Shane MacGowan front cover of new Rock N Reel mag

[firehazard]

As it's ok with Sean, here it is:

Rock'n'Reel, March/April 2007

The Pogues, Manchester Evening News Arena, Manchester
by Simon Kay

There are things that are undeniably Christmassy. For some people it's a TV schedule full of slightly dated feel-good films. For others, it's the presence on their plate of a Brussels sprout. For me it's the sound of The Pogues. But before you start humming and swaying, it's not just because of that song, great though it is. Perhaps it's because he was born on Christmas Day, but festive imagery constantly reoccurs in the lyrics of Shane MacGowan, almost as if he is trying to exorcise the ghosts (another recurring theme) of his various Christmases past.

With these thoughts in mind, we arrived at the Arena expecting something a little special. We were not the only ones. While we queued to show our tickets, fans sporting the iconic ill-fitting suits and fedoras, which are so much a part of the whole Pogues 'image', surrounded us. Many of them were already drunk beyond comprehension, but that didn't matter. This was the place to be and they knew it. It almost seemed wrong to be sober in such company.

After a solid set from The Saw Doctors who, as always, were also well represented by their own loyal fans, the main act began. It would be charming to think that the vaguely ordered chaos was all carefully choreographed with minutely precise timing, but let's face it, it wasn't. Shane was gently guided on to the stage and positioned in front of the microphone where he swayed slightly and blinked at the expectant crowd. There was no doubt that he was drunk. But the quality of the evening's show depended on just how drunk he was and we knew it.

After what seemed like an eternity, he leant forward and slurred into the microphone, "This one's called 'Streams of Whiskey'." Within seconds the pint pots were flying and, for the next two hours, we were treated to The Pogues at their very best. There was no new material, just a relentless barrage of classic tracks from The Pogues' back catalogue, ranging from well-known hits like 'A Pair Of Brown Eyes' and 'The Irish Rover', to lesser-known songs such as 'Tuesday Morning', 'Kitty' and the anti-Cromwellian diatribe, 'Young Ned Of The Hill'.

The audience was euphoric throughout, although the greatest reaction of the evening was when the band launched into the Ewan MacColl anthem 'Dirty Old Town'. Despite its none too flattering portrayal of Salford, only a few hundred yards from where we were, on the far bank of the River Irwell, the crowd went positively wild.

There's always something of the predictable about encores -- everyone knows that The Pogues would never end a gig just before Christmas without playing that song. And play it they did -- this time with Ella Finer, the daughter of band member Jem Finer, doing a sterling service in the Kirsty MacColl part. And finally, as the arena filled with a blizzard from the snow machines while Shane and Ella waltzed around the stage, I actually realised that it was Christmas.

Copyright Rock'n'Reel

[MacRua]

Thank you, firehazard !!
What about dec. interview ?

[firehazard]

Thank you, firehazard !!
What about dec. interview ?

If I had a [working] scanner, I'd scanner in the morning...
Sadly I don't. But perhaps someone else does?

Likewise if I had at hand a more competent typist. The first attempt at that, before checking, included that well-known song 'A Pair Of Brown Ewes'.

[MacRua]

Yeah, I would not type it, really, with all my respect for Shane, Pogues, Art etc. Never...

[antiwar]

Rock’n’Reel March/April 2007!
http://www.rock-n-reel.co.uk

Rock’n’Reel….a music magazine covering the very best in roots, rock, blues and beyond.

Front Cover & Main Feature John Lennon “Dear John”
July 2007 marks the 50th anniversary of the first meeting between John Lennon and Paul McCartney. With an eye on the recent raid on the Beatles’ illustrious back catalogue for the album Love and the release of the film The US vs. John Lennon, music critic Art Stevens examines the enduring appeal of the Fab Four and ponders the continuing relevance of John Lennon.

The second issue of the relaunched Rock’n’Reel includes,
Dave Stewart + Moya Brennan + Katie Melua +The Levellers + Billy Bragg + Dropkick Murphys
Hazel O’Connor + Walter Trout + Derrin Nauendorf + King Blues + Julia Biel + Britannia Rumba + Sparks.


PLUS… Ewan MacColl…Ken Hunt examines the life and times of a true giant of the UK Folk Revival

AND…Love it…Hate…it…The Beatles remixed.

