Pogues

The Pogues are an Irish Celtic rock-punk band who, starting in the 80s, gained a remarkable following despite the thoroughly unique style of music they produced.

Formed in 1982 in London as Pogue Mahone - meant to be the anglicization of the irreverent Irish Gaelic phrase póg mo thóin ("kiss my arse") - they immediately forged a genre of their own, fusing the typical elements of Irish folk music with those of punk rock. Alongside the usual instruments of the former genre, such as flute, banjo, mandolin, fiddle and accordion, more innovative percussion and string instruments appeared, giving rise to songs with very fast rhythms inspired by Clash songs.

Shane MacGowan's (the future Pogues singer) first band was formed right in the midst of the punk era (legend has it, inspired by a Clash gig) under the name Nipple Erectors, with MacGowan "renaming himself" Shane O'Hooligan; the name was soon shortened to Nips. After the Nips split up, MacGowan founded Pogue Mahone, whose music - a mix of Irish folk, rockabilly, R&B... - remained a defining trait forever after.

MacGowan's career is closely intertwined with the Clash, having supported them on tour and recorded with Joe Strummer, who also produced one of their albums and several of their songs.

The band's original founders were Shane MacGowan (vocals), Jim Fearnley (accordion) and Spider Stacy (flute), later joined by Jeremy "Jem" Finer (guitar, banjo), Cait O'Riordan (bass) (replaced from 1986 by Darryl Hunt) and Andrew Ranken (percussion).

The first step toward popularity was shortening the original name to Pogues, a choice made to get around radio stations' reluctance to play songs by a band with such a name - a move that led to their debut album, "Red Roses For Me" (1984). They then recorded their second album, "Rum, Sodomy & The Lash", in 1985 with Elvis Costello producing (the title taken from a famous remark falsely attributed to Winston Churchill about the British Royal Navy). This is the album that would seal their definitive breakthrough, made up of both original pieces written by MacGowan and songs from the Celtic and wider folk tradition (Dirty Old Town, The Band Played Waltzing Matilda).

1986 brought "If I Should Fall From Grace With God", which infused their sound with influences from other cultures, such as Latin American music. Driving it to success was the famous Christmas song "Fairytale Of New York", a duet with Kirsty MacColl considered one of the greatest Christmas songs of all time

In 1988 the band released "If I Should Fall From Grace Of God"; despite enjoying a period of considerable success, tensions with Shane MacGowan continued until the musician left the group in 1991. The Pogues found themselves in a period of uncertainty; Joe Strummer briefly stepped in as singer, but Stacy eventually became the permanent lead vocalist. Two albums followed, "Waiting Fo Herb" (1993) – which contains "Tuesday Morning", the band's best-selling single – and "Pogue Mahone" (1995). The Pogues disbanded in 1996.

In 2001 – with MacGowan back on vocals – the group reunited for a brief Christmas tour, and again in 2004 for nine UK dates. A series of live shows followed in 2005; they appeared on several BBC television programmes, and in 2006 toured the United States and England. In July 2007 one of the band's founding members, Philip Chevron, was forced to leave due to serious health problems.

In May 2008 the box set titled "Just Look Them Straigh In The Eye And Say… Pogue Mahone" was released, featuring five previously unreleased tracks.

On 8 October 2013, just days after announcing a UK tour entirely dedicated to the album "Rum, Sodomy & The Lash", the band suffered a devastating loss with the death of Philip Chevron, after which their activity effectively came to an end. Then, in August 2022, bassist Darryl Hunt also passed away.

The death of Shane MacGowan, on 30 November 2023, sadly brought down the curtain on the glorious history of the Pogues.

(Source: Lastfm)