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Shane MacGowan: Tributes pour in after Pogues star dies aged 65

Pogues Shane MacGowan, best known for the Christmas hit Fairytale of New York, has died.

Pic: Richard Young/Shutterstock
Image: Shane MacGowan and his wife Victoria Mary Clarke. Pic: Richard Young/Shutterstock
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Shane MacGowan obituary

According to Shane MacGowan, the seeds of Fairytale Of New York were sown when Elvis Costello bet him he couldn't write a yuletide hit without selling out.

Appropriately for a song that centres around a quarrel there are differing accounts of the origins, but MacGowan - although on occasion something of an unreliable narrator - always maintained this version.

Joining the likes of Slade, Band Aid, Bing Crosby and Wham! might have seemed an unlikely feat but The Pogues frontman and banjo player Jem Finer rose to the challenge, creating an antithesis to festive cheer in their bitter, drunken tale of hard times and broken dreams.

Read more here...

'The incredible rebels of my generation'

TV host Carol Vorderman has shared her own tribute to Shane MacGowan.

She highlighted the fact that another Irish musical talent - Sinead O'Connor - has also died this year.

She wrote on X: "Incredible photo here of a very young Sinead O'Connor and Shane MacGowan together.

"A loss of both this year... 

"The incredible rebels of my generation."

'I think this is the most spiritual I've ever felt'

Comedian Mark Steel, who is being treated for throat cancer, said he was listening to The Pogues earlier today, before hearing the news of Shane MacGowan's death.

Steel, 63, shared his diagnosis in October, saying he went to doctors after noticing one side of his neck was larger than the other.

Writing on X, formerly Twitter, he said he chose The Pogue's 1985 album Rum, Sodomy & The Lash to listen to during radiotherapy treatment this morning.

'Don't judge a book by its cover': The night Kiefer Sutherland met Shane MacGowan

Following the announcement of MacGowan's death, a clip of Hollywood star Kiefer Sutherland being interviewed on Ireland's The Late Late Show from 2019 has resurfaced on social media.

The actor and singer-songwriter recalls meeting MacGowan for the first time, saying the "cardinal mistake" of discussing politics came up and they did not agree.

He goes on to detail how they ended up having an actual fight, "rolling around on the floor". When it ended, Sutherland said he apologised and said he was embarassed.

"Shane MacGowan at that time had a cast on his right arm that looked as well lived in as anything I've ever seen," he says, "and he did not have a lot of teeth at the time either, so fighting just seemed unfair."

Three hours later, MacGowan apparently tapped Sutherland on the shoulder, asking if he could stay with him as his friends had all left.

"I was so impressed with his directness that I said, 'well do you want a drink?'"

Afterwards, he says MacGowan went back to his hotel room and the star gave him some blankets to sleep on the sofa.

When Sutherland got up early the next day, "all the blankets were perfectly folded... [and] there was a note that he had written on hotel stationery and it was the most beautiful letter I'd ever read.

"It was like poetry. It was just a thank you note but it was so generous, the things he had to say about me and our night and humanity, and it was quite long. And I've still got this letter to this day, because it changed my perspective - don't judge a book by its cover and very rarely trust first encounters."

'Fairytale Of New York remains the most beautiful song I've ever heard'

TV presenter John Henry Phillips shared his love for The Pogues' Christmas classic Fairytale Of New York in his tribute to Shane MacGowan.

Writing on X, formerly Twitter, he described the singer as "a true poet and artist".

Billy Bragg: His music opened 'doors for the likes of myself and others'

Singer-songwriter Billy Bragg is among those paying tribute, writing on X, formerly Twitter, about how Shane MacGowan inspired him.

Journalist Tony Parsons: 'See you at number one for Christmas'

Journalist and broadcaster Tony Parsons shared his memories of Shane MacGowan as a teenager in a post on Twitter.

He also acknowledged the likelihood of The Pogues' most famous track, Fairytale Of New York, now topping the charts on Christmas Day - which would have been the singer's 66th birthday.

The song was released at the end of November 1987 and is widely regarded as one of the greatest Christmas songs of all time.

But like many that came to be festive classics - such as Wham!'s Last Christmas and Mariah Carey's All I Want For Christmas Is You - it was kept off the number one spot at the time, with the accolade in 1987 going to the Pet Shop Boys' cover of Always On My Mind.

MacGowan's life in music: From the Nipple Erectors to Fairytale Of New York

Shane MacGowan is probably best known for Christmas hit Fairytale Of New York, the duet with the late Kirsty MacColl.

But he joined his first band Nipple Erectors, which became The Nips, more than two decades earlier in 1976, and supported the likes of The Clash and The Jam.

He also played guitar with The Millwall Chainsaws, the prototype for the band that would become Pogue Mahone (Irish slang for "kiss my arse") and eventually The Pogues.

He founded the band along with Peter 鈥渟pider鈥� Stacy, Jem Finer and James Fearnley.

Their debut album, Red Roses For Me, came out in 1984, followed by Rum Sodomy & the Lash the following year. Their singles included Dark Streets Of London, A Pair Of Brown Eyes, Sally MacLennane, Dirty Old Town and The Irish Rover.

Fairytale Of New York was released at the end of November 1987. Like many Christmas songs that came to be festive classics - such as Wham!'s Last Christmas and Mariah Carey's All I Want For Christmas Is You - it was kept off the number one spot, with the accolade that year going to the Pet Shop Boys' cover of Always On My Mind.

But Fairytale has endured; in December 2022, the song was certified quintuple platinum in the UK for three million combined sales, and it is often voted the nation's favourite festive single.

As The Pogues gained commercial success, fame, touring and the chaotic lifestyle took a toll and MacGowan was eventually sacked from the band for unprofessional behaviour in 1991.

He went on to form Shane MacGowan And The Popes, before reforming with The Pogues for a sell-out tour in 2001.

Together, the band released five albums between 1984 and 1990, while MacGowan released two with The Popes in 1994 and 1997.

Hot Chip singer Alexis Taylor shares A Rainy Night In Soho lyrics

Hot Chip鈥檚 Alexis Taylor shared the lyrics to The Pogues song A Rainy Night In Soho in tribute to Shane MacGowan.

He wrote in an Instagram post: "Very sad news about Shane MacGowan passing away.

"A man you don鈥檛 meet every day 馃枻

"Really loved his music and songwriting and it has meant a lot to me over the years."

Gerry Adams says Ireland 'has lost a great patriot'

Sinn Fein's former leader Gerry Adams said Ireland "has lost a great patriot" following the death of Shane MacGowan. 

"I am really sorry to hear of death of Shane Magowan," he wrote in a post on X, formerly Twitter.

"Ireland has lost a great patriot, a poet and friend of the down trodden and marginalised."

In pictures: Shane MacGowan has been hailed as a musical genius