The Pogues - Munich

The Pogues come to the Kesselhaus at Motorworld Munich on 20 November. Under the banner “Play The Hits”, the band brings its classics back to the stage. Munich is one of four German dates on the tour, and anyone who wants to be there already needs a ticket: the show is sold out.

Between Irish tradition and punk

The story of The Pogues began in London in the early 1980s. Under the name Pogue Mahone, Shane MacGowan and his companions combined traditional Irish music with the energy and raw directness of punk. Banjo, accordion and tin whistle met driving rhythms and lyrics about love, loss, life on the street and the abysses of everyday life.

The debut “Red Roses for Me” came out in 1984, followed a year later by “Rum, Sodomy & the Lash”. Produced by Elvis Costello, the album included “A Pair of Brown Eyes” and the Pogues' version of “Dirty Old Town”.

With “Fairytale of New York”, the band scored one of its biggest successes in 1987. The duet by Shane MacGowan and Kirsty MacColl reached number two on the UK singles chart and has been a fixture of the Christmas season ever since. In 1988 the song appeared on the album “If I Should Fall from Grace with God”.

The songs remain, the line-up changes

Shane MacGowan, whose unmistakable voice and songwriting shaped The Pogues for decades, died on 30 November 2023 at the age of 65. The band now carries his musical legacy forward with changing guest musicians and singers.

On the current tour, three members of the early line-up are at the centre: James Fearnley on accordion, Jem Finer on banjo and Spider Stacy on tin whistle. They are joined by other artists, including representatives of the younger Irish music scene.

The tour announcement promises a journey through the whole repertoire. Besides “Fairytale of New York”, the songs named include “Rainy Night in Soho”, “A Pair of Brown Eyes”, “Dirty Old Town” and “If I Should Fall from Grace with God”.

So the evening should be much more than a nostalgic look back. Decades after they were written, the songs of The Pogues have lost little of their punch.