The Pogues biography
The band has received mixed reviews of some recent performances though they continue to pull the crowds. Reviewing a March 2008 concert, The Washington Post described MacGowan as "puffy and paunchy," but said the singer "still has a banshee wail to beat Howard Dean's, and the singer's abrasive growl is all a band this marvelous needs to give its amphetamine-spiked take on Irish folk a focal point." The reviewer continued: "The set started off shaky, MacGowan singing of `goin' where streams of whiskey are flowin,' and looking like he'd arrived there already. He grew more lucid and powerful as the evening gathered steam, through two hours and 26 songs, mostly from the Pogues' first three (and best) albums". In December 2010 the Pogues (with support from Crowns) played what was billed as a farewell UK Christmas tour.
In March 2011, the Pogues played a six-city/ten-show sold out US tour titled "A Parting Glass with The Pogues" visiting Chicago, Detroit, Baltimore, Washington D.C., Boston, and New York (in that order), with only the last three cities getting more than one show. It may, or may not, be the last time they tour the States. Stacy said "I think we are basically pretty certain this is the last tour of this type we'll be doing in the States. There might be the odd sort of one-off here and there. We're not saying this is absolutely, definitely the end."
Current members
- Shane MacGowan: vocals, guitar, banjo, bodhrán (1982-1991, 2001-present)
- Spider Stacy: vocals, tin whistle (1982-1996, 2001-present)
- Jem Finer: banjo, mandola, saxophone, hurdy-gurdy, guitar, vocals (1982-1996, 2001-present)
- Andrew Ranken: drums, percussion, harmonica, vocals (1982-1996, 2001-present)
- James Fearnley: accordion, mandolin, piano, guitar (1982-1993, 2001-present)
- Philip Chevron: guitar, vocals (1985-1994, 2001-present)
- Darryl Hunt: bass guitar (1986-1996, 2001-present)
- Terry Woods: mandolin, cittern, concertina, guitar, vocals (1986-1993, 2001-present)
Former members
- Cait O'Riordan: bass, vocals (1982-1986, 2004)
- Joe Strummer: vocals, guitar (1991-1992; also replaced an ailing Phil Chevron for a U.S. tour in 1987)
- Dave Coulter: mandolin, violin, ukulele, percussion (1993-1996)
- James McNally: accordion, whistles, percussion (1993-1996)
- Jamie Clarke: guitar, vocals (1995-1996)
"Fairytale of New York" was released as a single in 1987 and reached #1 in the Irish charts and #2 in the British charts over Christmas (the time of peak sales). The song has become a festive classic in the UK and Ireland over the years, and was voted the best Christmas song of all time three years running in 2004, 2005, and 2006 in polls by music channel VH1 UK, despite not achieving Christmas Number One when it was released. It was also voted as the 27th greatest song never to reach UK#1 in another VH1 poll, and also voted as the 84th greatest song of all time by BBC Radio 2 listeners in their "Sold on Song" top 100 poll. In 2007 the record was briefly censored by the BBC because of the word "faggot" being deemed potentially offensive to gay people. Following protests from listeners, including the mother of Kirsty MacColl, the censorship was lifted.
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