Additions and Changes

January, 2012

The Pogues have announced Japan / Australia tour in March / April. James Fearnley has finished a memoir about the Pogues, which is to be released in May.

  • Information about the Pogues side-projects (The Radiators from Space new album, Shane MacGowan's and Terry Woods' guest appearances, James Fearnley's new track) added to the frontpage.
  • Graphic adaptation of "The Turkish Song of the Damned" by Dutch illustrator Roel Seidell added to the site.

August, 2011

The Pogues toured the US in March and various European countries in July. They have announced there will be no Christmas tour this year.

  • The list of all gigs of the reunited Pogues added to the site.
  • Photos from Munich added to the Photo Gallery

January, 2011

The Pogues have completed their Christmas tour of the UK and Ireland and announced their March US tour.

  • Reviews of the December tour added to the Print section
  • Photos from Dublin and Glasgow gigs added to the Photo Gallery

September, 2010

The Pogues have completed their European tour, including their very first gig in Eastern Europe (Moscow), and announced their Christmas tour in the UK and Ireland.

  • Photos from the Moscow gig added to the Photo Gallery and a travelogue from Moscow added to the Print section.
  • Two 2010 interviews with Shane MacGowan added to the Print section.
  • Stuff from 2007 added to the Print section (interviews, reviews of the US gigs).
  • Non-working links fixed in the Others section.

July, 2010

The Pogues are setting out on their first tour of continental Europe since their reunion.

  • The frontpage has been updated with info about a memorial concert for Kirsty MacColl and a link to a new online store with the Pogues merchandise.

February, 2010

The Pogues announced that unlike in the previous years, there would be no tour in March.

  • Photos of the Pogues current crew (sound engineers, lighting designers, managers, roadies) added to the "Pogues Orbit" album in the Medusa gallery ("Photos" section).

December, 2009

After enjoying a short break after the fall 2009 US tour, the Pogues have kicked off their annual Christmas tour of the UK and Ireland.

  • "Others" section (links to other Pogues sites) re-worked and updated.
  • Press articles from 2008 (interviews, gig reviews) and recent interviews with Philip and Spider added to the Print section.

November, 2009

A lot has happened since October 2004, obviously. The reunited Pogues have played several UK & Ireland and US tours with some European festivals stuffed in between, all their regular albums have been remastered and re-released with bonus tracks, the long-awaited box set of rarities have seen the light of day, two new books about the band have been written... and Medusa has tried to reflect it all, even if nothing has been mentioned in this section, making it look like the raft has sunk to the bottom of the sea or at least to deep slumber.

While new stuff has only been announced on the frontpage and at the forum (which has seen a big make-over, by the way, with the upgrade of the software powering it) so far, I’ll try to update other parts of the site from now on, step by step, bit by bit.

  • Press articles from 2009 (interviews, gig reviews), book excerpts and old fan travelogues added to the Print section.
  • Two books added to the Books section in Discography.
  • Non-Pogues projects updated on the frontpage.

October 20, 2004

I've been remarkably neglegent in keeping these change notes up-to-date. A lot has happened since June 4, 2001. Some of the highlights are:

  • 11/13/03 - Made a discussion forum available.
  • 10/??/04 - Made available the Warner Brother press release describing the re-release of The Pogues' catalogue and 2004 reunion tour
  • 10/??/04 - Made available the 625 Records press release describing the release of The Radiators (Plan 9)'s "Television Screen 2004" EP
  • 11/20/04 - Stoked the "Muirshen Durkin" fire with new comments from Jim Lucas.

June 04, 2001

  • 06/04/01 - Fixed some stupid typos and obvious errors in the Kitty lyrics.

June 02, 2001

  • 06/02/01 - Small updates throughout. Added an LA Times article about the Low & Sweet Orchestra.

May 29, 2001

  • 05/29/01 - Added a biography for Caroline Lavelle (she provided Cello for several songs on the Pogues' Pogue Mahone release). I also added a blurb to the front page of Medusa to let people know that her new release is now available.

