Rhino Reissues

Publication: Rhino Press Release

THE POGUES FROM RED ROSES TO HELL’S DITCH

Rhino Remasters All Five Studio Albums by Celtic Punk Collective Featuring Shane MacGowan and Expands Each with Bonus Tracks

All Five Reissues Available September 19 From Rhino

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Soulful and soused, usually in equal parts, The Pogues’ music combined the youthful spirit of punk with ancient Celtic melodies to create a sublime racket that’s been described as the Sex Pistols setting fire to The Chieftains. Rhino Records raises a pint in one hand and a fistful of Pogues in the other with remastered and expanded versions of the band’s first five studio albums — RED ROSES FOR ME, RUM, SODOMY & THE LASH, IF I SHOULD FALL FROM GRACE WITH GOD, PEACE & LOVE, and HELL’S DITCH.

The Pogues — vocalist Shane MacGowan, Spider Stacy on tin whistle, accordion player James Fearnley, Jeremy “Jem” Finer on banjo, drummer Andrew David Ranken, and bassist Cait O’Riordan — made their debut in 1984 with RED ROSES FOR ME. The album’s 13 songs established the band’s unique sound as it mixed MacGowan originals — “Transmetropolitan” and “Dark Streets Of London” — with traditional Irish tunes — “The Auld Triangle” and “Poor Paddy.” The expanded edition’s six bonus tracks include “Whiskey You’re The Devil,” “Muirshin Duirkin’” and a foot-stomping version of the traditional Irish song “Wild Rover.”

Produced by Elvis Costello, The Pogues’ sophomore release, 1985’s RUM, SODOMY & THE LASH, brought the band’s talents into sharp relief with 12 tracks. Featuring new guitarist Philip Chevron, the album included some of the band’s best work — “A Pair Of Brown Eyes,” “Navigator,” and the righteous anger of “The Sick Bed Of Cuchulainn.” The expanded edition includes four bonus songs from the 1986 EP, Poguetry In Motion — “London Girl,” “Rainy Night In Soho,” “Body Of An American,” and the traditional “Planxty Noel Hill” — along with “A Pistol For Paddy Garcia” and “The Parting Glass.”

Steve Lillywhite produced back-to-back classics for The Pogues, starting with 1988’s IF I SHOULD FALL FROM GRACE WITH GOD. The album peaked at #3 in the U.K. and featuring three new members — multi-instrumentalist Terry Woods, bassist Darryl Hunt, who replaced O’Riordan (who married Costello), and guitarist Philip Chevron. The album’s 13 songs represent a high water mark in the band’s career and capture The Pogues at the peak of their powers on “Streets of Sorrow/Birmingham Six,” a withering political track that got the band blacklisted by the British Independent Broadcasting Authority, along with MacGowan’s duet with Kirsty MacColl on “Fairytale Of New York,” a massive hit in the U.K. and U.S. The expanded edition’s six bonus tracks include the traditional Irish song “Mountain Dew,” arranged by The Pogues and The Dubliners, “The Battle March (Medley),” penned by Woods, and MacGowan’s own “Shanne Bradley.”

The second Lillywhite production — PEACE & LOVE — was released in 1989 and reached #5 on the U.K. Album chart. Its 14 tracks include MacGowan originals — “White City” and “London You’re A Lady” — augmented with remarkable contributions by other members including Finer’s “Misty Morning, Albert Bridge,” Chevron’s “Lorelei,” and Woods’ “Gartloney Rats.” The expanded edition features six bonus tracks, including the title track from 1990’s EP, Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah, a Top 20 Modern Rock hit in the U.S., “Star Of The County Down,” and a cover of the Rolling Stones’ “Honky Tonk Women.”

Produced by Joe Strummer of The Clash, The Pogues’ final studio album with MacGowan — HELL’S DITCH — was released in 1990. The 13-song collection includes the dreamy blues waltz of “Summer In Siam,” as well as a pair of songs inspired by literary legends Jean Genet and Federico Garcia Lorca — the title track and “Lorca’s Novena,” respectively. The expanded edition includes seven bonus tracks, featuring “Jack’s Heroes” and “Whiskey In The Jar’ from the Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah EP, plus “Bastard Landlord,” an alternate version of “Rainy Night In Soho” from RUM, SODOMY & THE LASH.

