Story preview

‘Shane was rascality personified’: the Pogues on their late frontman, anti-Irish prejudice and the feud over Fairytale of New York

the GuardianEnglish

About this story

The Celtic punk band’s co-founders Spider Stacy and James Fearnley take your questions about Shane MacGowan, ruffling the feathers of trad musicians and putting Laurence Fox in his place

Summary from the Guardian

Section: Music
By: Dave Simpson
Published: Oct 1, 2026, 12:41 PM UTC
Updated: Oct 2, 2026, 9:59 AM UTC

Topics in this story

#shane #rascality #personified #pogues #late

Continue reading on the publisher site for the full article.

Read on publisher →theguardian.com

News Atlas is free and independent. If it’s useful to you, you can support it with a coffee. ☕ Buy me a coffee

Background

Context from Wikipedia on the organisations, people and places in this story.

Fairytale of New York

1987 single by the Pogues featuring Kirsty MacColl

"Fairytale of New York" is a song written by Jem Finer and Shane MacGowan and recorded by their London-based band the Pogues, featuring English singer-songwriter Kirsty MacColl on vocals. The song is an Irish folk–style ballad and was written as a duet, with the Pogues' singer MacGowan taking the role of the male character, and MacColl playing the female character. It was originally released as a single on 23 November 1987 and later featured on the Pogues' 1988 album If I Should Fall from Grace with God.

The Pogues

English Celtic punk band

The Pogues are an English Celtic punk band founded in King's Cross, London, in 1982, by Shane MacGowan, Spider Stacy and Jem Finer. Originally named Pogue Mahone—an anglicisation of the Irish phrase póg mo thóin, meaning "kiss my arse"—the band fused Irish traditional music with punk rock influences. After adding more members, including James Fearnley and Cait O'Riordan, the Pogues built a reputation with their live shows in London pubs and clubs.

At a glance

Outlets covering it

in the last 3 days

First reported

3 days ago

Countries

Coverage

Tone

Who else is covering this

Where in the world it’s covered

Coverage over time

Tone of the coverage

About the publisher

the Guardian

Country: United Kingdom
Language: English

Visit the Guardian ↗

Latest from the Guardian

We live in a rape-prone society. The horrific Cornell case reveals what that looks like | Rebecca Solnittheguardian.comUnited Kingdom21 hr. ago
Whales on Australia’s ‘humpback highway’ are at growing risk of injury from boat and propellor strikestheguardian.comUnited Kingdom6 hr. ago
Ukraine war briefing: Russian attacks on Kyiv bridges cause traffic chaostheguardian.comUnited Kingdom24 hr. ago
A billionaire is one of Trump’s loudest critics. Will Democrats send him to the White House?theguardian.comUnited Kingdom15 hr. ago
‘Goodbye Whoniverse. God, that was fun!’: Russell T Davies on writing the end of Doctor Whotheguardian.comUnited Kingdom20 hr. ago

‘Shane was rascality personified’: the Pogues on their late frontman, anti-Irish prejudice and the feud over Fairytale of New York

About this story

Background

Fairytale of New York

The Pogues

At a glance

Who else is covering this

Where in the world it’s covered

Coverage over time

Tone of the coverage

About the publisher

Latest from the Guardian

About the publisher

Related topics

About the publisher

Latest from the Guardian

Background

Fairytale of New York

The Pogues