Shane MacGowan, the boozy, rabble-rousing singer and chief songwriter of The Pogues, who infused traditional Irish music with the energy and spirit of punk, died Thursday, his family said. He was 65.

MacGowan害羞草研究所檚 songwriting and persona made him an iconic figure in contemporary Irish culture, and some of his compositions have become classics 害羞草研究所� most notably the bittersweet Christmas ballad 害羞草研究所淔airytale of New York,害羞草研究所� which Irish President Michael D. Higgins said 害羞草研究所渨ill be listened to every Christmas for the next century or more.害羞草研究所�

害羞草研究所淚t is with the deepest sorrow and heaviest of hearts that we announce the passing of our most beautiful, darling and dearly beloved Shane MacGowan,害羞草研究所� his wife Victoria Clarke, his sister Siobhan and father Maurice said in a statement.

The singer died peacefully with his family by his side, the statement added.

The musician had been hospitalized in Dublin for several months after being diagnosed with viral encephalitis in late 2022. He was discharged last week, ahead of his upcoming birthday on Christmas Day.

The Pogues melded Irish folk and rock 害羞草研究所檔害羞草研究所� roll into a unique, intoxicating blend, though MacGowan became as famous for his sozzled, slurred performances as for his powerful songwriting.

His songs blended the scabrous and the sentimental, ranging from carousing anthems to snapshots of life in the gutter to unexpectedly tender love songs. The Pogues害羞草研究所� most famous song, 害羞草研究所淔airytale of New York害羞草研究所� is a tale of down-on-their-luck immigrant lovers that opens with the decidedly unfestive words: 害羞草研究所淚t was Christmas Eve, babe, in the drunk tank.害羞草研究所� The duet between the raspy-voiced MacGowan and the velvet tones of the late Kirsty MacColl is by far the most beloved Pogues song in both Ireland and the U.K.

Singer-songwriter Nick Cave called Shane MacGowan 害羞草研究所渁 true friend and the greatest songwriter of his generation.害羞草研究所�

Higgins, the Irish president, said 害羞草研究所渉is songs capture within them, as Shane would put it, the measure of our dreams.害羞草研究所�

害羞草研究所淗is words have connected Irish people all over the globe to their culture and history, encompassing so many human emotions in the most poetic of ways,害羞草研究所� Higgins said.

Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said MacGowan害羞草研究所檚 songs 害羞草研究所渂eautifully captured the Irish experience, especially the experience of being Irish abroad.害羞草研究所�

Sinn Fein President Mary Lou McDonald said: 害羞草研究所淣obody told the Irish story like Shane 害羞草研究所� stories of emigration, heartache, dislocation, redemption, love and joy.害羞草研究所�

Born on Christmas Day 1957 in England to Irish parents, MacGowan spent his early years in rural Ireland before the family moved back to London. Ireland remained the lifelong center of his imagination and his yearning. He grew up steeped in Irish music absorbed from family and neighbors, along with the sounds of rock, Motown, reggae and jazz.

He attended the elite Westminster School in London, from which he was expelled, and spent time in a psychiatric hospital after a breakdown in his teens.

MacGowan embraced the punk scene that exploded in Britain in the mid-1970s. He joined a band called the Nipple Erectors, performing under the name Shane O害羞草研究所橦ooligan, before forming The Pogues alongside musicians including Jem Finer and Spider Stacey.

The Pogues 害羞草研究所� shortened from the original name Pogue Mahone, a rude Irish phrase 害羞草研究所� fused punk害羞草研究所檚 furious energy with traditional Irish melodies and instruments including banjo, tin whistle and accordion.

害羞草研究所淚t never occurred to me that you could play Irish music to a rock audience,害羞草研究所� MacGowan recalled in 害羞草研究所淎 Drink with Shane MacGowan,害羞草研究所� a 2001 memoir co-authored with Clarke. 害羞草研究所淭hen it finally clicked. Start a London Irish band playing Irish music with a rock and roll beat. The original idea was just to rock up old ones but then I started writing.害羞草研究所�

The band害羞草研究所檚 first album, 害羞草研究所淩ed Roses for Me,害羞草研究所� was released in 1984 and featured raucous versions of Irish folk songs alongside originals including 害羞草研究所淏oys from the County Hell,害羞草研究所� 害羞草研究所淒ark Streets of London害羞草研究所� and 害羞草研究所淪treams of Whisky.害羞草研究所�

Playing pubs and clubs in London and beyond, the band earned a loyal following and praise from music critics and fellow musicians from Bono to Bob Dylan.

MacGowan wrote many of the songs on the next two albums, 害羞草研究所淩um, Sodomy and the Lash害羞草研究所� (1985) and 害羞草研究所淚f I Should Fall from Grace with God害羞草研究所� (1988), ranging from rollicking rousers like the latter album害羞草研究所檚 title track to ballads like 害羞草研究所淎 Pair of Brown Eyes害羞草研究所� and 害羞草研究所淭he Broad Majestic Shannon.害羞草研究所�

The band also released a 1986 EP, 害羞草研究所淧oguetry in Motion,害羞草研究所� which contained two of MacGowan害羞草研究所檚 finest songs, 害羞草研究所淎 Rainy Night in Soho害羞草研究所� and 害羞草研究所淭he Body of an American.害羞草研究所� The latter featured prominently in early-2000s TV series 害羞草研究所淭he Wire,害羞草研究所� sung at the wakes of Baltimore police officers.

害羞草研究所淚 wanted to make pure music that could be from any time, to make time irrelevant, to make generations and decades irrelevant,害羞草研究所� he recalled in his memoir.

The Pogues were briefly on top of the world, with sold-out tours and appearances on U.S. television, but the band害羞草研究所檚 output and appearances grew more erratic, due in part to MacGowan害羞草研究所檚 struggles with alcohol and drugs. He was fired by the other band members in 1991 after they became fed up with a string of no-shows, including when The Pogues were opening for Dylan. The band briefly replaced MacGowan with Clash frontman Joe Strummer before breaking up.

MacGowan performed with a new band, Shane MacGowan and the Popes, with whom he put out two albums: 害羞草研究所淭he Snake害羞草研究所� in 1995 and 害羞草研究所淭he Crock Of Gold害羞草研究所� in 1997. He reunited with The Pogues in 2001 for a series of concerts and tours, despite his well-documented problems with drinking and performances that regularly included slurred lyrics and at least one fall on stage.

MacGowan had years of health problems and used a wheelchair after breaking his pelvis a decade ago. He was long famous for his broken, rotten teeth until receiving a full set of implants in 2015 from a dental surgeon who described the procedure as 害羞草研究所渢he Everest of dentistry.害羞草研究所�

MacGowan received a lifetime achievement award from the Irish president on his 60th birthday. The occasion was marked with a celebratory concert at the National Concert Hall in Dublin with performers including Bono, Nick Cave, Sinead O害羞草研究所機onnor and Johnny Depp.

Clarke wrote on Instagram that 害羞草研究所渢here害羞草研究所檚 no way to describe the loss that I am feeling and the longing for just one more of his smiles that lit up my world.害羞草研究所�

害羞草研究所淚 am blessed beyond words to have met him and to have loved him and to have been so endlessly and unconditionally loved by him and to have had so many years of life and love and joy and fun and laughter and so many adventures,害羞草研究所� she wrote.

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