ALSO…It Started With A Disc…the record that began your musical love affair

Over 150 CD, DVD, Book & Live Music Reviews.

Free Cover Mount CD entitled ‘UN-HERD Volume 2’
Swill & The Swaggerband + Jess Klein + The Queensberry Rules + Lilo Rhydderch + The Redlands Palomino Company
Dave Derby + Lau + Hazel O’Connor + Juan Martin + John Redfern + Chumbawamba + Bleeding Hearts

Subscription Offer
A one year subscription to the magazine includes a five CD offer. The collection courtesy of Terra Nova and Osmosys Records gives the listener almost five hours of hard core folk, world music and comedy as well as left field contemporary sounds. The offer earns the subscriber seventy one tracks which include some very rare pieces by well known performers as well as gems from up and coming artists. Potential subscribers can take up the offer by either visiting the web-site http://www.rock-n-reel.co.uk
or by purchasing the second edition which includes full subscription details and an application form.
Available from WH Smiths, Virgin, Borders, Fopp or your local newsagent. Ask them! We're distributed by Comag.

[RoddyRuddy]

Quote text only Page 28 RocknReel (typos/ spelling mistakes are from scanner not the mag)

...".. The first phrases you learn in foreign language are usually dull but useful things such as “Hello”, “Thank you” or “My name is.”. My debut sentence in Spanish, however, turns out to he “Please can you help me find a wheelchair for rny friend?”
It’s Decemher, 2005, and rny travelling companion, the irishman in the big black coat, is meant to be in London today to rehearse with his band for a big Christmas tour. In fact, he’s with me in Tangier, Morocco, after a week’s holiday together We’re on our way back. Problem is, an airport official will not let us on the plane. “You can go,” he says, indicating me. “But not your friend. He is clearly too drunk.”
“He’s always like that. Really He’s well known for seeming this way Seeming, not being.”
“Listen, my friend. I know when someone is drunk.”
I want to tell him that this isn’t just ‘someone’. This is Shane MacCowan, lead singer with The Pogues, co-author of their festive classic with Kirsty MacColl, ‘Fairytale Of New York’, which was recently voted the Best Christmas Song Ever by various corners of the media. His narne is known to millions of strangers, often associated with a few cartoonish tags of received opinion: Irish. Bad Teeth. Famous. Drunk.
It’s true that Shane tends to stagger when he walks and slurs when he speaks. What fewer people realise is that these attributes have been in place for decades, at varying degrees of severity This is just the way he is. The times when he’s entirely lucid, strangers still think he’s drunk. The crucial difference between him and the sort of stereotypical drunkard who gets thrown off planes (and rightfully so) is down to a matter of one thing:
control. Having shared a number of flight with him, I can confirm Shane’s airborne behaviour is limited to three modes only: talking, reading and sleeping. The Shane MacCowan I know is one of the most well- read, open-minded, kind-hearted, funniest and gentlest men I’ve ever met in rny life.
“I’m not going on the plane without him,” I bark nobly feeling my halo ascend. Though any notions of heroic selflessness are rather compromised by the thought of what the other Pogoes and their fans might do to me, should I return to London Shane-less.
“Comeback tomorrow.”
I wonder what the hell to do next. I know full well it would he pointless staying in Tangier another night and trying again in the morning: Mr MacCowan would be the same. So I phone someone in London who has known him much longer than me. This can’t he the first time he’s been thrown off a flight, I muse. My saviour advises me to take the scenic route. Get the ferry to Algeciras, catch a taxi up the Spanish coast to Malaga, hop on a plane to Stansted. And this time I should put Mr MacCowan in a wheelchair before boarding the plane. No one ever questions a wheelchair Hence the need to learn the appropriate phrase in Spanish.
The advice is spot-on: the ferry staff are far less censorious. Not only do they let us onboard unhindered, they also point us in the direction of the ferry bar Shane makes it back to London later than scheduled, but at
least it’s the same day A week later, I find myself to be a ghost within the news: “The first rehearsal for the Christmas tour We don’t expect to be seeing Shane MacCowan. He’s in Morocco, or on his way back from Morocco. It’s a mystery how he gets there without help.It’s a further mystery how begets hack.” (Pogues aceordionistjames Eearnley’s diary The Independent, 16 December, 2005.)
Now it’s September, 2006, and once again I’m sharing a few drinks with Shane,talking about recent adventures like the one above, and how he feels about Being Shane MacCowan these days. We’re at his favourite hostelry in London, The Boogaloo in Highgate. It’s the nearest bar to my own home, svhieh is how I got to know him a couple of years ago. This interview for Rock’n’ReeI is therefore biased: as a friend I can’t possibly be impartial. But just as the best biography to date, A Drink With Shane
MacGowan (2001), was written by his then girlfriend Victoria Mary Clarke, replacing neutrality with an insider’s glimpse, I like to think I’m following in a tradition. Which is something Shane knows all about.
“In Irish pubs, ‘Fairytale Of NewYork’ has become a traditional number, up there with ‘Danny Boy’ or ‘The Fields ofAthenry’ or whatever .People sing it together even in the middle of summer So I’m now like the writers of all those other standards, except I’m not anonymous... or dead. I feel great about that song, and how it’s taken on a life of its own, though the beauty of the original record really helped. It’s one of those rare things in life where everything comes together and works at the same time. But the credit has to be shared with Jem Finer, who co-wrote the music, and everyone else involved in the record from the whole band to the string arrangements by Fiachra Trench, to Kirsty MacColl who is somewhere else now. She recorded her own vocals separately at the time, but then she went on the road with us afterwards so I got


