- If I Should Fall from Grace with God (Expanded Edition) · 1987
- Rum Sodomy & the Lash (Expanded Version) · 1985
- If I Should Fall from Grace with God (Expanded Edition) · 1988
- Pogue Mahone · 1995
- The Very Best of The Pogues · 1987
- Rum Sodomy & the Lash (Expanded Version) · 1985
- Rum Sodomy & the Lash (Expanded Version) · 1985
- The Very Best of The Pogues · 1985
- Rum Sodomy & the Lash (Expanded Version) · 1985
- Rum Sodomy & the Lash (Expanded Version) · 1985
- Hell's Ditch · 1990
- 30:30 The Essential Collection · 1993
- The Very Best of The Pogues · 1984
Essential Albums
- Producer Steve Lillywhite came aboard for the Pogues’ third album to steady their ramshackle sound, capturing what is for many the band’s finest album. Elvis Costello’s production of the band’s previous album, Rum, S****y and the Lash, showcased their anarchic streak, whereas Lillywhite streamlines the group’s rhythm section into a more cohesive unit, smoothing over their bumps and freeing up the sonic space so the deep and varied instrumentation (tin whistle, mandolin, accordion, dulcimer, banjo, horns) never turns to overpopulation. “Turkish Song of the Damned” and “Thousands Are Sailing” motor along with an assurance uncommon to the Pogues up till this point. However, the album’s true centerpiece is the whisky-soaked piano ballad, “Fairytale of New York,” a duet with Irish singer Kirsty MacColl (daughter of Irish legend Ewan MacColl and wife to Lillywhite) that swells with a string crescendo, while nostalgically recalling a Christmas Eve in Manhattan that sounds haunted by ghosts many decades past. The expanded edition adds several tracks of distinction, including the traditional “Mountain Dew” and “The Irish Rover.”
- The Pogues present the merging of the irrepressible punk rock spirit with the incorrigible might of the Irish drinking song: Joe Strummer meets Brendan Behan. From the rapid-fire delivery of the album’s opener, “The Sickbed of Cuchulainn,” to the shambling rhythms of “The Gentleman Soldier,” the Pogues’ second album is the blossoming of an awesome, idiosyncratic artistic talent. With Elvis Costello serving as producer and protectorate — ensuring the band’s spirit is captured in its full anarchic glee — the songs burst into Technicolor, adding Uileann pipes and fiddles to the group’s arsenal of banjo, mandolin and accordion. Singer Shane MacGowan’s songwriting was steadily improving (“A Pair of Brown Eyes,” “The Old Main Drag”), effectively evoking the feelings of age-old English, Irish and Australian folk songs. And credible covers of Ewan MacColl’s “Dirty Old Town” and Eric Bogle’s “And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda” proved them a group aware of their roots and history, yet irreverent enough to bring it to new life. This expanded reissue also includes the sublime 1986 EP Poguetry in Motion that features “London Girl” and “Rainy Night in Soho,” two of the group’s finest performances.
Artist Playlists
- Poguetry in motion.
- The punks and folkies that helped power Shane MacGowan's creativity.
- Meet the acts who latched on to these brilliant, riotous folk punks.
Singles & EPs
Compilations
- 2013
More To Hear
- Honoring the Pogues singer and the people he inspired.
About The Pogues
Formed in 1982, The Pogues popularized Celtic punk by blending acoustic Irish folk music with songs of protest and maximum attitude. ∙ Early on, The Pogues’ packed London pub and club shows caught the attention of their idols The Clash, who asked the band to open their 1984 summer tour. ∙ Produced by Elvis Costello, their breakthrough album, 1985’s Rum Sodomy & the Lash, was named one of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time by Rolling Stone. ∙ “Fairytale of New York,” their 1987 duet with singer-songwriter Kirsty MacColl, was repeatedly voted best Christmas song in the UK and was included in NME’s 100 Best Songs of the 1980s. ∙ Joe Strummer of The Clash took on lead vocal duties for The Pogues on their 1991 tour, after the band parted ways with singer and primary songwriter Shane MacGowan. ∙ The Pogues’ mix of Celtic folk lyricism and punk rock furor helped to carve out a musical path for such bands as Dropkick Murphy, Crowns, and The Saw Doctors.
- ORIGIN
- Kings Cross, London, England
- FORMED
- 1982
- GENRE
- Alternative