The Pogues have said that Shane MacGowan’s “spirit lives on”, as they confirm plans to mark their second album ‘Rum Sodomy & The Lash’ next year.
The band are to perform the entire album in full next year, marking its 40th anniversary, which will see them play several shows next May.
Shane MacGowan died aged 65 last November.
“irreplaceable”
Speaking recently, Jem Finer, The Pogues’ banjo player, has described MacGowan as “irreplaceable”.
He added that his essence had been “flowing through” guest singers at shows. Finer co-wrote ‘Fairytale of New York’ alongside MacGowan.
“A lot of the music he wrote, and most of it he sang, even if he didn’t write it”, Finer said. “He’s an irreplaceable person, but somehow his spirit lives on in these people, in working with these other singers, it’s kind of like flowing through them, so he’s very much there, very celebratory and beautifully respectful”.
“It’s a spiritual thing without being contrived at all, which if it hadn’t worked like that, we wouldn’t be doing this amazing thing that blossomed into one concert and another and has led to that uncontrivable thing”.
The Pogues To Honour Rum Sodomy & The Lash
The Pogues have already performed a string of shows across the UK to celebrate the 40th anniversary of their debut album, Red Roses For Me.
The band will also head over to Dublin’s 3Arena next month (December 17).
Fontaines D.C Grian Chatten, and singer Nadine Shah were confirmed as special guests ahead of their second album shows next year.
The Pogues’ Spider Stacy had revealed that Fontaines D.C drummer Tom Coll suggested that the trio should do something to honour the 40th anniversary of Red Roses for Me.
Spider said: “Well, it started when, back in May, we did a show at Hackney Empire in London, 40 years of Red Roses For Me, and it very quickly became apparent that we were going to have to do something to mark 40 years of Rum, Sodomy & The Lash, because the Hackney show was so popular and went so well, and hopefully the Dublin show is going to be the same”.
Stacy Confirms Guests
Stacy also added that special guests for next year’s shows were yet to be decided at that stage, adding that they “suggested themselves almost”.
He continued: “It was only ever meant to be a little thing, but became something much, much bigger than it was intended to be”.
“I asked Nadine Shah, I’ve always loved her voice, and when Shane died, she just did a really very cool post, just marking his death, which I liked the tone of, I really like what she wrote, I’d never met her”.
“So I just thought, she would be great doing The Auld Triangle”, he added. “I asked her if she’d fancy doing it, and she came straight back and said she’d love to, and then other people, it kind of all falls into place”.
Back in May, Bruce Springsteen delivered a moving cover of ‘A Rainy Night In Soho’, in honour of Shane MacGowan. Check this out here.