.........."
Quote end



[RoddyRuddy]

Continues Page 29 RocknRee(l Again all typos/spelling mistakes are from scanner not the mag)
"........ to duet it with her on a nightly basis. It cured her stage fright. Though that wasn’t The Pogues helping her, it was the audience that helped her”
The Kirsty MacColl role in the song is a much coveted position. When drinking with Shanc, I’ve seen him approached by many a woman asking if she can sing Fairytale’ with him then and there. “I know all the Kirsty MacColl bits... listen!”
And before Shane can muster a polite refusal, they’ve gone through the entire song. Since The Pogues re-formation with Shane in 2001, Kirsty’s part has been played onstage by a number of guest chanteuses, including original Pogues bassist Cait O’Biordan (who sang on an eady demo of the song), Katie Melua, Cerys Matthews and Ella Finer, daughter of the song’s co-authorJem.
“There are people in and around The Pogues who nominate guest singers for the Kirsty part. Ileave it to them to argue it out. I can’t be bothered with the politics any more than Machiavelli could, heh heh. To say I have any favourites for that role other than IKirsty is to sully her name. I’m old fashioned like that. Besides, it’s hearing the original group playing it that keeps me happy And ‘Fairytale’ is meant to be a song from an older man to a younger woman, so it works fine with Ella. I knew her before she was born, heh heh!”
‘Fairytale’ was re-released as a single last year reaching number three in the UK. Not bad for a song that’s been easily available on albums for two decades. This particular release had a good reason: proceeds were donated towardsjustice For Kirsty, a campaign to find out the truth behind the death of Ms MacCoil in 2000. Now, 2007 will mark the record’s 20th anniversary So how do you feel about that, Shane MacGowan?
“Thank god it’s only 20! It seems like yesterday I’ve got a really good memory from that period. I think the song stands. I wouldn’t change anything about it. It is what it is.”
People ofren put the song on the jukebox at The Boogaloo. When Shane’s not here, it’s as if they’re trying to summon his spirit or pay tribute, knowing his liking for the pub. They even put it on when he’s present. It’s also pretty inescapable every Christmas, whether on the radio or on the inevitable loop of seasonal pop songs played in high street shops from October onwards. Does Shane MacGowan ever get tired of hearinghis record played back to him?
“No, I’ll never get sick of it. It’s great, and I’m proud of it. I know Woody Allen can’t bear to watch his own films after they’re finished, but then... I can’t bear to watch his films either, hehheh!”
And how does he feel about it being voted the Best Christmas Song Of All Time? “I feel great about it though I hate any of those ‘best ever’ lists. It’s not a competion But I’m not complaining. The best surprises in life are the ones you never dream about. And let’s face it, it is a much better song than, say ‘White Christmas’ and most of the others.”
What other Christmas songs do you rate then? “I like ‘Mary’s Boy Child’. Seriously! And I like Judy Garland’s ‘Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas’ and Nat King Cole’s ‘The Christmas Song’. As in ‘Chestnuts roasting on an open fire...’. I always viewed my parents as the Irish Nat King Cole and Judy Gadand. “I still love singing other people’s songs as much as my own. My favourite to cover in The Pogues’ style is ‘Freeborn Man Of The
Travelling People’ [by Ewan MacColl].

