The Medusa Fora

The new Q magazine promises an interview with Shane:

A ROUND WITH... SHANE MACGOWAN
The face of The Pogues has a couple on Q and talks Simon Cowell, Keith Richards, acid and false teeth. Just a normal day at the pub then.



Link

The magazine should be out on March 30, 2010. If some good soul could share the article with folks who have no access to UK newsstands, his/her deed would be heartily welcome and deeply appreciated.

Most towns have some place around that carries Q, at least in the US. If you are in the US, try Barnes & Noble or Borders, or some place that specializes in newspapers from other countries.

Zuzana wrote:The new Q magazine promises an interview with Shane:

A ROUND WITH... SHANE MACGOWAN
The face of The Pogues has a couple on Q and talks Simon Cowell, Keith Richards, acid and false teeth. Just a normal day at the pub then.



Link

The magazine should be out on March 30, 2010. If some good soul could share the article with folks who have no access to UK newsstands, his/her deed would be heartily welcome and deeply appreciated.

I'll buy it on the way home and will post it up later on.

Hope it isn't as long as the last one, cor, mojo smojo!

Cough, £3.99!! Excuse any typos, I'm doing this in my lunch break !





A round with Shane MacGowan {the poet}

He's the face of The Pogues and the man who raised boozing to Olympian levels. And today he's just not getting out of bed.

Words Sylvia Patterson

--

It's Q's round, what are you drinking?

Gin and tonic [a double]. And a tea.

Shaun Ryder once said gin was "the crack of drink". What d'you reckon?

Nah, it's the smack of drink. Ckckckckckckc. [Shane's famously demented rattle-snake laugh ensures and a column of snot descends from his nose towards his lip, which he sniffs back up again. This happens intermittently for the next 20 minutes or so].

You made a charity record for Haiti - a cover of Screamin' Jay Hawkins' I Put A Spell On You, featuring you, Nick Cave, Bobby Gillespie, and Johnny Depp. Why choose a bonkers voodoo song?

It's Screamin' Jay Hawkins. [Begins banging black leather fingerless gloved fist on table] I'm not going over all that again. [Turns to girlfriend Victoria Clarke, working on a computer beside him] You say.

Victoria: Just say it again!
Shane: Because .... it's... it's.... primal voodoo. I mean, what the fuck is that other one [the Simon Cowell overseen version of Everybody Hurts] all about?

What do you think Simon Cowell would make of your song?

I couldn't give a fuck what he makes of anything.

Didn't you try to get Keith Richards for the song? He's a buddy of yours, too.

Yep. He was busy. If I was him I wouldn't want to come to England. Fucking taxman jumping on him with a parachute with SAS.

Is Keith giving drinking a betrayal to rock'n'roll? it's as if he's not "Keith Richards anymore.

He is Keith Richards. Who the fuck else is he? Screamin' Jay Hawkins and he's been dead for three years [Hawkins died in 2000]. A friend of ours just had a stroke. No, a heart attack. And he's alright. He didn't notice cos he was asleep.

Have you worked out yet why people drink in the first place? Paul Heaton of The Beautiful South once said it was "to break down the Berlin Wall of the self".

Cos it's easier to get than illegal drugs. it's another method of.. getting in touch with God. That's why people do drugs. You're triggering... stuff you don't really understand. But I'm not searching for an answer. I haven't even got a question.

You used to take 14 tabs of acid in one go. Once you tried to eat a copy of The Beach Boys' Greatest Hits Volume 3. Why was that?

I was trying to show Russian ambassador the worthlessness of American imperialism.

So that's the dimension of 15 tabs acid takes you into?

What are you talking about? Alice In Wonderland was written by Lewis Carroll on fucking opium... He was a pharmacologist, yeah? [Flings teaspoon on table] Turner was gluggling back laudanum.

Did you know the chemical make-up of the human being is, pretty much, coal, chalk water, stars from outer space and absolutely nothing whatsoever?

Well, LSD tells you that quite clearly.

You were one of the original punks. What's been punk's legacy?

