The Pogues' Spider Stacy Pays Tribute to Late Bandmate Shane MacGowan: 'The Coolest of Us'

MacGowan died in November after a year-long health battle. He was 65 years old

Two months after the death of Shane MacGowan, The Pogues’ Spider Stacy reflects on his friend’s life and legacy.

In a candid essay written for Mojo, Stacy, 65, described the course of his decades-long friendship with the Irish singer-songwriter, which began when they met in London in 1977. MacGowan died in November after a year-long health battle. He was 65 years old.

“It’s a strange place to be, writing about my friend who died, my friend without whom my life would be completely different,” Stacy’s dedication began.

“And I honestly don’t know what to write – so much has already been said, so many beautiful, sincere words from people who lost someone dear to them, a brother, a lover… someone who, apart from everything else, was such a tall figure, a genius who could shape the hopes and fears, the sad, stained glory of the human condition in such extraordinary forms,” he continued, giving a shout-out to his former bandmate Andrew Ranken, who described MacGowan’s work as “brilliant, timeless, great songs.”

Stacy continued, “Maybe that’s the key. Shane, when I first met him, back in the dream turbulence of our early twenties, was always the coolest of us. He understood the essence of what makes something important, what is real.”

Shane MacGowan of The Pogues performs on stage at Brixton Academy in December 2013 in London.

Joseph Okpako/Redferns via Getty

Pogues frontman Shane MacGowan leaves behind more than $10,000 for bar dinner at his funeral: ‘It was Shane’s last request’

The Tin Whistleman traced the beginnings of the Celtic punk band, best known for their holiday favorite “Fairytale of New York,” including the story behind one of their first club performances, which occurred after MacGowan “walked up” to a club employee and claimed that the band, “who played Irish rebel songs”, would play there. “The ruse… it worked,” Stacy recalled.

“The gig itself was a bit of a farce, but the idea was taking shape. What started as Shane mocking a punk version of ‘Poor Paddy on the Railway’ on a friend’s acoustic guitar turned into something unlike anything we could have imagined.”

Stacy continued, “Towards the end of our first tour, I told Shane that I thought we were the best band in the world. He scoffed. ‘Of course we are!’ Heroes live forever.”

Studio portrait of The Pogues with Spider Stacy as singer, Philip Chevron, James Fearnley, Jem Finer, Andrew Ranken, Darryl Hunt, Terry Woods, Live Aid Festival, Puurs, Belgium in May 1992.

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The cause of death of The Pogues frontman and ‘Fairytale of New York’ singer Shane MacGowan has been revealed

MacGowan’s death was announced in November by his wife and longtime partner Victoria Mary Clarke. She called him “the light that I hold in front of me and the measure of my dreams and the love ❤️ of my life and the most beautiful soul and a beautiful angel and the sun and the moon and the beginning and the end of everything that is dear to me” in a long message shared on Instagram.

“I am indescribably blessed to have met him and to have loved him and to have been so endlessly and unconditionally loved by him and to have had so many years of life and love ❤️ and joy and fun and laughter and so many adventures. There is no way to describe the loss I feel and the longing for just one more of his smile that lit up my world,” she continued. “You will live forever in my heart.”

Singer and musician Shane MacGowan, of the Pogues, at the family home in Nenagh, Tipperary, Ireland, 1997.

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Clarke, a journalist, documented her partner’s health problems in the months before his death. He was diagnosed with encephalitis, an uncommon and potentially life-threatening condition that causes brain swelling, in December 2022, Sky News reports. He was in intensive care from the time of his diagnosis until his death almost a year later, the newspaper reported.

Days before his death, Clarke thanked fans for messages of support for her husband and revealed that Stacy and Terry Woods had visited MacGowan in hospital in a post on Xu (formerly Twitter). “Love and prayers to everyone struggling right now, hang in there!”

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Source: HIS Education