Arena rock (sometimes stadium rock, anthem rock, or corporate rock) is a term used to describe rock music that utilised large arena venues, particularly sports venues, for concerts or series of concerts linked in tours. Musically, arena rock bands often came from the hard rock, heavy metal and progressive rock genres, but utilised a more commercially oriented and radio-friendly sound, with highly-produced music that included both hard rock numbers and power ballads, both often employing anthemic choruses.

History

The origins of arena rock were in the 1960s, sometimes dated to when The Beatles played Shea stadium in New York in 1965. Also important was the success of the large pop and rock festivals like Monterey (1967) and Woodstock (1969) and the use of large stadiums for American tours by bands including The Rolling Stones, Grand Funk Railroad and Led Zeppelin. The tendency developed in the mid-1970s as the increased power of amplification and sound systems allowed the use of larger and larger venues. Smoke, fireworks and sophisticated lighting shows became staples of arena rock performances. It has been argued that the rise of arena rock marked the end of the idealism of 1960s, particularly in the disillusionment that followed the Altamont Festival of 1969, for a more commercial form of rock. Key acts included Journey, REO Speedwagon, Boston, Foreigner, Styx, Kiss, Peter Frampton and Queen.

The use of commercial sponsorship for the large-scale tours and concerts of this era began to lead to the music being branded as corporate rock. The commercialism, and "overblown" spectacle of stadium rock has been seen as promoting a number of reactions, including the pub rock and punk rock movements in the 1970s. In the 1980s arena rock became dominated by glam metal bands, following the lead of Aerosmith and including Mötley Crüe, Quiet Riot, W.A.S.P. and Ratt. Their popularity was challenged by the rise of indie and alternative rock bands who began to breakthrough to the mainstream, particularly after the success of Nirvana, from the early 1990s.

See also

Cock rock

Notes

Category:Rock music

bg:Арена рок cs:Arena rock es:Arena rock it:Arena rock he:ארינה רוק hu:Arena rock ja:産業ロック no:Arena rock pl:Rock stadionowy fi:Stadion-rock sv:Arenarock uk:Арена-рок

Coordinates	53°15′″N14°29′″N
background	non_vocal_instrumentalist
instrument	Guitar, vocals, keyboards, bass, banjo
name	Steve Morse
birth name	Steven J. Morse
born	July 28, 1954Hamilton, Ohio, United States
genre	Rock, instrumental rock, progressive rock, hard rock, heavy metal, jazz fusion
occupation	Musician, songwriter
associated acts	Dixie Dregs, Kansas, Deep Purple, Living Loud, Angelfire
notable instruments	Music Man Steve Morse Signature guitar, Fender Telecaster
years active	1970–present
website	Official web site }}

Steven J. "Steve" Morse (born 28 July 1954) is an American guitarist, best known as the founder of the Dixie Dregs, and the guitar player in Deep Purple since 1994. Often considered of of the greatest guitarists of all time.

Morse's career has encompassed rock, country, funk, jazz, classical, and fusion of these musical genres. In addition to a thriving solo career, he enjoyed a brief stint with Kansas in the mid 80s.

History

Early

Morse's father was a minister and his mother a classically trained pianist; both were also psychologists. The family moved to Tennessee, then Ypsilanti, Michigan, where Morse spent his childhood. Although familiar with piano and clarinet, Morse ultimately became interested in guitar after seeing a gentleman finger picking a Dixie melody at a county fair.

Morse worked briefly with his brother Dave in a band called The Plague until the family moved to Augusta, Georgia. In the late 60s, he played in a band called Three with his older brother. Enrolled in the Academy of Richmond County, he met bassist Andy West and, together, they formed the nucleus of the Dixie Grit, adding keyboardist Johnny Carr, guitarist and vocalist Frank Brittingham with Dave Morse drumming. However, this effort was short lived, since covering Led Zeppelin, Cream and the like limited their ability to get higher-paying jobs at local dance halls.

West and Morse continued to play as a duet billed as the Dixie Dregs until Morse's expulsion from school in the 10th grade (for refusing to cut his hair) enabled his enrolment at the esteemed University of Miami School of Music.

During the 1970s, the University of Miami played host to a number of future influential musicians, including Bruce Hornsby, Pat Metheny, Chuck Schuldiner, Jaco Pastorius and others. Andy West also enrolled at the University of Miami and, with Morse, drummer Bart Yarnall, keyboardist Frank Josephs and violinist Allen Sloan, collaborated in a lab project entitled Rock Ensemble II. Rehearsing and performing Morse's compositions at the University of Miami brought some attention to his credibility as a composer and player. The group compiled a recording used for promotional efforts in 1975. This recording was eventually released as ''The Great Spectacular'' in 1997.

