a cutlas at. At one point Lou Reed, Tim Robbins, Shane MacGowan, the Carthy Family, Neil Hannon, Gavin Friday, Chris Difford and many more were all onstage, and I thought I had to be dreaming. Too many highlights to list really, but playing hurdy-gurdy with Lou Reed is worth a mention. At rehearsal he prowled onto the stage, and told the band: “I do not want to have to follow you at all. You will follow me. I will change the chords and the timing without warning and you need to keep up. If that sounds like fun, then play. If that doesn’t sound like fun, don’t play anything“. It sounded like fun, and we did play, and he seemed to like it. Random observations I made: he has a pair of glasses whose lenses flip up and down and he likes to play with them a lot; he has unexpectedly soft hands and is very courteous and gentle under a gnarled exterior; he has a phenomenal sense of tempo, disregarding the ubiquitous metronome in search of the ’sweet spot’; he really likes hurdy-gurdy. The house band included David Coulter on (literally) show-stopping saw, Roger Eno on piano, euphonium and naughty crosswords, Andy Newmark (from Bryan Ferry’s band) on drums, Martyn Barker (who plays on my next record) on percussion, Dudley Phillips on bass and Kate St John on accordion. at the Dublin show all the artists crowded in at the back of the stage just behind my amp to watch the show, and the atmosphere was amazing. It was truly a privilege to be there." -- Leo Abrahams Shane Unloads Irish Voice July 23, 2008 POPULAR Pogues hell-raiser Shane MacGowan is mad as hell at how Ireland has transformed itself, and he’s not gonna take it anymore! Shane, not known for advocating a clean and healthy lifestyle, is furious at the successful public smoking ban that the Irish government implemented several years back. MORE >>> 29.07.2008 ROGUES GALLERY SHOW Barbican Hall, London, UK, 28 July 2008 3.5 hours of nonstop music, 45 songs. It's like the best festival ever - people you like, people you've never heard of, a range of music styles, getting very sweaty, and, best of all, a seat. There was some truly haunting beautiful music, but my favourite was David Thomas (plus Keith Moline, Gavin Friday and Shane MacGowan) doing What shall we do with the drunken sailor? A wall of sound. -- antimega. flickr.com Gettyimages.com photos Flickr.com photos Londonist Live: Rogue's Gallery by Amanda Farah 29 July, 2008 When Hal Willner takes the stage dressed as a pirate to introduce wily mountain man Baby Gramps, the show ahead is guaranteed to be out of the ordinary. After the third or fourth performer, the artists got tired of calling "ahoy!" and growling "arrrrgh," but it made the evening no less nautical. Running nearly four hours with no interval, the show was something of a test of wills, but the attention deficit pace of the 43 songs kept things lively. With the exception of Neil Hannon, no artist performed solo for two straight songs, and Hannon's jokes, awesome stage presence, and deference to the saw player excused this bout of continuity. MORE >>> Last night's evening of high seas adventure was pretty darn good and I especially enjoyed Richard Strange and Tim Robbins who was perhaps the surprise hit of the evening for me. I didn't realise he could sing and play guitar. Pete Doherty punked us by not turning up or refusing to get out of his car or something equally odd. Suzanne Vega fluffed an opening bar and didn't quite seem to get back on track from that which was a shame. She wins my 'top piratical outfit of the evening award' though. Shane McGowan managed to seem almost coherent for once by managing to almost sing an entire song while remaining upright and pouring water and cider all over the electricals without frying himself. Watching his performances in these Hal Willner collaborations simply makes me cringe with pity and terror. -- inkognitoh.livejournal.com Salty tales of drinking, death and nasty deeds at sea -- 4 Stars By Oliver Keens London paper 29 July, 2008 Born out of chats between Johnny Depp and his director while making Pirates of the Caribbean, the idea of performing modern versions of sea shanties and pirate songs finally reached a London stage last night. Rogue's Gallery brought together a bewildering range of talent