Glen Hansard has led a group of Irish musicians in a version of The Pogues’ ‘A Rainy Night in Soho’, in praise to the late Shane MacGowan. On November 30, it was announced that MacGowan passed away peacefully surrounded by his family and friends.
The next night, Hansard was one of the guests on RTE’s The Late Late Show, performing the classic song with Pogues member Terry Woods, and the musicians Moya Brennan, Camille O’Sullivan, Aidan Gillan and Liam Ó Maonlaí.
On the show, Hansard said: “He’d say find the truth in that lyric. What’s the truth in that? He would push you… and he had that honesty and a kind of fearlessness about the work. And I think he’s told me to eff off about a hundred times. And yet I’d get a Christmas card, I’d get a birthday card, he sent me a painting… and every time he’d send you something – it was full of insults.”
Since the news of MacGowan’s passing broke, several high-profile artists have been paying tribute to his influence on their work. Nick Cave, meanwhile, described him as the “best songwriter of his generation”, adding: “Shane was not revered just for his manifold talents but also loved for himself alone. A beautiful and damaged man, who embodied a kind of purity and innocence and generosity and spiritual intelligence unlike any other.”
Pogues fans are rallying to get ‘Fairytale of New York’ to the Christmas Number One spot this year, and this week, the song re-entered the Top 20.
Photo Credit: Stephen Hoffmeister
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