Dixie Dregs

Upon Morse's graduation from the University of Miami in 1975, he and West officially named the group Dixie Dregs. A fellow University of Miami alumnus, Rod Morgenstein, replaced the injured Bart Yarnall and the band commenced performing on a regular basis, interspersing their compositions with covers of John McLaughlin and of southern rock gems. Despite their decidedly non-commercial intent, an increasingly heavier performance schedule eventually led to the attention of Capricorn Records recruiters including Allman Brothers Band manager Twiggs Lyndon and, in late 1976, the group was signed by the vaunted southern rock label.

Their first effort for Capricorn, ''Free Fall'', established Morse as an important newcomer to the fusion genre, and he was recognised for both his compositional skills (having written all 11 tracks) and his consummate musicianship. Although critically acclaimed as a pivotal jazz fusion album, the LP sold poorly.

''What If'' was released in 1978 to continued acclaim. Writing credits were more collaborative and the band's sound had matured into something a bit more than what defined fusion at the time. Southern rock, classical, folk and country elements combined to form a cohesive and complex pastiche of passionate and highly listenable music. Though supported by a tour, record sales remained flat, but gained Morse and the band received an invitation to perform at Montreux Jazz Festival on 23 July 1978. The recorded performance was released the following year on ''Night of the Living Dregs''. Capricorn went bankrupt in late 1979, and the Dixie Dregs were left without a label.

Arista Records stepped in to sign the band in 1979 to record three albums. Production control was handed to Morse, and ''Dregs of the Earth'' was released in May 1980. All eight tracks were written by Morse, and the album peaked at number 27 on Billboard's Jazz Album Chart.

Arista became increasingly concerned about Dixie Dregs' album sales and pressured the band to change their name to simply ''The Dregs'' in an attempt to increase the band's visibility in the public eye. ''Unsung Heroes'' brought eight additional Morse compositions forward in early 1981, but the name change did little to address Arista's worries. The Dregs were compelled to add lyrics to their next effort, appropriately titled ''Industry Standard'', an apparent reference to executive and management oversight of their creative process.

Despite this, Morse's compositions on ''Industry Standard'' began to sound more like his evolving solo work than Dregs' collaborations, and the album stood up to critical and public praise. ''Industry Standard'' was voted "Best Guitar LP" by readers of ''Guitar Player'' magazine in their annual reader's poll that year. Additionally, Morse was voted "Best Overall Guitarist" in the same poll, an honour that he would hold for five consecutive years (which ended his eligibility by retiring him into their "Gallery of Greats", a distinction shared only by Steve Howe of Yes.) Having fulfilled their commitment to Arista, the band succumbed to the pressures of constant gigging, and disbanded in early 1983.

In the late 1980s, the group reunited for a tour featuring former members Morse, Morgenstein, Lavitz and Sloan. Their return was complemented by a "Best Of" release entitled ''Divided We Stand''. Bassist Dave LaRue completed the line-up for a seven date tour culminating in the 1992 live album Bring 'em Back Alive. Violinist Jerry Goodman, of The Mahavishnu Orchestra fame, filled in for Sloan, who was frequently absent as a result of his busy medical career. They signed a deal with former label Capricorn Records for their first studio album in years entitled Full Circle in 1994.

Steve Morse Band and Kansas

Morse began putting together the Steve Morse Band, a trio with Jerry Peek (bass) and Doug Morgan (drums). Rod Morgenstein soon replaced Morgan, and they began recording ''The Introduction'' in September. The group toured Germany in early 1984 with Morse conducting clinics, and the group was signed by Elektra Records, who released ''The Introduction'' mid-year. A second German tour began in December 1984 and ''Stand Up'' was released in 1985. This effort included guest vocalists and guitarists (Eric Johnson, Alex Ligertwood, Peter Frampton, Albert Lee, Van Temple), and violinist Mark O'Connor. He toured with Rush as a main opener on their Power Windows tour.

In 1986, Morse joined the rock group Kansas. While with the band, they released two albums, ''Power'' and ''In the Spirit of Things''. While he was with the band, Kansas had its last big hit, "All I Wanted," which reached the Billboard Top 20 and on which Morse received co-writing credit. Morse left the band after touring behind the latter album. He re-joined the band for part of their 1991 tour.

From late 1987 to early 1988, Morse worked as a commercial airline co-pilot.

Deep Purple

During the 1993 Deep Purple tour supporting their ''The Battle Rages On'' album, Ritchie Blackmore quit the band at the end of the European tour. Before they settled on Morse as a permanent replacement, Joe Satriani served as a short-term replacement to finish the tour. Since then, Morse has played on four Deep Purple studio albums, as well as seven of their live albums.

