Tag Archives: Shane MacGowan

Thir(s)ty Years of The Pogues

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Pogues 2012 CologneLabelled by Rolling Stone as ‚The Musical equivalent of a pub crawl’ The Pogues were in Cologne at the Tanzbrunnen on Tuesday to celebrate their suitably titled  ’Thir(s)ty Years’ Anniversary Tour.

I knew the plastic beer glasses would be flying, and I was pretty certain the 7pm start was more a hope than a statement of intent.  I was certain too that the main question on everyone’s minds would be the same as it was in Bonn last year: ‘How will Shane be?’. Which is a pity, because people really should read their tickets more closely.  It doesn’t say ‘Shane MacGowen & Band’  it says ‘The Pogues’ – and they are a great Band in their own right.

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The Pogues – James Fearnley Interview

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When I rang Shane up to tell him that I was finally writing a book about us and that I would probably be on the unstinting side, he said: ‘I don’t give a f**k about that.

It would have been hard to believe at the time, but during their hard living, hard touring, hard drinking days someone within legendary Irish Band The Pogues was soberly making notes.  The result is ‘Here Comes Everybody’ a book intriguingly described by it’s Author, the Bands Accordion Player James Fearnley, as ‘Creative Non-fiction’.  Fearnley’s book begins on 30 June 1980 in London when he arrived, Telecaster in hand, to audition for MacGowan’s band ‘The Nips’ and abruptly ends in Yokohama (30 August 1991) when MacGowan is called to a Band meeting and sacked.  As you can well imagine, there is an intriguing story to be told in between.

In an exclusive interview, 3SongsBonn asked Fearnley for his thoughts on the New Book, on the Old Band and on their upcoming Concert in Cologne this August.  His answers are honest and with a touch of humour that must have been a life-saver during the tempestuous early years of Pogue Mahone and the roller-coaster ride to success in a mini-van existence that Fearnley likens to the atmosphere of Germany’s epic Naval drama ‘Das Boot’.

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