to resurrect these salty tales of drinking, death and nasty deeds at sea. MORE >>> 28.07.2008 WOMAD Charlton Park, UK, 25 July 2008 "Over at the Siam tent the Ceilidh with Sharon Shannon and special guests Mundy and Damien Dempsey had everybody moving - but the appearance of Shane MacGowan nearly blew the roof off the place, a festival high spot" -- safeconcerts.com (with pics) wireimage.com photos (10) 25.07.2008 ROGUES GALLERY SHOW Analog Festival, Dublin, Ireland, 18 July 2008 Rogue's Gallery at Dublin - cupla more pics at flickr.com And reviews: What shall we do with the drunken sailors? by Sarah CriticalJunk 21st July, 2008 I had the misfortune of going to Friday Nights Hal Willner's Rogue's Gallery Pirate Ballads, Sea Songs and Chanteys, as part of the Analog Festival. What a shambles, someone would come on, stumble through a folk type tune, wander off, there would be a few minutes pause and someone else would shuffle on, god forbid they, or anyone else would introduce them. The whole thing was completely disjointed and disorganized, making a school concert seem like an efficient military operation in comparison. Shane Mc Gowan did a few rousing tunes and then poured beer all over the people at the front and started firing cans into the audience. Let's face it we deserved it for being dumb enough to tolerate their self indulgent tripe. Maybe if we had been out on a pier with the sound of waves splashing and ropes jangling boat masts it would have worked better. Nah, probably not. Analog, Grand Canal Square, Dublin by EIMEAR McKEITH Irish Times 23rd July, 2008 You might not be surprised by the prospect of seeing Shane MacGowan roaring his way through a raucous pirate song, throwing cans of Guinness into the audience, knocking over stands and choking himself with a microphone cable. But it was certainly surprising to see him do all this while accompanied onstage by legendary musician Lou Reed and Hollywood actor Tim Robbins. Such unlikely groupings characterised Hall Willner's Rogue's Gallery, a night of pirate ballads and sea shanties that opened the Analog festival. Imaginative, incongruous pairings characterised the weekend-long docklands-based festival as a whole, which has greatly expanded in scope and ambition this year after its inaugural outing in 2007. Willner assembled a motley crew of some 30 performers in an ambitious attempt to get through 37 - often barely rehearsed - songs in just under three hours. Joining MacGowan, Reed and Robbins were Guggi, Gavin Friday and Dave-iD Busaras of the Virgin Prunes, steel guitarist Baby Gramps, folk legend Norma Waterson and younger talents Neil Hannon, White Magic, Teddy Thompson and the Unthank sisters, among others. While the evening was at times slightly chaotic, the pirate theme gave the performers licence to take a casual, rough-around-the-edges approach. There were occasional moments of self-indulgence, in particular a posturing rendition of Bully in the Alley by Friday, Guggi and Busaras. A rather solemn Reed evoked widespread adulation and Robbins was in his element playing the role of roguish singer, but some of the other performers provided the real highlights, such as a melancholic version of Shallow Brown by Waterson, and Rachel and Becky Unthank's moving Lowlands Away. 22.07.2008 Semi Naked In Somebody Else's Green Room aka. Negative Review: The Pogues at Oxegen '08 21 July, 2008 By Positive Boredom Immediately afterwards I went up to the Pogues, it was kinda obvious that the place would be pretty packed and I wanted to get into the thick of it without killing some people. I walk into the tent, work my way to the front(go down by the side then walk in towards the middle is ALWAYS the most effective way). MORE >>> 21.07.2008 Hitting the high Cs Odd crew takes fans on musical voyage Hal Willner's Rogue's Gallery Grand Canal Dock, Dublin By John Meagher 21 July, 2008 Irish Independent ROGUE'S Gallery is the most eye-catching event in the Analog Festival, the leftfield Dublin docklands weekend, now in its second year. Where else would one get to see such luminaries as Lou Reed and Shane MacGowan sharing a stage with Hollywood actor Tim Robbins, a reconstituted Virgin Prunes and such English folkies as Teddy Thompson and Eliza Carthy? And