In honor of St. Patrick’s Day weekend, I was thinking it might be nice to listen to some Pogues…. The Pogues, for the uninitiated, were an Irish traditional punk rock band from London, led by the inimitable Shane MacGowan and his accomplice Spider Stacy. They’re best known for their Christmas ballad Fairy Tale of New York, featuring Kirsty MacColl, but MacGowan and the band wrote many memorable songs, dripping with authenticity and God knows what else, that make you think you’ve woken up in a rowdy Irish bar at the height of the party.
When I saw them in Boston in the late 80s or early 90s, the audience was much like the one from Glasgow linked below — the room all in, everyone singing along. Shane, who was drinking something from a large plastic cup, got progressively more plastered but that seemed to be part of the act. How can you sing Dirty Old Town or A Pair of Brown Eyes and stand there all spiffy and sober in your stage suit? That wasn’t Shane.
Despite the gritty subject matter, there’s a certain joy to the Pogues sound, tinged with tragedy, that for some reason seems quintessentially Irish to me. And so I bring you The Pogues…
Parental Advisory: These guys sing about subjects that are not to everyone’s taste. There is swearing. The F word is used. If you’re looking for a safer Irish band, I would recommend The Chieftains, who are very Irish and not at all punk rock.
Here’s a Pogues concert to watch:
The Pogues live in Japan 1988 (decent video and audio quality, the right era, cute Japanese teens pogoing in the audience)
And here’s one with great ambience, lots of audience participation, and a pleasing party atmosphere but no video. Still, it’s great fun to listen to if you’re wondering what a show might have been like.
The Pogues live in Glasgow 1986 (good audio, no video, lots of audience participation)
Finally, for those who like punk rock but don’t like Irish Traditional, here’s one from the Sex Pistols.
Sex Pistols Live At Brixton Academy (There’ll Always Be An England)
Happy St. Patricks Day weekend, everyone!
Pogues!
Love them, thank you!!
Me, too
I endorse the return to weekend concerts for this one. : )
Go raibh maith agat go mór
Go raibh maith agat go mór (Thank you very much) for the wonderful St. Patty’s Day concert.
For those not in the know, the name “Pogues” is a pun in Gaelic. It is short for “póg mo thóin”, pronounced “pogue mahone”, a common Irish expression which refers to kissing a certain part of the anatomy.
FWIW, there’s Canadian-Irish Punk band called the “Mahones”. They sound a lot like the Pogues. I don’t believe they ever shared a stage together.
My favorite Pogues album is “If I Should Fall from Grace with God” (with its Christmas hit duet by Kirsty MacColl and Shane MacGowan). “Fairytale of New York” was released as a single in 1987 and reached No. 1 in the Irish charts and No. 2 in the British charts over Christmas. The song has become a festive classic in the UK and Ireland over the years, and was voted the best Christmas song of all time three years running.
Kirsty MacColl was the daughter of folk singer Ewan MacColl whose song “Dirty Old Town” (1:14:29) was inspired by his home town in Lancashire. (He also wrote “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” which became a No. 1 hit in 1972 when recorded by Roberta Flack.)
BTW, Shane MacGowan translates as “John Smith”.
Feeling Irish
I don’t normally feel my Irish heritage all that much, it being drowned out by my French Canadian side, but this year I really wanted to listen to Irish music and feel the tradition (or nostalgia, or what have you). The Pogues concerts put me in a great mood all weekend. We listened to the raucous Glasgow show on Saturday while celebrating my mother’s birthday (she shares the name and day with the great saint). It turned out to be the perfect party music. My mother noted that in Scotland, people were still singing along like they meant it, which people seem to do less nowadays. But then she caught some lyrics and supposed that “streams of whiskey” might have had something to do with it….
Slainte!
I liked the concert and the music is fine, but let’s get a couple of facts straight.
The Pogues are no more Irish than the Dropkick Murphys or Black 47 or , gasp…Riverdance!
Heck, the Boomtown Rats at least have one real born Irishman in the band!
The Guardian said it best back in 2010: “The Pogues, hailing largely from London, are the musical equivalent of the Republic of Ireland circa 1990 , when half the team had English accents.”
So today on my stereo, here’s who we’re playing: My Bloody Valentine, Thin Lizzy, In Tua Nua, Van Morrison, Rory Gallagher, Planxty, Paul Brady, The Waterboys, The Sawdoctors, The Cranberries, Mary Coughlan, The Bothy Band, Altan, Kevin Burke.
Why not buy the biggest selling traditional Irish music ever? Sharon Shannon.
My fav? Patrick Street.
If you love the real deal, check out the last two artists, Sharon in particular is the true soul of Ireland who I bet you can still hear at a local bar in Kinvara during the week.
When I lived in Ireland, St Patrick’s Day was a holiday, but rather, a holy day of obligation and bars were closed for the most part. In times since, the Irish realized that St Patrick’s Day was the unofficial first day of spring and a huge drinking day to the Irish Diaspora. They teamed up with Air Lingus and offer holiday packages to Ireland and have a big parade in Dublin. They cashed in!
Slainte
Kids
I had no idea Shane was so young when this was going on. He sounds like a grizzled, old pub resident, but looks like a teen.
I like his sneer as he sings, too. I think one would have to duplicate it to sing along effectively.