Shane Patrick Lysaght MacGowan was a British-born Irish singer-songwriter and musician known as the lead vocalist and primary lyricist of Celtic punk band the Pogues. He also produced solo material and collaborated with artists including Joe Strummer, Nick Cave, Sinéad O'Connor, and Cruachan. Known for his exceptional songwriting ability and his heavy alcohol and drug use, MacGowan was described by The New York Times as "a titanically destructive personality and a master songsmith whose lyrics painted vivid portraits of the underbelly of Irish immigrant life".
MacGowan at the WOMAD festival, Yokohama, 1991
MacGowan depicted in the painting Boy from the County Hell by Brian Whelan
MacGowan performing in 2010 at the Milk Club, Moscow
MacGowan receiving a Lifetime Achievement Award from President of Ireland, Michael D. Higgins, in the National Concert Hall, Dublin, on 15 January 2018
The Pogues were an English or Anglo-Irish Celtic punk band fronted by Shane MacGowan and others, founded in King's Cross, London, in 1982, as Pogue Mahone—an anglicisation by James Joyce of the Irish phrase póg mo thóin, meaning "kiss my arse". Fusing punk influences with instruments such as the tin whistle, banjo, Irish bouzouki, cittern, mandolin and accordion, the Pogues were initially poorly received in traditional Irish music circles—the noted musician Tommy Makem called them "the greatest disaster ever to hit Irish music"—but were subsequently credited with reinvigorating the genre. The band later incorporated influences from other musical traditions, including jazz, flamenco, and Middle Eastern music.
The Pogues performing in 2006
The Pogues in Brixton, 2004
The Pogues with Shane MacGowan, 11 October 2006 in San Diego
The Pogues on 1 August 2010 in Amsterdam