March 25, 2001

  • 03/25/01 - Lots of behind the scenes cleaning up of HTML code. You shouldn't notice any difference. I've also converted six of the sound samples from Hell's Ditch to MP3 rathar than WAV. At this rate I'll have everything all nicely converted by 2006 at the absolute latest.

February 24, 2001

  • 02/24/01 - Replaced the Others section with a dynamic page that automagically rips off the Pogues, After Pogues, and Shane MacGowan catagories from the Open Directory Project.

February 1, 2001

  • 02/01/01 - Added information to the front page about Darryl Hunt's new release, BISH. I also took the opportunity to update Darryl's biography.

December 19, 2000

  • 12/19/00 - Added a blurb to the front page about Kirsty MacColl's untimely passing

October 9, 2000

  • 10/09/00 - For some reason that I can't fathom people keep asking what I listen to. I've resisted giving an answer for years 'cause I don't think it's at all relevant to this site, and I've been too lazy to compile a list. The years have worn me down, and I had another reason to compile a list, so I'm finally caving into pressure to tell the rest of the world what I listen to. For your entertainment and chortles, here's what's in my daily rotation.

June 23, 2000

  • 06/23/00 - The old Swap data has been pulled down. A new PogueSwap is now live. It's taken the form of an Auction site. It should have more Auction-like features coming in the future (proxy bidding, etc). Enjoy.

October 30, 1999

  • 10/30/99 - I've finally got around to re-importing the missing Swap ads (from June through September 10). Yay. Also, I really am working on re-writing the Swap CGI scripts. I've finished the part that gathers the data and writes it out to the ad database. Now I just need to write the parts that gather data out of the database and massages/presents the data in a nice pretty way.

September 28, 1999

  • 09/28/99 - Well. Not a whole lot, exactly, has changed with the content of this site in many, many months (as you can see by the date on the last entry. What has changed, however, is the hardware/server that serves this site. Without boring you with too much information, the OS is now different and so is the web server itself. What this means to you is that I can now add more bells and whistles to the site, and the site itself will be much faster. Hoo-ray.
  • 09/28/99 - I've replaced the old Search engine with a new one. It's acceptably fast for this size of search, and will be more hassle-free to maintain.
  • 09/28/99 - I've added the ability to vote for your favorite Pogues release (look at the front page to see the results so far, and to vote yourself.
  • 09/28/99 - The Swap section is currently non-functional. You can see ads that were submitted up-to about two months ago (I hope to get the more current ones in place before too long), but you can not submit any new ones. I need to re-write the CGI that handles this part of the content and just don't have a lot of time for it right now. I apologize for any inconvenience.

January 16, 1999

  • 01/16/99 - RBalm was able to confirm for me the vinyl catalog number and the track list for the 7" How Comesingle. A big wad of thanks to RBalm.

January 15, 1999

  • 01/15/99 - Well now... Happy New Year to all. I hope that I'll be able to spend more time working on Medusa in '99 than I did in '98 (there are still many things I have plans for). We'll see.
  • 01/15/99 - I've begun the painful process of replacing the WAV files on the server with MP3 files. Why? They're smaller, they sound better, and they're in stereo. But before anyone asks, I'm making them as 30 second clips (60 seconds in some cases), I will not make full MP3 copies available, please don't ask for them. Great wads of thanks go to Mike Benchoff for his invaluable help with the MP3s. As of today (Jan 15) I've done all the songs in the Red Roses For Me section, but have not yet tackled the other albums. I hope this will happen next week.

December 15, 1998

  • 12/15/98 - A very small update every five months, whether the site needs it or not. That's my motto, dammit. I'll not bore you with the very dull details regarding my tardiness on the updates. I'll just leave it with "I work for Netscape, and the rumors you hear about ten and twelve hour days every day are completely true." But enough bitching... 
  • 12/15/98 - I performed some cleanup in the Swap section (I removed several ads that were out of date, repetitive, or just inappropriate).

