- Pogue Mahone · 1996
- The Ultimate Collection · 1987
- Rum Sodomy & the Lash (Expanded Version) · 1985
- Rum Sodomy & the Lash (Expanded Version) · 1985
- If I Should Fall from Grace with God (Expanded Edition) · 1988
- Rum Sodomy & the Lash (Expanded Version) · 1985
- Red Roses for Me · 1984
- The Very Best of The Pogues · 1985
- The Very Best of The Pogues · 1984
- The Very Best of The Pogues · 1987
- Rum Sodomy & the Lash (Expanded Version) · 1985
- Rum Sodomy & the Lash (Expanded Version) · 1985
- The Very Best of The Pogues · 1987
Essential Albums
- To borrow an anachronistic saying, the sun never sets on The Pogues’ third album, If I Should Fall from Grace with God. The group’s music is still firmly set in the Celtic folk-punk of its first two records, which had been produced by a third-generation Irishman named Declan McManus (aka Elvis Costello). But If I Should Fall, released in 1988, sees the members of the London-formed Pogues wandering further into the musical diaspora than ever before. The catalysts for the creative wayfaring found throughout If I Should Fall came from a variety of intermingled sources. “Fiesta” is based around an incessant fairground melody overheard by the bandmates while staying in the south of Spain (the tune turned out to be “Liechtensteiner Polka” by German composers Edmund Kötscher and Rudi Lindt, who’d later demand to be compensated for the unintended nick). “Turkish Song of the Damned”, meanwhile, was inspired by a malapropism in a German magazine, which vocalist Shane MacGowan and Jem Finer used as a jumping-off point for a tale of Aegean pirates swashbuckling to the sound of a faux-Middle Eastern soundtrack. Set even further abroad is “Fairytale of New York”, a Christmas duet with Kirsty MacColl, with lyrics about a disillusioned Irish-American couple in Gotham. The tune opens with a plaintive solo piano and vocal that MacGowan would claim was inspired by Ennio Morricone’s score to Once Upon a Time in America, Sergio Leone’s epic saga of Italian-American immigrants. Far and away the most well-known song in The Pogues’ catalogue, the sentimental “Fairytale” was given sweeping orchestration by new producer Steve Lillywhite, whose recording technique opened up The Pogues’ sound, right at the time the band members were broadening their own perspectives. A critically acclaimed work by a band positioned to take on the world, If I Should Fall elevated The Pogues’ blend of folk and punk, celebration and savagery, romanticism and disenchantment to a level the group had never achieved before—and, by some member’s own admission, would not reach again.
Albums
- 1996
Music Videos
- 2014
- 2014
Artist Playlists
- Poguetry in motion.
- Meet the acts who latched on to these brilliant, riotous folk punks.
- The punks and folkies that helped power Shane MacGowan's creativity.
Singles & EPs
Live Albums
About The Pogues
Formed in 1982, The Pogues popularized Celtic punk by blending acoustic Irish folk music with songs of protest and maximum attitude. ∙ Early on, The Pogues’ packed London pub and club shows caught the attention of their idols The Clash, who asked the band to open their 1984 summer tour. ∙ Produced by Elvis Costello, their breakthrough album, 1985’s Rum Sodomy & the Lash, was named one of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time by Rolling Stone. ∙ “Fairytale of New York,” their 1987 duet with singer-songwriter Kirsty MacColl, was repeatedly voted best Christmas song in the UK and was included in NME’s 100 Best Songs of the 1980s. ∙ Joe Strummer of The Clash took on lead vocal duties for The Pogues on their 1991 tour, after the band parted ways with singer and primary songwriter Shane MacGowan. ∙ The Pogues’ mix of Celtic folk lyricism and punk rock furor helped to carve out a musical path for such bands as Dropkick Murphy, Crowns, and The Saw Doctors.
- ORIGIN
- Kings Cross, London, England
- FORMED
- 1982
- GENRE
- Alternative