[RoddyRuddy]

Continues Page 30 RocknReel (Again all typos/spelling mistakes are from scanner not the mag)

"....... • The hardest one is definitely ‘Danny Boy’. It is very easy to do that song badly, what with the high notes. My favourite recordings of ‘Danny Boy’ are by proper tenors like John MacCormack and Frank Patterson. Real beauty and soul in both cases. When Frank Patterson passed away a few years ago, I sent roses to his funeral.”
Next year also marks the tenth anniversary of Crock Of Gold (1997), the last studio album with his solo band, The Popes. So why the hiatus?
“It’s mainly down to boring, slow grinding, music business stuff. It’s only now that it’s been sorted out and I’m finally free to make a record for whichever record company is best—or if I should put it out myself. I’ll make it with various old accomplices. I’ve got plenty of ideas for the new album. I’m writing all the time. You get loads of material from hanging around in bars like this, or clubs such as Gaz’s Rockin’ Blues in Wardour Street, hearing other people’s stories. The Boogaloo is a genuine Irish bar in the sense that it attracts talented and eccentric lunatics — characters ripe for writing songs about — hke all the best bars. And not just living characters: I’ve taken dictation from a few ghosts, too.’,
Despite the years without a new album, he has still managed to release a few original songs on limited edition EPs for chariries. ‘Road To Paradise’, the most recent, is as catchy and as charismaric as the best of The Pogues’ hits, and deserves a proper airing. “Yeah, I do intend to re-record ‘Road To Paradise’ on the next album, whether solo or with The Pogues. It should be produced with a decent amount of money behind it. It’s such an obvious crowd sing-a-long.”
So where do you stand with The Pogues these days? “We’ve realised that we can play together without necessarily having to seek to know each other And people will always pay more to see me with The Pogues than solo. But it got to the stage where I was doing Pogues gigs, which I was enjoying, in order to pay for solo gigs which I wasn’t. Also, in The Pogues, I can just concentrate on my singing and leave it at that. Whereas with The Popes I have to lead the band and run things, which I’m not always keen on. But I don’t see these as exclusive activities. I’m not going to compare myself to Buddy Holly because I’m not that good, and I’m not going to compare myself to Phil Collinsbecause I’m not that bad. But both of them managed to keep up a career as part of group and as a solo artist. So I’m keen to continue doing both.”
You’re doing a bit of acting too, I hear. “Yeah, there’s a good chance I’ll be playing the character that represents Brendan Behan in the movie version ofJP Donleavy’s The Ginger Man, withJohnny Depp. A very small role. It’s not my lifetime ambition or anything: I’m quite happy being myself. But I think I’m a reasonable choice to play him. I’m just going to try and act him as opposed to impersonate him.” His film star friend Mr Depp thinks highly of The Pogues singer, recently being quoted as saying: “Shane’s one of the most important poets of the 20th century... He’s produced some of the most beautiful lyrics that arc a great gift to the wodd.” (The Sun, 28 Novembei 2005.) “That’s sweet of him. I thinkJohnny’s wonderful too — he’s a great guitar player by the way Though I don’t really regard myself as a poet. More of an entertainer or a musician who happens to write some songs I write stuff that rhymes and sounds better sung than spoken. Poetry without music was basically non-existent in Ireland until the last century or two; the poems that were handed down were the ones which rhymed, like songs.”
You’re often called a genius, too. “Yeah, but then some people call Hider a genius! I think the word genius is overused quite a bit. When people say I’m a legend, I think, ‘What... like the Bermuda Triangle?’ I would just say I’ve got a god-given talent which I eventually got round to using properly, with the help of others. And if no one had come to see us that would have been the end of it and you’d never have heard of me. I was at the end of my tether by the rime I formed The Pogues; we’d all been in various bands before and we had nothing to lose. And there was nothing really happening at the time, so we stood out. It’s never enough to just be talented: there’s timing, luck and hard work too.
“The older original Pogues fans are still coming to the current gigs. Then there’re a lot of their children and friends of theirs who never got round to seeing us first time round. Anywhere in the world, you can find Pogues fans. Even grandchildren! It’s scary to realise you’re getting old — I’m 49 this Christmas — but going out and playing live and touring keeps you active; it’s like a............."