July 10, 1998

  • 07/10/98 - My my my. It has been a long time since I've really done much with Medusa, isn't it? There are a couple of things that I've done since the February 23 date below, but somehow I never got around to making a note of them. I've re-worked the imagemap at the bottom of all the pages to make it easier to read. I've added a search engine that will search the lyrics or the print section of the site for you. And today I've added a link to Tim O'Dea's A Rusty Tin Can and An Old Hurley Ball web site to the Others section (it's about time ... I had thought I'd done this well over a year ago and just never checked it. I apologize to Tim for the delay.) I've also added the Help file for the Search page, and I cleaned up some of the old Looking classifieds to make room for new ones.

    • Still... That's not a whole lot to show for five months, eh?

February 23, 1998

  • 02/23/98 - Added a People magazine review of Hell's Ditch. 
  • 02/23/98 - OK, so I wimped out. I stopped after two articles. The last one was an If I Should Fall From Grace With God from the New York Times.

February 21, 1998

  • 02/21/98 - Added a Washington Post review of If I Should Fall From Grace With God (the review includes reviews of Cry Before Dawn's '88 album, Clannad's Sirius, and Sinead O'Connor's The Lion and the Cobra). 
  • 02/21/98 - Added a Chicago Tribune review of a late '87 gig. 
  • 02/21/98 - Added a Courier-Journal review of Peace And Love. 
  • 02/21/98 - Added a review of Waiting for Herb from the St. Louis Dispatch (mixed in is also Pet Shop Boys review, Pearl Jam, and Mystic Works reviews). 
  • 02/21/98 - Added a Toronto Star review of a post MacGowan show from '91. 
  • 02/21/98 - Added a Newsday review of If I Should Fall From Grace With God. 
  • 02/21/98 - Added a Vancouver Sun review of Pogue Mahone 
  • 02/21/98 - Added a New York Times 1994 review that contains mini-reviews of many Celtic bands' shows. 
  • 02/21/98 - The New York Times wrote an interesting review of Hell's Ditch along with a Waterboys album and a The Men They Couldn't Hang album. 
  • 02/21/98 - There's a Hollywood Reporter review of the Pogues' '91 show at the Wiltern right here. The LA Times also reviewed that show. 
  • 02/21/98 - The Times wrote a review of a 1990 gig at Wembley Arena.Strangely, the Independent also reviewed this show. 
  • 02/21/98 - Last, I added the '96 Daily Mail Rock Wives article featuring Shane's girlfriend, Victoria Clarke (it also features Sharon Osbourne, wife of Ozzy Osbourne, and Angie Bowie, ex wife of David Bowie).

February 8, 1998

  • 02/08/98 - The Daily Telegraph wrote a quick review of the Pogues/Joe Strummer show. It's here. 
  • 02/08/98 - Back in '95, the Des Moines Register reviewed the Snake. 
  • 02/08/98 - In '86 the Los Angeles Times was less than impressed with a Pogues gig. 
  • 02/08/98 - In '94 the Guardian waxed philosophical about Shane's future after his fifth performance with the Popes (at some fleadh). 
  • 02/08/98 - In '94 the Calgary Herald did a piece on the Mahones. They talk about the Pogues' influence on the band. 
  • 02/08/98 - The Chicago Tribune reviewed a Shane & the Popes gig back in '95. 
  • 02/08/98 - The Times wrote a simply charming review of the Pogues' Brixton Academy gig in '91. 
  • 02/08/98 - Here's an interesting interview with Spider from the Boston Irish Reporter (1993). 
  • 02/08/98 - In '92 the Daily Yomiuri wrote a fun review of a Pogues/Strummer show. 
  • 02/08/98 - The Independent wrote a review of a MacGowan gig in '94. 
  • 02/08/98 - I got several chuckles from this Year In Review ('95) piece from the Boston Irish Reporter. 
  • 02/08/98 - A quickie from the Boston Globe is here, talking briefly about an '89 gig to promote the upcoming Peace & Love. 
  • 02/08/98 - Yet another MacGowan gig review from '95 is here (this one from the Boston Globe).

