Folk musicians
Shane MacGowan of The Pogues dies aged 65
Shane MacGowan performing in London in 2014
© AFP
The singer of the Irish-English folk punk band The Pogues, Shane MacGowan, has died at the age of 65, according to his wife.
Shane MacGowan is dead: her husband “went to Jesus and Mary and his beautiful mother Therese,” wrote Victoria Mary Clarke, wife of the Pogues frontman, on the online service Instagram on Thursday. MacGowan was best known as the songwriter of the Irish folk music-inspired Christmas classic “Fairytale of New York” – one of the band’s biggest hits.
MacGowan was born in England in December 1957 to Irish parents. As a student, he attended the renowned Westminster School in London thanks to a scholarship, but was expelled from school for drug possession. In 1982 he founded The Pogues.
Shane MacGowan was considered an anti-hero
MacGowan was considered an anti-hero and was known for his alcohol and drug consumption and his crooked teeth. 2016 reported his Mrs. Victoria, her husband is dry. His teeth were also done. The musician has been in a wheelchair since breaking his pelvis in 2015. This year, MacGowan had to go back to the hospital again and again because of encephalitis.
“Fairytale of New York” regularly tops the polls for the most popular Christmas song in Great Britain and Ireland – although the ballad’s lyrics about a love from the gutter are hardly socially acceptable. The Pogues’ music is considered a model for the Celtic Punk genre, i.e. punk music with Irish influences, such as that played by the Dropkick Murphys or Flogging Molly.
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