Living Loud

In addition to playing with Deep Purple, Morse, together with Jimmy Barnes, Bob Daisley, Lee Kerslake and Don Airey, formed Living Loud in 2003. The group released one studio album and a live DVD in 2004/2005. In Spring 2010 it was reported that Steve Morse and Bob Daisley started work on the new studio album which is set for a release in 2011.

Angelfire

Morse began a collaboration with singer, Sarah Spencer, in 2007 entitled Angelfire. The album, of the same name, was released on 10 August 2010 on Radiant Records. The album features Dave Larue and Van Romaine of the Steve Morse Band on bass and drums, respectively. The album has a textural, acoustic sound that differs from Morse's previous work. Angelfire opened for the Steve Morse Band for several shows in California (January) and Florida (March) of 2010.

Influence and technique

Morse is considered one of the hardest working guitarists in the world, playing in a wide variety of genres in only thirty years. He is known for his stylistically diverse compositional skills and virtuosic abilities, and was voted "Best Overall Guitarist" by ''Guitar Player'' magazine for five years in a row, qualifying him for their "Guitar Player Hall of Fame", the only other members being Steve Howe of Yes and Eric Johnson. He is regularly cited by John Petrucci as a major influence. Guitarist Shawn Lane regarded Steve Morse as one of the most talented guitarist of his time, Morse has proven himself throughout his career as capable of playing highly complex chord structures in classical sequences, as well as being able to play fast, alternate picked arpeggios. He is well known for using harmonics and improvising them in songs during live performances, such as in Deep Purple's "Sometimes I Feel Like Screaming".

Discography

With Dixie Dregs

1976 ''The Great Spectacular'' (formally released in 1997)

1977 ''Free Fall''

1978 ''What If

1979 ''Night of the Living Dregs''

1980 ''Dregs of the Earth''

1981 ''Unsung Heroes''

1982 ''Industry Standard''

1988 ''Off the Record''

1989 ''Divided We Stand''

1992 ''Bring 'Em Back Alive''

1994 ''Full Circle''

1997 ''King Biscuit Flower Hour Presents'' - ''The Dregs 1979''

2000 ''California Screamin' - Live In California 1999''

2002 ''20th Century Masters: The Best Of The Dixie Dregs'' (compilation)

2002 ''Sects, Dregs & Rock 'n' Roll'' (compilation)

With the Steve Morse Band and solo

1984 ''The Introduction''

1985 ''Stand Up''

1989 ''High Tension Wires''

1991 ''Southern Steel''

1992 ''Coast to Coast''

1995 ''Structural Damage''

1996 ''StressFest''

2000 ''Major Impacts''

2002 ''Split Decision''

2004 ''Major Impacts 2''

2005 ''Prime Cuts - From Steve Morse's Magna Carta sessions'' (compilation)

2009 ''Out Standing in Their Field''

With Deep Purple

1996 ''Purpendicular''

1997 ''Live at the Olympia '96''

1998 ''Abandon''

1999 ''Live at the Royal Albert Hall''

1999 ''Total Abandon: Live in Australia''

2001 ''Live at the Rotterdam Ahoy''

2001 ''The Soundboard Series''

2003 ''Bananas''

2005 ''Rapture of the Deep''

2006 ''Live at Montreux 1996''

2007 ''They All Came Down to Montreux''

With Kansas

1986 ''Power''

1988 ''In the Spirit of Things''

1998 ''King Biscuit Flower Hour Presents Kansas''

2004 ''Sail On: The 30th Anniversary Collection'' (compilation)

2009 There's Know Place Like Home DVD

With Angelfire

2010 ''Angelfire''

With Living Loud

2003 ''Living Loud'' (US: 2004)

2005 ''Live In Sydney 2004'' (2CD/DVD)

Guest appearances with other artists

1977 ''Tropical Nights'' - Liza Minnelli

1978 ''Kamikazee Christian'' - Rob Cassells Band

1980 ''Schemer-Dreamer'' - Steve Walsh

1983 ''The Trio'' - Al Di Meola, John McLaughlin, Paco de Lucía

1986 ''Storytime'' - T Lavitz

1987 ''Stone From Which The Arch Was Made'' - Mark O'Connor

1987 ''Surveillance'' - Triumph

1988 ''Southern By The Grace Of God: Lynyrd Skynyrd Tribute Tour 1987'' - Lynyrd Skynyrd

1988 ''Love Your Man'' - ''The Rossington Collins Band''

