Best known as the toothless face behind the originators of the "Irish Folk Punk" sound, The Pogues, his amazing appetite for drink and drugs has often overshadowed his sheer brilliance. The first three albums that The Pogues released featured a collection of the finest songwriting since Townes Van Zandt was at his most prolific, and the man wielding the pen was more often than not Mr. MacGowan.
The displaced Irish group made there debut in 1984 with "Red Roses For Me". In a time when it was mighty unpopular to be Irish in London, The Pogues came out wearing their Irish on their sleeves with a collection of original and tradition songs. Their infusion of traditional Irish Folk music and punk attitude set them apart from all the post-punk new wave garbage that was dominating the charts in London, and found an audience in the disgruntled young displaced Irish youth in London. The shining moments on the "Red Roses" come from Shane's songwriting. His "gutter hymns" about drunken eternity, and the hardships of being Irish in a land that despises such as "Boys From The County Hell", and "Streams Of Whiskey" paint such a beautifully bleak picture, and offered a taste of the brilliance that would come from the band in the future.
Following the eye opening release of "Red Roses For Me", The Pogues were back in the studio to record their follow up "Rum, Sodomy & The Lash", with a famous new fan producing the album in Elvis Costello. While Shane didn't always agree with the methods of Costello, one cannot argue with the results. "Rum, Sodomy, & The Lash" would be the album that propelled a band with great potential into being a truly great band. Once again, much of it was due to the songwriting of Shane MacGowan. "The Old Main Drag", "A Pair of Brown Eyes", and "Sally MacLennane" showed a depth not previously seen from the band. What "Rum, Sodomy & The Lash" showed was that this was not a gimmick. They were not just fast playing with no substance. This was a band with a sound, and a voice.
While the band continued to produce fantastic music, Shane continued his love affair with alcohol and narcotics. He claims in his autobiography that he would eat LSD every day, to go with the whiskey, gin, and cocaine that he was consuming on a regular basis. He even goes so far as to blame an experience on LSD in New Zealand for some of his missing teeth. Apparently, under the spell of lucy, he painted himself blue and began eating his Eagles records. This, as one would imagine, provided much oral trauma. Even though Shane's personal habits where beginning to spiral out of control, both he and the band had one more great album left. Their masterpiece, "If I Should Fall From Grace With God".
Lineup changes, Shane's increasing substance abuse, and problems with their record label led to a three year lapse between "Rum, Sodomy" and "If I Should Fall From Grace...", but it would be more than worth than weight. The band branched out by adding influences of Spanish, and Jazz to their sound, while still remaining loyal to their Irish roots. It was on this album that they would find their greatest success with "Fairytale Of New York." A broken christmas carol duet with Kirsty MacColl , the daughter of Ewan MacColl who famously penned "Dirty Old Town", would go on to reach number two on the charts and be remembered, at least by me, as the greatest Christmas song ever written.
Unfortunately, this would prove to be the end for the The Pogues brilliance. Two sub-par albums, creative differences, and Shane's increasing erratic behavior led to the bands breakup in 1991. Shane would go on to form "The Popes", and record "The Snake". It was a decent record, with the usual strong songwriting, but it was clear that the drink had taken it's toll on his voice. Neither the remaining members of The Pogues, nor Shane would ever achieve the success they had in the mid to late 80's again.
Today The Pogues are back together, although they don't record. You can catch them live, and if you're lucky Shane will not vomit on stage, and on a good night you can understand him as he growls through his songs. Shane MacGowan is the ultimate example of living the awful lifestyle that we promote here at Blue Ribbon Radio. He lived it, he wrote it, and while it may have left him a shell of the brilliant man that once was, without it we may not ever of had "Fairytale Of New York". So, Cheers, Shane, here's to you, and those like you.
Chris Miller continues his full on assault on his insides, while idolizing people who sweat pure gin.
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