February 7, 1998

  • 02/07/98 - Added an interview/concert hype article with Shane MacGowan (from the Evening Standard) for an upcoming (at the time) fleadh. 
  • 02/07/98 - Added an interview/concert hype article with David Colter from the Vancouver Sun. 
  • 02/07/98 - Added a concert review from the Waiting for Herb tour from Newsday. 
  • 02/07/98 - There's also a review of the Waiting for Herb show from the Gazette (Montreal). 
  • 02/07/98 - Added a review of Best of the Pogues and Essential Pogues from the Vancouver Sun. 
  • 02/07/98 - A smarmy review of a 94 MacGowan concert from the Irish Voice was added. 
  • 02/07/98 - A MacGowan concert review from the Observer is also new. 
  • 02/07/98 - Yet another smarmy review of The Snake (this one from the New Mexican). 
  • 02/07/98 - Added another review of another MacGowan gig. This one's from the New York Times. 
  • 02/07/98 - Added two articles from the Los Angeles Times. The first is pre-concert hype for the Pogues' opening for Dylan. The second is a disappointed review about their having left MacGowan behind. 
  • 02/07/98 - Added a review of a MacGowan concert from the Toronto Sun. 
  • 02/07/98 - A New York Times review of the Pogues' Pogue Mahone tour. 
  • 02/07/98 - Who'd have thunk that the Christian Science Monitor would have written an article about the Pogues way back in 1986? 
  • 02/07/98 - The Boston Globe wrote some pre-concert hype for Lowe and MacGowan. 
  • 02/07/98 - The Calgary Herald had a quick, smarmy interview with Spider Stacy to help promote the Waiting for Herb release. 
  • 02/07/98 - And who'd have thunk the Jerusalem Post would review Preace and Love? 
  • 02/07/98 - The San Diego Union-Tribune had one of the rare Jem Finer interviews, talking about the Pogues' influences just after Peace and Love was released (1989). 
  • 02/07/98 - The Irish Voice had a little pre-tour interview with Spider Stacy in 1996. 
  • 02/07/98 - And the final addition of the day, a Newsday review of a Pogues gig from 1989.

February 6 1998

  • 02/06/98 - Added concert review for a 95 Shane MacGowan gig from the Boston Irish Reporter. 
  • 02/06/98 - Added a review of Peace and Love from the Chicago Tribune.

February 5, 1998

February 2, 1998

  • 02/02/98 - Updated the Others section ever so slightly. 
  • 02/02/98 - Added the nearly infamous Victoria Clark article from the Guardian. 
  • 02/02/98 - Added a perfectly lovely concert hype/interview thingy from the Vancouver Sun (for the Waiting for Herb tour). 
  • 02//02/98 - Added one from the Irish Voice too (from 1991, for the Hell's Ditch tour). 
  • 02/02/98 - Wouldn't you know there was a smarmy one from the Chicago Tribune about the same tour?

January 30, 1998

January 24, 1998

  • 01/24/98 - Here I sit, in the cold, at 7:00am. I'm tired, I'm cold (Did I mention that already?), and I'm using my laptop to keep my lap warm (I knew it'd come in handy eventually). Here's hoping that the battery lasts for a long, long time and I get a lot done on the Medusa. 
  • 01/24/08 - I've added a .CRD file for Lorelei and Young Ned of the Hill. 
  • 01/24/98 - A bio for James McNally has finally been added. Now I just need bios for Jaimy Clark and Phil Coulter. 
  • 01/24/98 - Added an article/interview about Richard Thompson. The Pogues are mentioned towards the end. 
  • 01/24/98 - A Small blurb about the Pogues' breakup is here. 
  • 01/24/98 - Added an interview with Craig Leon (he worked with the Pogues to produce their parts of the Sid & Nancy soundtrack). 
  • 01/24/98 - And now, several hours later, I'm out of power and material. More updates soon...

January 22, 1998

  • 01/22/98 - I've gone from not endorsing any one browser to endorsing Netscape Communicator/Navigator. I've done this for two reasons: 1) It's now free. 2) I work for Netscape, and it's in my best interest to help push my employer's products. So use Communicator/Navigator, and help me stay employed. 

