Shane MacGowan’s Most Memorable Musical Moments, From the Pogues to His Signature Duets
variety.comA.D. Amorosi Regarded for his wrenching, joyful lyricism as a bard of all things Irish, Shane MacGowan – the singer-songwriter known mostly for his work as frontman of the Celtic punk phenomenon the Pogues – was truly a tender poet of universal concern.
Social blight, childhood dreams, national pride, coy romanticism, bloody Anglo-Irish politics, painful histories, the glee we get from raising a pint or 12: this is the stuff of MacGown’s finest songs, whether with the Pogues, his solo work or in collaboration with fellow punk poets Nick Cave, Joe Strummer and most famously, Kirsty MacColl.
With his passing Thursday morning at the age of 65, Variety looks at the most memorable moments of Shane MacGowan’s licentious legacy. The Nipple Erectors, “King of the Bop” (1978)Like every kid in London and Belfast in the latter-half of the 1970s, MacGowan (or rather ‘Shane O’Hooligan’ as he was known then) was a hard-driving, leather-clad punk-rocker.
On his debut single with the Nipple Erectors, “King of the Bop” is more jangling than it is spiky, and asks more questions about its topic – who is this person and why are they so valued?
Read more on variety.com