if the line-up is odd, so too is the notion of said figures performing ancient sea shanties and pirate ballads. MORE >>> A bunch of pics at flickr.com 19.07.2008 ROGUES GALLERY SHOW Analog Festival, Dublin, Ireland, 18 July 2008 First shots: Lou Reed & Shane MacGowan David Thomas & Shane MacGowan Lou Reed & Shane MacGowan (photo.wenn) Tim Robbins, Lou reed & Shane MacGowan during sound check (photo.wenn) First impressions: "Shane McGowan was walked onto the stage in the second half, to rapturous applause. Why do we encourage him?! The guy was/is a mess. What's almost disheartening is just how talented the guy is. He can do a great vocal performance, despite decades of alcohol and god knows what else abuse, despite clearly being pissed when he came on stage - if he cleaned up would he actually be better, or does this way genius lie? Despite half choking himself with the mic chord, doing some fancy swingy thing, he, Lou Reed and Tim Robbins led a brilliantly rousing penultimate song." -- Full review of the show here And back to festivals - great set of Pogues performing at T in The Park photos (efestivals.co.uk) 17.07.2008 Sharon and McGowan to top Rose festival bill By Mary Murphy 17th July, 2008 The Kingdom SHARON Shannon and Shane McGowan will top the bill at this year’s Rose of Tralee festival, it has been confirmed. The superstars of the Irish music scene have been booked as the headline acts for the big event which will attract thousands of people to the county in late August. Back in the limelight in recent times thanks to her smash hit, Galway Girl, Shannon will switch her attention to other girls in Kerry when she brings her band to play in the festival dome at Fel’s Point on Saturday, August 23. MORE >>> And more reviews (short): T in The Parkl: "Shane McGowan is on fine form tonight and actually appears quite sober. We realise this is quite a libelous thing to print so we must emphasise he only looked sober. Highlight of the set is 'Dirty Old Town' which threatens to bring the dirty old tent down." -- Bruno Hat, ClickMusic. Oxehegn: "Today’s big disappointment were The Pogues in the Green Room. Shane MacGowan tried his best, God love him, but the sound was awful and he looked as lucid as the entire population of The Priory put together. Pair of Brown Eyes was still a goose-bumps moment, mind. " -- Belfast Telegraph 15.07.2008 Shane McGowan to Play Analog Festival, Grand Canal Square (with a pic) By Aoife McDonnell 15 July, 2008 Fresh from his Oxegen performance with the Pogues, Shane McGowan has just been added to the Analog Festival bill. McGowan will perform on Friday 18th July in Hal Winner’s Rogues Gallery, Grand Canal Square, Dublin Docklands. Other artists already confirmed for Rogue’s Gallery at Analog include Lou Reed, Neil Hannon, Teddy Thompson, Waterson: Carthy, Gavin Friday, David Thomas (Pere Ubu) Julie Fowlis, Baby Gramps, Ed Harcourt, Rachel Unthank & the Winterset. The night will have the theme of re-interpreting traditional sea shanties, pirate ballads and seafaring songs. 14.07.2008 Oxegen Punchestown Racecourse, Naas, Ireland - 13th July 2008 Irish legends play first festival on home soil in 17 years 13 Jul 2008 NME The Pogues received a huge homecoming reception at Oxegen 2008 tonight (July 13) as they played their first Irish festival in nearly 20 years. Shane MacGowan and co packed the festival's Green Room tent to capacity as they ran through an ecstatically received greatest hits set in front of a emotional audience. MORE >>> Review + photos: Oxegen 08 - The Blizzards, Delorentos, Fight Like Apes, Dry County, Republic of Loose, The Pogues T in the Park Scotland 12th July 2008 Photos: Wireimage.com Wenn.com Contactmusic.com Bloginthepark BelgaPicture MSNBC Flickr pic More Flickr BBC Review: T in the Park: The Pogues review 12 July 2008 By Rosanna Chianta Scotland on Sunday WALKING on stage with his fag defiantly in hand, flames on shirt (not from his cigarette, although the state Shane McGowan was in last night it felt like merely a matter of time), the Pogues frontman made his entrance and in one, short, puff cost T in the Park a fine or flouting the smoking ban on Scotland by lighting up in an enclosed space. After a brief Irish jig from the rest of the band, McGowan