The Celtic punk community is mourning a pioneer.
Shane MacGowan, frontman of English-Irish rock band The Pogues, has died, his family confirmed. He was 65.
“It is with the deepest sorrow and heaviest of hearts that we announce the passing of our most beautiful, darling and dearly beloved Shane MacGowan,” his wife, Victoria Mary Clarke, sister Siobhan MacGowan and father Maurice MacGowan, said in a joint statement posted to the band’s Instagram Nov. 30. “Shane died peacefully at 3am this morning (30 November, 2023) with his wife Victoria and family by his side.”
Prior to his death, MacGowan had spent several months in a Dublin hospital after being diagnosed with viral encephalitis in late 2022, according to the Associated Press. He was discharged last week.
Clarke also shared her own emotional tribute with an old photo of her husband on her social media, calling the singer the “most beautiful soul.”