[RoddyRuddy]

Continues Page 32 RocknReel (Again all typos/spelling mistakes are from scanner not the mag)
"......ten-mile run for me. I certainly don’t do The Pogues shows just for the money—if I was, I really am stupid!”
He goes to a lot of awards ceremonies these days. The week this interview took place, he’s being honoured by the Irish Post. “It’s always immensely flattering to get these Lifetime Achievement awards, though they are a bit like saying ‘Okay you’ve done your bit, now you can crawl off and die’ And I have no intention of doing either of those things.”
We discuss the influence of The Pogues on younger artists of the moment, and one in particular springs to mind. “Damien Dempsey is a really cool guy I heard him first in America, when he was getting nowhere in Ireland. The song was ‘Colony’ and I just thought it was fantastic. When I got to meet him, we were both pissed. I fell to my knees and started kissing his hands when I realised who he was. He understands the massive influence on The Pogues of The Dubliners, which people often forget: we didn’t spring from nowhere. There’s a lot of taenltless rubbish about right now, so I’m pleased to see Damien’s finally making some headway He’s got everything—youth, looks, talent, soul. And he’s reafly really great. And he’ll get even better.”
Prior to this interview, I’ve been lurking at the Brirish Library collecting press clippings about Shane. I find his very first front cover for the music paper Sounds, in April 1977. Incredibly Shane isn’t even in a band at this point. Not even The Nips, his pre-Pogues group who will form a little later Here, he’s known as being a memorable if uncredited face on the London punk scene, and it’s in this role that begets a whole front cover to himself, sprawled on the floor of some gig, mouth open, the famous teeth in a poor state even then. He’s either laughing, or screaming, or shouting; it’s hard to tell. What is clear is that he is already a one-off, a stac As anyone who has seen him onstage will confirm, whatever you think of him, he has ‘it’.
“Seeing The Sex Pistols changed my life. After coming out of six months of teenage rehab, the first band I went to see was them at the Nashville. John Lydon seemed so obviously Irish in his looks and attitude, which is why he writes such brilliant lyrics: he’s an Irish windbag like mc. There were only about 50 punks at the time, and many of them were immigrants hkc myself. It was essentially people who didn’t fit, you see.”
With ‘Fairytale’ to point to, it’s fair to say Shane has earned more of a right to be famous than many so-called celebrities of today “You get used to fame, like anything else. It doesn’t feel bad, though for a while it was a bit overwhelming. I don’t spend a lot of time thinking about it. I just like to keep going. I believe in living in the moment, going with the flow. I don’t expect anything. I believe in doing anything you want, but I never make actual plans. Plans tend to gowrong. So I take life as it comes. “I enjoy being a celebrity on the whole. It gets me served quicker — or even—free at bars and in restaurants. I’m forever being asked to appear on Celebrity Big Brother and all that sort of thing, though I really can’t be bothered. I’ve spent enough time in real rehab let alone the TV equivalent and, as far as I can see, it’s exactly the same as rehab, just with cameras. People want to watch it, though, so fair enough.
“Im enjoying life. I don’t have to worry about pocket money when going out, and I can remember being in that situation when I had nothing. It’s a lot easier to be happier with money inyour pocket than without, however had things get. And money aside, therere always people and places I know where I’ll be given a bed, something to eat and drink. And I never take that for granted. I’ll never pass a beggar in the street without giving them something. I just believe all you can do is your best, without making a big deal of it.
“I don’t give a fuck about being remembered after I’m dead, honestly Given the amount of rubbish people talk about while I’m still around, I shudder to think about what crap they’ll come out with when I’m gone! I’m glad I won’t have to sit around and have my ear bent with people’s true opinions on Shanc MacCowan, because their bullshit is bad enough.
“I’m constantly misrepresented in the gutter press, who seem to think I’ve gone to the trouble of creating this myth of being stereotypical drunken Irishman. Well I like a drink and I’m proud to he Irish. And I hate to let my country down, but excuse me if I have to tell people who come up and bore me for five hours to fuck off! I never pretended to he Jesus Christ, though we share the same birthday And he wasn’t that patient, either!
‘And anyway it’s like Brendan Behan said: ‘There is no such thing as bad publicity —except your own obituary’.”

