Shane MacGowan sings the Blues at Liverpool Echo ArenaJul 3 2009 by Jade Wright, Liverpool Echo URLSHANE MacGOWAN may not have the fondest of memories of Liverpool. Thinking about it, he might not have any memories – if his last gig at the University is anything to go by.
The Pogues singer was arrested in his dressing room and spent a night in police cells at St Anne's Street after a man claimed he had been hit in the face by a microphone stand MacGowan had allegedly hurled into the audience.
MacGowan said he had hit the concert-goer by mistake. Police searched the venue for the mic stand in question but it had been stolen by a fan, desperate for a souveneir from the night.
So, I ask him if he has any fonder memories of Liverpool.
“Michael Thomas. Anfield. 1989. And Liverpool bands – it's difficult to know where to start.”
The Everton fan says he’s coming back to play the ECHO arena as part of the Summer Pops, and we can look forward to “Pretty much what we've been doing for the last 26 years,” says Shane. Great.
(...)
He kept his dad's love of literature, taking his inspiration as a songwriter from James Clarence Mangan and Brendan Behan.
“They come at us from all directions, in many different forms,” he explains, of his inspiration. “We used to watch Once Upon A Time In America on a loop when we were on tour. That must have had some kind of effect somewhere.”
He can't choose any favourite songs he's written – “It all depends on the time of day,” he shrugs. But, he says, if he ended up in a karaoke bar he'd sing “something I'd never heard before. Or something by the Pet Shop Boys.”
I'd pay to see that.
Throughout the interview, he makes jokes but gives little away. But then the press he's had over the years would make anyone wary of interviews. His lifestyle would make Amy Winehouse wince in disapproval. His has been a life on the very edge.
I ask what the worst thing is he's ever read about himself.
“That I'm an arrogant, violent psychopath,” he replies.
His has been an almost biblical tale of death and disappointment. Yet despite all his troubles, he finds the poetry in life, weaving daydreams for realists.
When I ask him what he thinks will be the best thing in Liverpool in 2009, he answers simply “Everton”.
But what does he, the man who wrote about the “measure of my dreams” actually dream of? “Immortality. Oh, I see what you mean,” he corrects himself. “I don't, or if I do I don't remember them.”
The Pogues, supported by Amsterdam, play The Summer Pops at the ECHO Arena on July 15. Tickets £24.50, details on listings page.
