The Pogues’ annual Christmas concerts at Glasgow’s Carling Academy became something of a tradition in my late teens and early 20s.
They were, as you might expect, chaotic affairs with seemingly as much lager spilled across the venue as down the necks of those shouting along to every word.
While the spectacular, often overlooked musicianship was amazing to experience live, the main appeal for me was always the fascinating frontman.
Shane MacGowan may have grumbled his way through those sets, swaying with a large gin and tonic in hand, but you couldn’t take your eyes off this living legend.
Understandably, many may not see the appeal of this. In fact, it might well be some people’s idea of hell.
But if you did, it was magic.
Shane died at the end of November in 2023, living a life longer than anyone predicted.
And last night the latest celebration of this hard-drinking punk poet rolled into Aberdeen, with a show entitled For The Love of Shane MacGowan at The Lemon Tree.
A cynic might view an event like this one, billed as a mix of classic songs and fond memories, as a bit of a cash-in… Is it something the cantankerous Irishman really would have wanted?
I went along to judge for myself…
What did I think of For The Love of Shane MacGowan show in Aberdeen?
The last time I saw Scottish singer/songwriter John McLaughlin he was opening for Rod Stewart in a gig that brought down the curtain on the old AECC.
Over the past year or so, he has been performing this love letter to his friend and inspiration, backed by a seven-piece band.
The singer takes to the stage swigging from a can of Tennents, delivering a speech about how he gravitated to Shane MacGowan as a “young punk” growing up in Glasgow.
He later got to work with the Pogues legend, and to experience his wild ways firsthand as their friendship blossomed.
“I was just a fan… And here’s why,” he announces before kicking things off with Body of an American.
Whether it’s a sugar rush from their chocolate eggs or something else, the crowd is certainly in the mood for it.
By the time the band tear into the third song of the night, Streams of Whiskey, the first several rows are jumping up and down.
Fairytale of New York… In April?
The night is interspersed with affectionate tales of the musician’s jaw-dropping bar bills, how impossible it was to plan things around the mercurial MacGowan and even an unexpected run-in with Celtic mascot Hoopy the Huddle Hound at Parkhead.
There’s a loud singalong to Dirty Old Town, the audience getting more and more into it with every tune.
The evening comes to a close with Fairytale of New York, even though it’s Easter Sunday.
Never mind, says McLaughlin. He reckons it’s not just the best Christmas single ever, but one of the finest songs ever written.
Do you have fond memories of Pogues concerts over the years? Let us know in our comments section below
So what’s the verdict?
Shane MacGowan had already become more myth than man before his death.
And this show proved there was more to him than that Christmas staple and his legendary drinking habits (while, of course, not exactly shying away from that).
For a man whose funeral turned into a party, with mourners waltzing around his coffin, I imagine raucous nights like these in the Lemon Tree are exactly how Shane would want his legacy to live on.
Were you there when The Pogues played Aberdeen one memorable evening 30-odd years ago?
The night Shane MacGowan and The Pogues raised hell at a rowdy Aberdeen gig in 1988
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