Some people advertise margarine. Other people make ego-massaging charity records. ckckckckkc. Punk was... it's about freedom. And chaos.

And gardening, maybe. You two did a gardening show last year for Irish TV, Victoria And Shane Grow Their Own. What's your green fingered speciality?

It's not my gardening show, it's hers. She started growing vegetables in the backyard.

Victoria: You sang to them
Shane: Did I?
Victoria: Yes. You played the electric guitar to them. He played The Jesus Mary Chain to them. And you sang Jersey Girl to the potatoes.
Shane: That's right. I need vegetables to keep me company. ckckckck.

Who's the greatest frontman of all time?

Me. It's about being a great entertainer. But not being conscious of the fact you're being entertaining.

Where have all the rock'n'roll outlaws gone?

Keith Richards is a rock'n'roll otulaw [Colossal silence follows].

You're not arsed, are you?

Not really, no. There's rock'n'roll outlaws in Haiti. Have I been there? No [bangs repeatedly on the table again].

How would you describe the 21st century so far?

They should blow a bit of concrete away. There's technology to blow people to bits with an atom bomb. And there's technology to make a bloody great atomic noise on guitars and fire hydrants. [repeatedly booting the inside of the table] You better ask her, she's good at the celebrity stuff [?]. Celebrity culture is a fucking oxymoron. Culture grows, celebrity fades. I never like culture much anyway.

I bet you're reading a culturally significant book right now.

Shane: No.
Victoria: Yes you are. The one about the IRA guy.
Shane: Oh yeah. Sean Treacy. First edition paperback.

What's the finest piece of poetry you've ever read?

No [shuts up altogether].

There are poems in your head. I know there are some of them you even wrote yourself.

No. No. That's it . I can't really talk anymore.

You've got fabulous new teeth now. So where are they?

Shane: I lost them. About a couple of weeks after I got 'em made. Two years ago, was it?
Victoria: Last summer.
Shane: Are we actually talking about false teeth now? They didn't feel good. I don't know where they are. D'you know where they are?
Victoria: They're in a plastic Tupperware box. Somewhere beside the sofa.
Shane: [indecipherable squeak] Hnn.

What's life for, Shane MacGowan?

Living. Just living will do.

Walshy you are a hero!! Where is your Nobel Prize eh?

Will most likely be picking this issue up today, I'm rather intrigued to see who comes out on top as rock 'n roll greatest frontman. However, I will have my doubts for sure about the coveted spot.

Thanks a lot - Brilliant !

I love:

"I'm not searching for an answer. I haven't even got a question."

Once again - thanks a million, agent Walshy!

Very nice. Thanks a heap!

He was #56 in the ratings for 100 front men !

Thanks Zuzana and Walshy. I feel Shane's irritation with the shitbox interviewer though.

I can tell you who the top 5 frontmen according to Q are if you guys want ? I just don't want to spoil it for Pogues 24 if he hasn't piked up his copy yet...

You'll not be too shocked anyway....

MissWalshy wrote:I can tell you who the top 5 frontmen according to Q are if you guys want ? I just don't want to spoil it for Pogues 24 if he hasn't piked up his copy yet...

You'll not be too shocked anyway....

Oh Walshy please by all means spill the beans, the suspense is just killing me. Besides I went to Barnes and Noble yesterday and the new issue of Q still has not arrived. GODDAMN YOU USA!!!!

I hate the British press.

And here's a reason to hate the British public. Q Magazine's top 20 frontmen.

1) Liam Gallagher
2) Bono
3) Freddie Mercury
4) Damon Albarn
5) Chris Martin
6) Matt Bellamy
7) Jim Morrison
8 ) Bob Marley
9) Paul McCartney
10) John Lennon
11) Robbie Williams
12) Debbie Harry
13) Mick Jagger
14) Morrissey
15) John Lydon
16) James Brown
17) Bruce Springsteen
18) Robert Plant
19) Tom Meighan
20) Joe Strummer

Good man yourself Jim,

Not sure why you're moaning, I think there are some worthy top placer-s there. Love seeing Damon up there and Bob and Morrissey and of course Joe...