TRACK LISTINGS

RED ROSES FOR ME

  • “Transmetropolitan”
  • “The Battle Of Brisbane”
  • “The Auld Triangle”
  • “Waxie’s Dargle”
  • “Boys From The County Hell”
  • “Sea Shanty”
  • “Dark Streets Of London”
  • “Streams Of Whiskey”
  • “Poor Paddy”
  • “Dingle Regetta”
  • “Greenland Whale Fisheries”
  • “Down In The Ground Where The Dead Men Go”
  • “Kitty”

Bonus Tracks

  • “The Leaving Of Liverpool”
  • “Muirshin Durkin”
  • “Repeal Of The Licensing Laws”
  • “And The Band Played Waltzing Matilda”
  • “Whiskey You’re The Devil”
  • “The Wild Rover”

RUM, SODOMY & THE LASH

  • “The Sick Bed Of Cuchulainn”
  • “The Old Main Drag”
  • “Wild Cats Of Kilkenny”
  • “I’m A Man You Don’t Meet Every Day”
  • “A Pair Of Brown Eyes”
  • “Sally MacLennane”
  • “Dirty Old Town”
  • “Jesse James”
  • “Navigator”
  • “Billy’s Bones”
  • “The Gentleman Soldier”
  • “The Band Played Waltzing Matilda”

Bonus Tracks

  • “A Pistol For Paddy Garcia”
  • “London Girl”
  • “Rainy Night In Soho”
  • “Body Of An American”
  • “Planxty Noel Hill”
  • “The Parting Glass”

IF I SHOULD FALL FROM GRACE WITH GOD

  • “If I Should Fall From Grace With God”
  • “Turkish Song Of The Damned”
  • “Bottle Of Smoke”
  • “Fairytale Of New York”
  • “Metropolis”
  • “Thousands Are Sailing”
  • “Fiesta”
  • “Medley: The Recruiting Sergeant/The Rocky Road To Dublin/The Galway Races”
  • “Streets Of Sorrow/Birmingham Six”
  • “Lullaby Of London”
  • “Sit Down By The Fire”
  • “The Broad Majestic Shannon”
  • “Worms”

Bonus Tracks

  • “The Battle March (Medley)”
  • “The Irish Rover”
  • “Mountain Dew”
  • “Shanne Bradley”
  • “Sketches Of Spain”
  • “South Australia”

PEACE & LOVE

  • “Gridlock”
  • “White City”
  • “Young Ned Of The Hill”
  • “Misty Morning, Albert Bridge”
  • “Cotton Fields”
  • “Blue Heaven”
  • “Down All The Days”
  • “USA”
  • “Lorelei”
  • “Gartloney Rats”
  • “Boat Train”
  • “Tombstone”
  • “Night Train To Lorca”
  • “London You’re A Lady”

Bonus Tracks

  • “Star Of The County Down”
  • “The Limerick Rake”
  • “Train Of Love”
  • “Everyman Is A King”
  • “Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah”
  • “Honky Tonk Women”

HELL’S DITCH

  • “The Sunnyside Of The Street”
  • “Sayonara”
  • “The Ghost Of A Smile”
  • “Hell’s Ditch”
  • “Lorca’s Novena”
  • “Summer In Siam”
  • “Rain Street”
  • “Rainbow Man”
  • “The Wake Of The Mudusa”
  • “House Of The Gods”
  • “5 Green Queens & Jean”
  • “Maidrin Rua”
  • “Six To Go”

Bonus Tracks

  • “Whiskey In The Jar”
  • “Bastard Landlord”
  • “Infinity”
  • “Curse Of Love”
  • “Squid Out Of Water”
  • “Jack’s Heroes”
  • “Rainy Night In Soho”

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