mumbles and fumbles his way in to 'Streams of Whisky', a subject he clearly knows a thing or two about. None of the security guards braved a confrontation with him to remind him that the ADVERTISEMENT smoking ban in Scotland means he could be fined. It's doubtful he would have cared, anyway, or would have been able to register the objection. MORE >>> The Pogues by Alison Anderson Perthshire Advertiser Jul 15 2008 THERE was a massive younger element who crammed into King Tut’s beside long-time Pogues fans to see their punk-folk idols. Sad to say, there were many who decided they must be on their way ... away from their hero Shane McGowan’s stream of missed cues and mumbled lyrics. En masse The Pogues were a mere shadow of their former selves, even the frenetic Spider Stacy putting in a lacklustre performance. A ‘going through the motions’ mantle covered this set, which did admittedly get better with time, but McGowan’s “It’s nice to be back in ... (lengthy hesitation while his addled brain figures out where it’s nice to be) ... Scotland” summed up The Pogues a la 2008. They even murdered the emotive ‘Dirty Old Town’ by making it ridiculously up-tempo. A sparkling Fiesta closed the set – but it was too late to recover the lost magic of these 1980s trailblazers. 09.07.2008 More photos from France: Taste of Indie, photos by F. Villemin Set of great (but anonymous?) pics Something from back-stage And another set 07.07.2008 On 5th July Pogues played at Terre Neuvas Festival, Bobital, France. First set of pics 01.07.2008 Preface: An exclusive musical event with Liam Clancy plus special guests at New York’s The Bitter End, on June 29th at 8pm. This is a unique staged event, part of a major feature-length documentary on Clancy to be filmed live in front of a specially invited audience with guest appearances from other music legends and contemporary musicians in this legendary Greenwich Village venue. The event is strictly invitation only and there will be an intimate audience of only 150 people. Attendance at this event is considered acceptance that you may be filmed in the audience, which will be broadcast on Irish television and worldwide, and may be released on DVD or any other media platforms now known or to be invented. (Shooting by Crossing the Line Films, Killincarrick Road, Greystones, Co. Wicklow, Ireland) And how it went - Eyewitnesses testify (all reports taken from Liam Clancy Message board): Jamie: Liam did a great job on "The Broad Majestic Shannon." However, Shane McGowan tripped his way through "Red is the Rose" and "Dirty Old Town." Shane also stayed on stage for "Mary Ellen Carter" and then proceeded to sing several verses of the "Parting Glass." (I don't think he wanted to part with his glass). Matt: The show was fantastic....Kevin it was as always great to see you...sorry I didn't bring my 12-string guitar for you to play...Liam's energy was as always uplifting...All the musicians that appeared with Liam were great with a few exceptions....Shane from the Pogues was just a drunken fool on stage... Debbie: Mr McGowan was not drinking at all, Matt, that is just him. - I'm sorry Debbie, but Shane had been drinking. I spotted him several times backstage drinking a clear liquid from a glass. He is known to drink gin straight. Don't tell me it was water, since the performers who were drinking water were drinking Poland Spring by the bottle. Shane's performance was in a word- pathetic. I wondered why the audience was applauding after each song. Is watching someone slowly commit suicide considered entertainment? Maybe in a world of trashy talk shows and celebrity news, it is. I don't think we were doing him any favors by applauding what he gave us that night. They say an addict has to hit rock bottom and lose everything before they can recover. With all the cheers and audience support he got for being so terrible, one wonders what kind of incentive we gave him to change his lifestyle. Maybe he needs to lose all his teeth first. house of the planter: So it’s with real pain that I must report, the good vibes faded away, toward the, uh, bitter end. Liam had just covered Shawn McGowan’s “Broad Majestic Shannon,” (giving Shawn a nice plug) when--who should careen onto stage but the bad boy