When we were asked by EPIC, the Irish emigration museum, to get involved in curating a seasonal exhibition on the music of The Pogues and Shane MacGowan, with ‘Fairytale of New York’ as a celebratory mid-Winter fulcrum, it was an idea that appealed enormously. The Pogues are one of the greatest Irish bands of all time. But they are, of course, also more than just an Irish band. We spoke to key members of the Pogues camp and people were up for it. In addition to the exhibition – to which we gave the title They Gave The Walls A Talking – we decided that a kind of anti-seasonal seasonal cover story would make sense, with powerful contributions from Jem Finer, Siobhan MacGowan, Steve Lillywhite, Nick Cave, Damien Dempsey – and loads more. It is, we believe, a fitting tribute to a band that changed the way we look at Irish music – and to the songwriting genius who ensured that they delivered a heap of classics, the incomparable Shane MacGowan.
When we started into the project three months ago, we anticipated that the great Irish song-poet would enjoy sharing in the warmth and appreciation expressed by one and all for him, his band-mates and his work. Sadly Shane MacGowan died on the day this issue hit the streets – and so this has become our official goodbye to one the man descried in its pages by Nick Cave as the greatest songwriter of his generation...
This is a Flip Cover Special Magazine which will feature the The Pogues (Front Cover) & Wonka (Flip Cover)
