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Shane MacGowan

Shane Patrick Lysaght MacGowan (25 December 195730 November 2023) was a British-born Irish singer-songwriter and musician, best known as the lead vocalist and primary lyricist of Celtic punk band the Pogues. He won acclaim for his lyrics, which often focused on the Irish emigrant experience; he also received widespread media attention for his lifestyle, which included decades of heavy alcohol and drug abuse. A ''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."

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. After attending Holmewood House preparatory school, he won a literary scholarship to Westminster School but was expelled in his second year for drug offences. At age 17 to 18, he spent six months in psychiatric care at Bethlem Royal Hospital due to his drug and alcohol abuse. 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 , 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, including the singles "The Church of the Holy Spook" (1994) and "That Woman's Got Me Drinking" (featuring Johnny Depp, 1994). His solo projects after leaving the Pogues included the singles "What a Wonderful World" (a duet with Nick Cave, 1992), "Haunted" (a duet with Sinéad O'Connor, 1995) and "My Way" (1996); he also collaborated with artists including 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 MacGowan's 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. Provided by Wikipedia