2023’s Music Losses “Top” Ten: Shane MacGowan (#10)

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It’s hard to call this a “top” ten list, because I’d rather that all the people on the list (both the top ten and the ones I’ve highlighted all month) weren’t on an obituaries list. Of course, it’s part of living, but still… Anyway, here are the ten best acts, in my personal opinion (“best” is subjective), we lost in 2023, starting here. #10: Shane MacGowan When news of Shane MacGrowan’s death broke, I noticed two very common sentiments: sadness, of course; and utter amazement that he lived to 65. (A “Christmas baby,” he was three weeks shy of his 66th birthday when he passed.) Yeah, Shane had a reputation. You’ve heard of marijuana “contact highs”? You could get drunk from just listening to a Pogues album. Known as much for his excessive drinking (and rotten teeth [no kidding]) as his lyrical brilliance, MacGowan took the rock and roll lifestyle and re-wrote the book. How extreme? The band he co-founded, the Pogues, fired him because of his drinking and drug use!! However, before that, the Pogues combined punk, Celtic music, and lower-class life in a brilliance that was singularly unique. Their song, “Fairy Tale of New York,” a duet with the late Kristy MacColl, is one of those “Christmas songs” that’s a little more realistic (“It was Christmas Eve, babe, in the drunk tank”), and one that you just don’t get tired of. (It’s also one that you don’t hear covered 80,000,000,000 times. ) An alcoholic and drug user since his teens (he was institutionalized at 17 for abuse of both), you can understand why people were more surprised that he made it to 65 than the fact that his body finally gave out. Pneumonia was listed as the official cause of death, related to encephalitis. MacGowan left an indelible mark on 80s music. Shane MacGowan Born Shane Patrick Lysaght MacGowan December 25, 1957 - November 30, 2023 (age 65) The Pogues in full blast: