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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
Entertainment
Lisa McLoughlin

U2 pay heartfelt tribute to Shane MacGowan following his death aged 65: 'His songs were perfect'

U2 have remembered Shane MacGowan with a poignant post on Instagram following The Pogues frontman’s death aged 65.

The band shared an illustration of MacGowan on social media, which included lyrics from his band’s song, A Rainy Night in Soho, and was signed off by Bono.

The lyrics read: “I've been loving you a long time, Down all the years, down all the days, And I've cried for all your troubles, Smiled at your funny little ways…”

Alongside the picture, they wrote: “Shane MacGowan’s songs were perfect so he or we his fans didn’t have to be…”

Bono and MacGowan were longtime friends, with MacGowan living for a time in the Pride singer’s guest house in Killiney, Dublin.

In a 2022 interview with The Times, MacGowan recalled his time in South Dublin and cheekily revealed how he used to flash commuters in the hope they would think it was the rocker.

He shared: “Bono put in a glass roof and wall. I used to wave my willy at the train as it passed and hope that they thought it was Bono’s.”

U2 are among a number of celebrities who have paid tribute to the Irish singer, who had been receiving care in St Vincent’s Hospital in Dublin for an infection, before he was discharged last week ahead of his upcoming birthday on Christmas Day.

MacGowan was born in 1957 in Pembury, Kent and he soon moved to rural Tipperary where he was immersed in an Irish culture of ceili bands and showbands.

Last year he had revealed he was diagnosed with encephalitis in a video posted to social media on New Year’s Eve.

Encephalitis is an uncommon but serious condition in which the brain becomes inflamed, according to the NHS website.

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