The trailer for the Shane MacGowan documentary entitled ‘Crock of Gold: A Few Rounds with Shane MacGowan’ has been released.
Produced by Julien Temple, the film tells the story of MacGowan’s life and career, from his upbringing to his move to London as a teenager and how MacGowan became “one of the finest writers of this century” according to The Clash’s Joe Strummer. Temple uses archival footage, live concert footage and interviews with MacGowan, his family and friends.
There is also footage from MacGowan’s 60th birthday celebration from the National Concert Hotel in 2018. His birthday celebration was one of the biggest nights the Irish music industry has enjoyed. Performances from Bono, Nick Cave, Sinead O'Connor, Imelda May and members of Blondie, Primal Scream and many more graced the stage that night for MacGowan.
Temple has produced many music documentaries before such as ‘The Great Rock n’ Roll Swindle’, ‘The Filth and the Fury’, and ‘Joe Strummer: The Future Is Unwritten’. Johnny Depp, Stephen Deuters and Stephen Malit are also producers for the upcoming film.
Legendary illustrator Ralph Steadman, known for his work with Hunter S. Thompson has also been commissioned to provide special animation for the documentary.
A press release for the documentary states, “Crock of Gold – A Few Rounds With Shane MacGowan deep dives into the life of the tortured Irish vocalist, best known as the lead singer and songwriter of the Pogues, who famously combined traditional Irish music with the visceral energy of punk rock.”
“Featuring unseen archival footage from the band and MacGowan’s family, as well as animation from legendary illustrator Ralph Steadman, Julien Temple’s rollicking love letter spotlights the iconic frontman up to his 60th birthday celebration, where singers, movie stars, and rock & roll outlaws gather to celebrate the man and his legacy.”
The documentary aims to shine a light on "MacGowan’s passions, humour, and deep knowledge of music, history, spirituality, and popular culture”.
“God looked down on this little cottage in Ireland and said, ‘That little boy there, that’s the little boy I’m going to use to save Irish music” says MacGowan in the trailer. You can watch it below.
As frontman of The Pogues, MacGowan brought Irish folk to the punk scene and beyond. The Pogues enjoyed worldwide acclaim with the release of 'Fairytale of New York' in 1987. Regarded as one of the best Christmas songs of all time, the song didn't reach Christmas number one that year. That award went to the Pet Shop Boys with the track 'You Were Always On My Mind'.
Therock.ie which is Nova's sister website had The Pogues in their top 10 Irish rock acts of all time, you can read the list here.
With cinemas closed in Ireland for the time being, an Irish release date has yet to be announced. The film will be released in cinemas around the world from November 20th onward. A DVD of the documentary is to be released on December 7th as well.
