| In the summer of 1999 there was a series on British television about the 70’s, I happened to catch the episode about 1977, this is where I stumbled upon the world of the misfits. I saw the Sex Pistols and the infamous Grundy incident and from that moment onwards I was engaged with punk and the way it stormed the nation. Little did I know that Shane MacGowan was a face of the London punk scene, then known as Shane ‘o’ Hooligan, and had formed his own punk group the nipple erectors. |
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| In 2000 John Lydon (aka Johnny Rotten) was presenting a show, the top ten x certificate songs. In the top 5 was Streets of sorrow/Birmingham six. I remembered the song from the ‘If I should fall from grace with god’ album, it was an old LP of my mothers which I dug out and then played continuously. I was thrilled with the unique blend of punky folk and I was intrigued by MacGowan’s skill as a song writer. After this I went on to buy more albums discovering the raw and exciting sound of ‘Red roses for me’ and becoming more bedazzled by the talented music the made had created. At this time I was 15 and many of my peers didn’t understand my fascination with the band. However, anyone who has listened to the pogues will understand the overwhelming presence it has, be it the enchantment of Wild cats of Kilkenny or the romance of Lullaby of London. |
| the Nipples Erectors (the Nips) |
| I have collected everything I can which is pogue related, I’ve brought cd’s, books and I have been lucky enough to see them perform twice. I can listen to the same song over and over and pick up on different elements every time. The band have so many different dimensions, a strong rhythm section, and Stacy with his melodical and haunting input. Each band member seems to inject an energy creating breathtaking music. An example is the brilliant ‘Thousands are sailing’, written by Chevron. In my opinion, a beautiful piece of music, which Chevron actually sings on live performances, his lilting folk voice compliments the music and is another addition to the magnificent collection of tunes the band has produced. |
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| Another early photo with one very happy Mr. Shane ‘o’ Hooligan. |
| Line up: Spider, Andrew, James, Terry, Shane, Phil, Jem and Daryll |
| Siobhan Broome 04.09.2002 |
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I think it started all back in the year 1994, when i was at the age of 9. My brother had the tape „Waiting for Herb“ and i liked that kind of music, the stuff I heard before that was R.E.M and Violent Femmes. Of course I didn’t understand a single word of that tape but the music really excited me. There was a shop in town where you could lend cds and copy them on tape back home. So my brother copied a bit later also „Hell’s Ditch“ and „Peace and Love“. At first i didn’t liked Shane’s voice but after a while I became accustomed to it. I think as Birthday present my mother gave me „Rum, Sodomy & The Lash“, she copied on tape but she didn’t copied „Sick Bed Of....“ with on that tape, because she didn’t liked the words used in it... In 1995 i saw a poster that announced a Pogues gig. Of course my parents didn’t let me go instead of that i got the album „Pogue Mahone“ I got all other Pogues albums over the next 2 of years. Then i forgot the Pogues for a while and became more intrested in the Specials. I don’t know exactly when, i think it was 1997 i got the video „Live @ the T&C-Club“. My parents were shocked!!! Later I stoped to learn piano but started to teach myself guitar, to play along to Pogues stuff. In late 2000, in the last days of Napster i got all B-Sides and rare stuff from the Pogues as MP3, every day a new song, it took me more than a month to get them with my 56.k modem. Now i was able to read and understand english and i spend a awfull lot of time in studying old Pogues articles, reviews and of course lyrics. When i finished that i started to collect Live Shows (http://pogues.cdaweb.de) and i think now got one of the biggest Pogues / Shane Bootlegs collection here in Germany. In July 2002 i had the chance to see Shane MacGowan & Popes in Switzerland at the Ministry of Rock Festival along with the Cure...it was BRILLIANT!!! One of the best moments in my young life! Today my room looks like a memorial hall, i got almost no more space to store my CDs. I can’t imagine a life without the music of the Pogues or Shane, they always fucking cheered me up, with that kind of music it’s almost impossible to be in bad mood. That’s enough..... Cheers, Alex |
| Alex Stickel 06.09.2002 |
| CONTRIBUTORS: |
| Irene 15.09.2002 |
