The Pogues - If I Should Fall From Grace With God
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The Pogues, fronted by an English-born, Irish rogue by the name of Shane MacGowan, made traditional Irish music and instrumentation hip by playing it with a distinctively punk attitude and imbuing the lyrics with a poets sensibility.
On this episode, we look at the band’s third and most well-known album, If I Should Fall From Grace With God. The record was made with a new line-up, slightly expanding the group’s size and sound. Produced by Steve Lillywhite, this album contains possibly the Pogues most well know song (at least internationally) the duet with Kirtsy MacColl (who also happened to be married to Steve Lillywhite). “Fairytale of New York” is a song of regret and hope and a song that has become one of the most beloved Christmas songs in the UK and Ireland. The rest of the album is just as great and is filled with music that is fun and frantic, jolly and melancholy, subversive and political. If I Should Fall From Grace With God will make you want to laugh, dance, cry and fight all at the same time.
THINGS WE DISCUSSED ON THIS EPISODE
The photo that started it all. Shane MacGowan (aka Shane O’ Hooligan) appeared in New Musical Express after his ear had a particularly bloody encounter with a young lady’s teeth at a Clash show.
Shortly after the “ear incident” documented above, Shane MacGowan published his own music fanzine, Bondage.
The first ever review of the Jam appeared in its pages. MacGowan would be instrumental in getting the Jam signed to a major label.
Listen to the fantastic “Gabrielle” by The Nipple Erectors (The Nips), Shane MacGowan’s first band, with the blink and you’ll miss it nod to “Sweet Jane” by the Velvet Underground. His vocals are remarkably different than they would be when he sang for the Pogues.
Here’s the promotional video for “Waxies Dargle” that became a favorite of the views of The Tube. Be sure to look for Spider Stacy repeatedly smacking a beer tray against his skull!
Here’s a drunken, impromptu rendition of the Ewan MacColl classic “Dirty Old Town” from the Pogues’ Rum, Sodomy, and the Lash LP.
A simply perfect use of the the Pogues song “The Body of an American” from the HBO series The Wire (be warned - explicit language).
The Pogues recorded a version of the title track “If I should Fall From Grace With God” for the movie Straight to Hell (a parody of Spaghetti Westerns), which starred among others: Joe Strummer, Courtney Love, Dennis Hopper, Grace Jones, and Elvis Costello. The Pogues also make an appearance in the film.
The Dubliners and The Pogues performing the traditional Irish folk song “The Irish Rover" together at Top Of The Pops, 1987. This was the first (and only) appearance of the Pogues on the show.
The band would struggle with getting “Fairytale of New York” right. Here’s an early demo with then bassist Cait O'Riordian singing the female part.
Wife of producer Steve Lillywhite, Kirsty MacColl came on board to sing the duet with Shane MacGowan on “Fairytale of New York.” the Song became an instant classic, reaching number two on the UK charts. It is routinely listed as the greatest Christmas song of all time. Here is the official video. Keep a close eye out for Matt Dylan playing the cop in the beginning.
“Streets of Sorrow/Birmingham Six” was an overtly political song showing support for several Irishmen who had been convicted in connection with IRA bombings at the time (subsequently acquitted of the crimes years later), and the band felt the consequences of taking that particular stand. Below is a clip from a 1990 documentary detailing those consequences, including a nationwide ban of the song.