himself. McGowan's equilibrium was at odds with the encomium. He reeled out, bumped the piano, grazed the mike, and started to sing. Badly. Worse, after finishing his numbers he wouldn't surrender the microphone. Talk about upstaging! Suddenly the concert was all about McGowan. And his hatred for “The Parting Glass”--which tune he insulted and whose words he forgot. Liam, who must have at least a master’s degree in handling drunks, was calm and nonreactive. As for the audience--though few in the candlelight thought it too surreal, it was clear the magic was dispersing, what with the white-faced McGowan up there leering out at you. I did feel particularly sorry for the hard-working camera crew, who having traveled so far were now recording something quite different than what they had intended to capture. Soon Tom Paxton ambled up, whispered a few discreet words in Liam’s ear--and abruptly it was time for the grand finale. All performers--McGowan still up there swaying–-launched into a brave attempt at “Will Ye Go, Lassie, Go.” Frank E.Mell: Shane's time on the stage has been documented on other postings, but It appeared as if Liam had scheduled him for one number or two and when an audience member shouted out sing "Dirty Auld Town", Liam said, "yes WE'LL sing it. After the number, Shane started to leave the stage and Liam went into "The Mary Ellen Carter".The impression I got was that Shane said to himself "I know that number" and went back to the mike, He then took upon himself to sing "The Parting Glass", much I'm sure to Liam's surprise as this is his finale! Liam handled it like the pro he is and continued on. Jamie: I must agree with the comments that Shane McGowan sort of killed the night for me toward the end. He ruined some of the most beautiful and lyrical Irish music that night and brought the night to an unsatisfying close. Especially when he almost sang Rising of the Moon (which I thought I heard was to be on the playlist) in response to a kid who thought this should have been a Pogues concert. 05.06.2008 Shane MacGowan's GOT MILK! Showbiz.ie 05 Jun 2008 Shock! Horror! The bould Shane MacGowan has given up the booze and opted for a healthier lifestyle... No more Jameson, Guinness and Baileys - instead Avonmore Fresh Milk... Wait there. What’s that? No milk mustache! Kinda another mostly photo report from HMV signing session A bit too old pre-beaching news (see 1.06.2008 update): Leap of faith: McGowan to make splash at forty foot for charity By Hannah-Louise Dunne Irish Independent Friday May 30 2008 Hell-raiser Shane McGowan has pledged to jump into the Forty Foot in the name of a good cause. The Pogues frontman is going to throw caution to the wind tomorrow by leaping into the Sandycove swimming spot to raise funds for children with cystic fibrosis. The only problem is Shane admits that he can't swim very well. And he's looking for volunteers to be on hand to rescue him as 98FM presenter, Alison O'Reilly, who is organising the sponsored jump, explains. "I'm good friends with his girlfriend, Victoria Mary Clarke, and I asked her to help out on the sponsored jump," she says. "When I was talking to her, Shane came onto my phone and he said that we needed to do more. So he said that he would jump as well, if someone offered to be on hand to rescue him if he needed help." "Victoria was a little concerned but I'm a qualified lifeguard, so I'll be able to help him out if he needs it. I've done it hundreds of time so it won't be a problem and most of the other people there on the day are trained lifeguards as well, so he will be in good hands," Alison added. Along with Shane,Victoria Mary Clarke, Herald columnist Marissa Mackle, and Fair City star Alan O'Neill are also going to brave the waters of the Irish sea for the children's charity. 02.06.2008 On the same day - 31May - Shane signing copies of the box set 'Look Them Straignt in the Eye and Say Pogue Mahone' at HMV, Grafton Street, Dublin. A photo report And another one 01.06.2008 The last day of May Shane spent as it should be - on a beach: He, Victoria Clarke and film director Jim Sheridan came at Sandycove for a photocall to promote awareness to raise funds for Cystic Fibrosis equipment at Temple Street children's hospital. Photos (tons of them) |