| An evening in the 1980ies, only boring stuff on TV and then, suddenly, magic. And on Swiss TV too! The Pogues in all their drunken glory with their front man Shane MacGowan singing “Dirty Old Town”. I had heard about them but never seen them performing. It was an electrifying experience and the beginning of a passion. During the following weeks I bought all Pogues recordings I could put my hands on. I loved their music, Anglo-Irish folk-rock-punk, whatever, no need to put a label on it. Poignant lyrics, Shane MacGowan’s raucous voice and the musical talent of the band, all this combined made for a blend of exciting music. Later that year The Pogues were touring in Germany and I was lucky enough to catch several live gigs. These concerts were very special: quite a mixed audience of punks, skinheads, Hell’s Angels and absolutely normal looking people were totally entranced by the energetic performance of the band. You didn’t just listen to the music, you felt it with all your senses, you lived the music. And the after parties were something to remember too. Shane’s performance was erratic, even in those days. Sometimes he was very with it and the interaction with the audience was great and sometimes he was completely blotto but the audience loved him nevertheless. Over the next years I saw them live in various countries and they always managed to create that magical atmosphere that was so very much their own. Then the split came and I realized that The Pogues without Shane were still a very good band but the magic was gone. He was the one who made it happen. His lyrics, his voice and his personality. When he launched his solo career I felt that The Popes would never be the great band that The Pogues had been but I still loved his songs. All right, there are better singers and better performers but show me one who is better at combining poetry (he is a poet although he wouldn’t like to be called one) with exactly that kind of music that stays with you long after you heard it. Even when he sings cover versions of other people’s songs he somehow transforms them and makes them sound as if they were his own. So I’m still a Shane fan and though I know this isn’t going to happen, except for a short reunion now and then, The Pogues with Shane would be bliss! |
| Dear fans! I intend to start a new section here. Its work name is "HOW I CAME TO LOVE THEM". As you could guess it will be a series of stories, kind of fans' memoirs, essays on one's first Pogues/Popes song, first Pogues/Popes gig, on one's discovery of Pogues/Popes world, etc. If my idea awakes your interest send you essays (in English please!) to macrua@fyezall.zzn.com or macruasbog@yahoo.com I won't be able to perform it without your help and will appreciate any contribution !!! Apply for information to e-mail or ICQ# 128052706 (Mon-Fri) Thanks !!! |
| As a teenage Jam fan I got into The Nips because Paul Weller produced Happy Song, and he was a fan of Shane. So, I was a teenage Nips fan living in Birmingham at the time, following their story via the pages of the rock inkies, pop mags and John Peel Show. I can remeber being in my cousinąs bedroom in Bromsgrove when I read the piece about the NIPS splitting up in Sounds. In the early eighties I gradually got more interested in folk and country music, courtesy of the Johnny Cash, Clancy Brothers and Dubliners records owned by my Irish parents. Then one night in mid-1984 I heard John Peel mention the Nips and then play Dark Streets of London by The Pogues for the first time. That moment changed my life! I was now 18 and could get to gigs of The Pogues. I saw The Pogues 53 times in two years. Also, saw The Men They Coudn't Hang 26 times during the same period. The first Pogues gig I went to was at the Birmingham Digbeth Civic Hall on December 6th 1984. I stood at the front of the stage in my long overcoat and befriended Julie Walsh (who I fancied, but quickly realised was going out with Shane at the time) and Julie Pritchard who was going out with Darryl Hunt who was then the 'Roadie'. After the gig, the Julies invited me and my mates Mick Cahill and Don O'Rourke upstairs to the bar where the band were allowed to have a drink after hours. I was fairly naive 18 year old, but I liked a drink and still do. All the Pogues were in the bar with their new manager, Frank Murray, who Cot accused of looking like Bono's Dad. Shane then walked into the bar and was immediately harangued by Julie Pritchard and Cot, both of whom accused him of being an ugly, toothless bastard who they were going to 'sort out'. Shane responded by advising them to Fuck off and buy us all a drink! ˛ Welcome to the world of Shane and the Pogues! Shane, Cot, the Julies, Andy P. Davies and pals spent the entire night and morning getting bladdered and increasingly absorbed in conversation about the merits of the recently disbanded Buzzccocks, Redskins and Dexys Midnight Runners. We eventually walked Shane and Julie Walsh to New Street Station (Shane had borrowed Darryl's Donkey Jacket). And then I went to Mass at The Holy Name in Great Barr. I still regard The Pogues as being the greatest band of all time. |
| Andy P. Davies 26.10.2003 |