Over two years after the death of Pogues frontman Shane MacGowan, an incredible roster of artists – including Bruce Springsteen, Tom Waits, Hozier and Jessie Buckley, David Gray, Dropkick Murphy’s, Primal Scream, Steve Earle, the Libertines, Jesus and Mary Chain, and the surviving members of the Pogues – have come together on the tribute LP 20th Century Paddy – The Songs of Shane MacGowan to honor his music and legacy.
The album won’t arrive until November 13, but you can check out a lyric video for Bruce Springsteen’s new studio recording of the 1986 Pogues classic “A Rainy Night in Soho” right now. He played the song live three times with the E Street Band in 2024 when their European tour hit Ireland.
“Every once in a while, every once in a great while, an artist comes along whose voice seems to speak to history itself,” Springsteen says in a statement. “Woody Guthrie, Jimmy Rogers, Little Richard, Chuck Berry, Miles Davis, Elvis, Jerry Lee Lewis, John Coltrane, Patti Smith, James Brown, Bob Dylan, Aretha Franklin, John Lydon, Hank Williams, Sinatra. Geniuses all, they were both timeless and the embodiment of their moment in time. Many, unsurprisingly, led difficult lives not easily bound by the shackles of convention. They were natural rebels unable to stifle or heed the impulses that led them to their glory and personal hardships.”
“Great art is by nature lawless,” Springsteen continues. “We do not get to choose our obsessions. We do not get to dictate our blessings or our transgressions. It’s a little joke the gods play on us. Shane’s voice was so deeply real, profane and honest, his writing so flashing, alive and historically rich, its genesis appeared as a mystery to all, including, I believe, its creator. The dangerous joy, the glee and courage, the humor in the face of fate, the wild ramble of a life driven towards the artistic heavens, and the daily balm of self obliteration. Shane was all naked bottomless humanity. Threatening to force us to ask ourselves if we were living deeply, authentically. He was raw, hilarious, no apologies, and profound. His soul was filled with the transgressive and ecstatic properties of the saints. I don’t know who’ll be listening to my music in 100 years, but I know they’ll be listening to Shane’s. Though I did not know Shane very well, I spent a lovely afternoon in his presence shortly before he passed. He was not well, but he and his wife, Victoria, proved warm and gracious hosts. As I left, I thanked him for his beautiful work, his music, his songs, his life. I stood in his warmth, kissed him, and told him I loved him.”
Half of the artist royalties from the album will be donated to Dublin Simon Community, which aids the unhoused population of the city. “Shane’s spirit and songwriting are eternally exalted through this glorious collection, says Victoria Mary Clarke, McGowan’s longtime partner, “each song is uniquely and graciously interpreted by these beyond beautiful artists and his family are humbled by and thankful to each and every one of the musicians involved, to the delightful team at Rubyworks, and to John Kennedy without whom this would not have happened.”
