‘His music kept me going when I left home’
Like many who came before me, I made the hard decision to leave the green fields of home for better opportunities across the Irish Sea. I moved to Manchester on my own at the age of 24, where I knew no one. Having grown up listening to the Pogues, their songs were the soundtrack of my childhood with my dad, who videoed me and my siblings’ childhood endlessly, using their music as the backing track. Shane’s songwriting enveloped me in nostalgic warmth and kept me going at the toughest of times, through homesickness, loneliness and guilt.
One song in particular resonated with me – Sally MacLennane. It always lifted my mood: “I’d like to think of me returning when I can” played over and over in my mind every time I returned to England and had to say my goodbyes. Although I knew I wasn’t going to be away for ever, it didn’t make the goodbyes any easier – especially with ageing parents and a poorly grandparent.
I cannot thank Shane enough for his lyrical poetry, humour and social commentary. Earth is a slightly darker place with both his and Sinéad O’Connor’s passings. Ireland mourns and misses both terribly. Good night Shane and sleep well. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam dílis [His soul is at the right hand of God]. Emma Deeny, early 30s, Belfast
‘Some of the best gigs I’ve been to in my life’
I guess it’s hardly a surprise about Shane MacGowan but God, that really hurts. I’ll be playing the Pogues all day, and remembering some of the best gigs I’ve been to in my life. I remember hearing them for the first time. I was 20, at a college party, when the DJ put on this mad record. Music that seemed to whirl around you and catch you up and spin you round and then whack you on the head and then do it all over again. That was Sally MacLennane. I was utterly hooked. The next day I went out and bought Rum Sodomy & the Lash and played it over and over. I still know every note.
The first time I saw them was at Brixton Academy [south-west London]. That was a different world. Pretty much the whole of young Irish London was there. Drink flying. And then they opened with something like Streams of Whiskey, and there was this mad drive towards the stage. Everyone jumping and bouncing, limbs everywhere – it was a miracle no one got hurt. And we’d do this for two hours, with Shane cackling and snarling at us from the stage. You’d come out covered in sweat and lager – your hair plastered across your head or sticking up, exhausted, your feet sore, your T-shirt torn, bruises on your arms – thinking: “When can I go back in and do it all over again?” Happy days. Thanks, Shane. Robert Rea, 58, former journalist, Enfield, north London
‘I did this sketch in 2012. It made him smile’
The songs he wrote for the Pogues blew my mind. We met a couple of times over the years, firstly in London in the early 80s. He was a funny and clever guy. His words and his lyrics inspired a lot of graphic work I did. The last time I met him was in August 2012. That’s when I did this sketch. It made him smile. Christoph Heuer, 61, graphic artist, Germany
‘He helped me out of my shell as a shy 16-year-old’
Many years before the concept of “What would Beyoncé do?”, Shane MacGowan and the Pogues helped bring this cripplingly shy 16-year-old out of her shell. I followed the Pogues around the country – alone – and then around some of the world, ending my travels, before starting university, on 16 March 1990 at the New York Palladium and the St Patrick’s Day celebrations. During this time, I began to take charge of my life and stop letting shyness dictate.
Shane MacGowan may not have helped me write my PhD thesis, but without him I’m not entirely sure I would have had the nerve. The first two Pogues albums were barely off my turntables for years and I have instructions for Sally MacLennane to be played at my funeral. Cheers, Shane. I’ll lift a parting glass to you this evening. Deborah Mutch, 58, Derby
‘This remains my favourite photo of all the ones I shot’
I knew Shane back in the 70s when he worked at the Rocks Off record stall where I used to often hang out, in Soho Market [central London] and started his first band, the Nipple Erectors. (The name was shortened to the Nips to get radio play.) I did quite a bit of photography of the band for the record label, and Sounds and NME [magazines].
The guys from the stall, including Shane, and I would often drink in the upstairs bar of the Cambridge pub in Cambridge Circus, near the market. I took a picture of him there that remains my favourite photo of all the ones I shot. I last saw Shane at a party in 1982, when he told me he was forming a new band, Pogue Mahone. Sadly, my new spouse, house and career taking off meant I never had the time to photograph or meet him again. Andrew Calvert, 69, freelance cameraman, Ruislip, west London
‘A very sound, funny guy, even after a few bottles’
I remember seeing and hearing the Pogues at the height of their success in the surreal surroundings of a gigantic roadhouse called the Beaten Path outside Claremorris, County Mayo. It was January 1986 and 5,000 people were going completely apeshit to the band. I also once interviewed him for his album The Snake. He turned up five hours late and loaded. Tricky editing job, but a very sound, funny guy, even after a few bottles. Paddy Cunnane, 65, retired radio presenter and producer, County Kerry, Ireland
‘The connection between Kirsty MacColl and Shane blew us away’
Rock City in Nottingham, 1988. I was a 19-year-old history student. The Pogues had been part of my Irish upbringing. I remember when the first few bars of Fairytale of New York played and the audience was overwhelmed when Kirsty MacColl strolled out on stage. The connection between her and Shane blew us away. We’d seen it on the video, but their performance was pure magic – they adored each other. The gig was all about the other musicians, not just Shane. Clearly, he got a kick out of performing with people he connected with. The Saw Doctors opened for them and later in the gig, a brass trio performed and Joe Strummer appeared on stage. What a show! We have lost a legend. I hope I still have the shirt from that gig! Sue, Switzerland