End Quote RocknReel Jan / Feb 2007

[RoddyRuddy]

Got the second issue of RocknReel and it is well worth getting in my opinon.

[MacRua]

Huge thanks for that scan, Roddy!!

[Guest]

Rock'n'Reel are media sponsors for this festival, and I've done the press and publicity for all four years to date. Good line-up.
Sean

SOLFEST 2007
24TH –26TH August 2007
Tickets go on sale Monday 2nd April 2007
Solfest 2007 is coming together very nicely and we are certain that this year is going to be the best festival yet.
We’ve already booked some very special mainstage artists including The Levellers, Badly Drawn Boy, Chumbawamba, The Undertones, The Beat, Thea Gilmore, Neville Staple (of The Specials), Show Of Hands, Ozric Tentacles and Easy Star All Stars but we’ve still got loads more acts to confirm. Also the success of the new stages and areas instigated last including the bar stage, and the new chill out area, ensures Solfest 2007 will never have a dull moment.
We pride ourselves in the fact that we defy categorisation and actively try to programme as many different styles of music and arts as possible. Not only does this mean that you get the chance to sample all sorts of new things that otherwise you may never experience, it also means that if what is on stage isn’t to your exact taste, wait for twenty minutes or so, there’ll be something totally different on, and if not, there are always another three stages, workshops, market, music sessions, cafés and much, much more to occupy you at Cumbria ’s largest and most vibrant live music and arts event.
Tickets will go on sale at 9.00am on Monday 2rd April 2007, where you can purchase via 01900 602122 or in person at The Carnegie Box Office, Finkle Street, Workington, Cumbria.
Adult weekend Tickets are first 1500 sold £50 remainder £59 Childrens weekend tickets: under 5s – free Children 5-12 £12.
Solfest operates a WYSIWYG policy on tickets. We have NO hidden charges, NO carriage fees, NO booking fee and NO credit card charges!
In the meantime check out the new improved Solfest website on http://www.solwayfestival.co.uk
Remember though, SOLFEST WILL SELL OUT. Last year all tickets were sold in record time. There were a lot of very disappointed people who didn’t manage to get tickets. There are only 5000 available for 2007, make sure you get yours as soon as possible!

[antiwar]

ROCK'N'REEL ISSUE 4 OUT NOW
No Pogues this issue but plenty to get your teeth into. Check it out.
With Proclaimers, Travis, Eddi Reader, John Mayall, Oysterband, Tunng, Bruce Cockburn, Po' Girl, Steve Ashley, Michael Weston King, Damien Barber, Folk Rock In The Theatre plus free cover mounted CD featuring tracks from Runrig, Ron Sexsmith, Brian Houston,Homespun (featuring Mary Coughlan),The Waterboys, Helen J. Hicks, Winter, Hummingbird,Big Country, Joe Brown, Rob McCulloch, Blair Harvey, Showstar and Pete Shelley.
Plus over 150 reviews, letters, news etc.
You can still claim 5 free CDs by subscribing or it's still only £4.25 from any WH Smiths, Borders, HMV, Virgin, Fopp or independent newsagents and book and record stores. If you don't see it they can order it. We're distributed by Comag.
Also visit our website for exclusive news, info and a myriad of links.
http://www.rock-n-reel.co.uk

[Shaz]

ROCK'N'REEL ISSUE 4 OUT NOW
No Pogues this issue but plenty to get your teeth into. Check it out.

There's a smidge of Pogues interest in the new issue -- my review of Kiss My Arse is in the book review section

[Guest]

Of course there is Sharon! Doh! Blame it on my age, memory and being totally upto my neck in issues 5, 6 and 7. Huge Joe Strummer piece in issue 5 people.
Cheers
Sean