-si-

I was a big fan of The Pogues when I was 16. Bizarrely I’ve actually met Shane McGowan. I was 16 years old, at the Apocalypse club in London’s Astoria in 1987, he was in there with Robert Plant from Led Zeppelin. I didn’t know who Robert Plant was at the time. Me and my friend spent a few hours talking to Shane and Robert Plant. They were both a great laugh. Most people don’t know Shane MacGowan was also a great illustrator. He drew loads of pictures on the back of some flyers and signed them. Unfortunately, they were in the nostalgia box that somebody in my family threw out. Shane was funny, wearing what looked like a pair of women’s ballet shoes, when he laughed, he made a hissing sound because his teeth were so rotten. They threw him and Robert Plant out of the Astoria club because Shane was balancing a bottle of whiskey on his forehead, that he smuggled into the club. He really was a poet of the 20th century Rest in peace. I always remember this interview with Joe Strummer where he talks about the Pogues. Joe Strummer was also a fellow runner, so cool in my book [

    -si- hey I wasn’t doing a smallman and putting them down. They’ve been mentioned by my US friends today too, so it seems they did have an audience there.

        Homegrove

        Much as I liked the Pogues’ first two albums when I actually saw them live they were appalling, however, this was probably due to Shane’s drinking. I guess they were like Sasha, they were either terrible or fucking amazing depending on Shane’s state. I worked with a band that supported them in the early 90’s and they said the same thing. I suppose their era was just before the acid house explosion then everything changed.

          Dan

          I first heard them in 1985, Yorkshire TV used to occasionally do all-night music video documentaries on the history of music videos (this was before MTV and if you liked a track the only time you would hear it was if it popped up on the radio, or you bought the record). I used to stay up and record them on VHS. After a while of watching them back you used to forward to the videos that you liked. I must have forwarded past the Pogues video loads of times, then it caught my eye because the people play pool with eyeballs, they captured that folk music with that punk element

          [

            6 days later

            Benjamin Zephaniah - brain tumour, 65. Sad, only came across him on Question Time, but he was brilliant every time. Gone to the Dub Poetry Corner in the sky.

              Along_the_Wire …saw him speak at a festival a year or so ago, really inspirational fella who’d led a mad life. Very sad.

                11 days later

                alistair

                Slightly off-topic, but this came up on my feed yesterday which I thought was quite interesting.

                The Smiths is ‘Panic’ secretly about Jimmy Saville

                  8 days later

                  Hope he paid all his Bills.

                  Invite en route.

                  It’s not ideal to have to look him up. Had no idea who he was. Looks like a big fan of the ol’ mince.

                  Chocked on a sprout.

                  The ‘Godfather’ of avocado toast apparently.

                  Bill Granger that is, not SD.

                  Too fattening for Moi.

                  Jacques Delors.

                  The express will be crowing

                    Tom Wilkinson down at 75. He was great in many movies, but the first thing that always comes to mind when he is mentioned is Michael Clayton for me.