Written by: Alex Green
Shane MacGowan has died.
The mighty singer/songwriter of the Pogues was 65.
The Kent-born MacGowan had a series of health struggles dating back to 2015, when a bad fall found him breaking his pelvis and confining him to a wheelchair.
MacGowan was felled by a lengthy battle with encephalitis, a rare condition that inflames the brain.
MacGowan’s spokesperson issued a statement that MacGowan, “died peacefully at 3.30am this morning (30 November) with his wife and sister by his side…Prayers and the last rites were read during his passing.”
His wife Victoria Clarke wrote: “I don’t know how to say this so I am just going to say it. Shane… has gone to be with Jesus and Mary and his beautiful mother Therese.”
Irish President Michael D Higgins issued this statement on MacGowan’s passing: “Like so many across the world, it was with the greatest sadness that I learned this morning of the death of Shane MacGowan…His words have connected Irish people all over the globe to their culture and history, encompassing so many human emotions in the most poetic of ways.”
Over the course of his brilliant career, MacGowan released seven albums with the Pogues as well as several fabulous records with his band The Popes.
His song “Fairytale of New York,” a duet with the late Kirsty MacColl, remains one of the greatest Christmas songs ever written.
“A typhoon of poetic genius, MacGowan’s songbook is one I’d put up not only next to the greatest Irish poets of all time, I feel pretty comfortable saying is one of the most brilliant bodies of work by anyone ever,” said SEM’s Matt Sloan.
Author Tony Parsons wrote: “I remember Shane MacGowan when he was in his mid-teens and coming down the Roxy in Covent Garden to bang on unattended drums in his Union jack jacket. A crazy kid with a dream who grew into one of the greatest talents these islands have ever know. A creative giant. Sleep well, Shane and see you at number one for Christmas.”