January 11, 1998

  • 01/11/98 - I've been real bad at updating this section for the last month. Since December 11, I've done a lot of cosmetic stuff. I've done more work much of the discography. I've added a Books section to the discography (technically this would be a Bibliography, but I don't care that much). I've made the main discography page much more interesting to look at (and made the cover art that shows up very dynamic). I've added many photos to the PastPogues section. And... well? And... I can't remember what else (although there have been other changes). Explore. And, of course, if you have some information that I can use, please email it to me. 

December 11, 1997

  • 12/11/97 - Did some maintenance to the Discography section (Made the main page a bit more visually stimulating. Added notes to the LPs section regarding the Enigma release of Red Roses for Me. Added notes regarding the Japanese releases of the Best of the Pogues & The Rest of the Best. Added New Wave XMas, Tapeworm, Garbo, and Grosse Pointe Blank: More Music From to the related section.) 
  • 12/11/97 - I've begun converting most of the cover art and photos from the GIF image format to the Progressive JPEG format. This makes the files about a third the size they were before, and they should look no worse for wear. Hopefully everybody's browsers now support this image format. 

November 11, 1997

  • 11/11/97 - Added several New articles. A Shane concert review, a Hell's Ditch review, a Peace And Love review, a review of Shane MacGowan's The Snake, and one last glowing Peace And Love review. More to come real soon. Really. 

November 10, 1997

  • 11/10/97 - Created the PogueRing web ring. If you have a Pogues or Pogues related site, please add yourself to this ring. 
  • 11/10/97 - Many small errors fixed. 

November 8, 1997

  • 11/08/97 - Very minor. Just added information about Shane's new album, The Crock of Gold, to the front page. 

October 19, 1997

  • 10/19/97 - Did large amounts of damage to the Singles section of the discography (added additional cover art, deleted one redundant entry, corrected some errors, and added a lot more detail regarding various versions of releases). 

October 18, 1997

  • 10/18/97 - Added the lyrics to Haunted, The One and Only, and Johnny Come Lately. 
  • 10/18/97 - I decided to take mercy on you modem users, and re-sampled the background image. It was a 25k gif file, now it's a 6k progressive jpg file. If the background looks white to you, your browser doesn't support progressive jpg and you should upgrade to the latest version of your browser. 

October 16, 1997

  • 10/16/97 - Fixed many potential bad links, and added an Elvis Costello Biography that mentions Cait O'Riorden and the Pogues in passing. 

October 12, 1997

  • 10/12/97 - Added two interesting articles (here and here) that I think are from Melody Maker (I'm certain that one of them is, but I'm unsure of the other). 
  • 10/12/97 - Added two bits of concert fluff (here and here) from the Chicago Tribune. The show was the Rum, Sodomy, & the Lash tour. 
  • 10/12/97 - Added an amusing little "first impression" type of interview with Shane. 
  • 10/12/97 - Added new cover art to the Singles (Sally MacLennane, The Irish Rover, and Fiesta) and Related (The Last Temptation of Elvis) sections of the Discography. 

October 11, 1997

September 23, 1997

  • 09/23/97 - I figured that since the site is more-or-less reborn today, a new "What's New" section is warranted. If you want to read through the old "What's New," you can find it archived here. 
  • 09/23/97 - I seem finally to have worked out the migration hiccups, so I suppose that The Pogues: In the Wake of the Medusa is officially back on line. The server now restarts itself if it crashes, my email address has been updated on all the pages, and any links to the old 140.249.8.212 address have been changed to reflect the new location. 


    • Golly. Hurrah for our side, smoke me a kipper, pip-pip, and so on. It's great to be back on-line, and I'm very much looking forward to making a large number of additions and changes with Medusa over the next several months. Please bear with me during this reconstructive period, and be sure to send any suggestion/corrections/contributions that you may have to me (just click on the DzM on the bottom of any page). 

Your intrepid maintainer is DzM.