1990 ''Nashville Rendez-Vous'' - Marcel Dadi

1991 ''Fingers Crossing'' - ''Marcel Dadi''

1992 ''Country Guitar Flavors'' - ''Marcel Dadi''

1992 ''Lone Ranger'' - ''Jeff Watson''

1993 ''Coven, Pitrelli, O'Reilly'' - ''CPR''

1994 ''Thonk'' - Michael Manring

1995 ''Carmine Appice's Guitar Zeus''

2001 ''Seventh Key'' - ''Seventh Key''

2001 ''Nylon & Steel'' - ''Manuel Barrueco''

2001 ''Feeding the Wheel'' - Jordan Rudess

2002 ''Camino Latino/Latin Journey'' - Liona Boyd

2004 ''Rhythm Of Time'' - ''Jordan Rudess''

2006 ''Gillan's Inn'' - Ian Gillan

2007 ''School of the Arts'' - School of the Arts (featuring T Lavitz) (Morse contributes acoustic guitar work on 2 tracks, "On Fire" and "Portrait")

2011 ''Testimony 2'' - Neal Morse

2011 ''Raised in Captivity'' - John Wetton

Various artist compilations and tributes

1978 ''Hotels, Motels And Road Shows'' (Various artists compilation)

1989 ''Guitar's Practicing Musicians'' (Various artists compilation)

1991 ''Guitar's Practicing Musicians Vol. 2'' (Various artists compilation)

1991 ''Guitar Speak III'' (Various artist compilation)

1992 ''Rock Guitar Greats'' (Various artists compilation)

1992 ''Guitar On The Edge Vol. 2'' (Various artist compilation)

1995 ''Tales From Yesterday'' (Various artists tribute to Yes)

1996 ''Crossfire - A Tribute To Stevie Ray'' (Various artists tribute to Stevie Ray Vaughan)

1996 ''Working Man'' (Various artists tribute to Rush, Morse plays solos on ''La Villa Strangiato'' and ''Red Barchetta''.)

1996 ''The Carols Of Christmas'' (Various artist compilation)

1997 ''The Carols Of Christmas II'' (Various artist compilation)

1997 ''Merry Axemas - A Guitar Christmas'' (Various artist compilation)

1997 ''Jazz Fusion Vol. 2'' (Various artist compilation)

1998 ''Guitar Battle'' (Various artist compilation)

1999 ''Tribute to the Titans'' (Various artist compilation)

1999 ''Rock Guitarists Forever Best'' (Various artist compilation)

2001 ''Warmth In The Wilderness - A Tribute To Jason Becker'' (Various artists tribute to Jason Becker)

2002 ''A Southern Rock Christmas'' (Various artist compilation)

2004 ''Classical Heartbreakers'' (Various artist compilation)

2005 ''Future of the Blues Vol. 2'' (Various artist compilation)

2006 ''Back Against The Wall'' (Various artist tribute to Pink Floyd's ''The Wall'')

2006 ''Visions of an Inner Mounting Apocalypse'' (Various artist tribute to Mahavishnu Orchestra)

2006 ''The Royal Dan: A Tribute'' (instrumental guitar tribute to jazz rock band Steely Dan, featuring a different lead guitarist on 10 different songs, Morse plays Bodhisattva)

References

External links

(launched January 2009)

Steve Morse's official MySpace page

Steve Morse's former official web site (prior to January 2009)

Deep Purple's official web site

Angelfire's official web site

Category:1954 births Category:Living people Category:People from Hamilton, Ohio Category:American Christians Category:Lead guitarists Category:American rock guitarists Category:American vegetarians Category:Kansas (band) members Category:Deep Purple members Category:Dixie Dregs members Category:University of Miami alumni Category:Musicians from Ohio

bg:Стийв Морз cs:Steve Morse de:Steve Morse es:Steve Morse fr:Steve Morse hr:Steve Morse it:Steve Morse ka:სტივ მორსი lb:Steve Morse hu:Steve Morse nl:Steve Morse ja:スティーヴ・モーズ no:Steve Morse pl:Steve Morse pt:Steve Morse ro:Steve Morse ru:Морс, Стив sq:Steve Morse simple:Steve Morse sk:Steve Morse fi:Steve Morse sv:Steve Morse tr:Steve Morse uk:Стів Морс

Coordinates	53°15′″N14°29′″N
name	The Pogues
alias	Pogue Mahone
background	group_or_band
origin	Kings Cross, London, England
genre	Celtic punk, folk punk
years active	1982–1996, 2001–present
website	Pogues.com
current members	Spider StacyJem FinerShane MacGowanJames FearnleyAndrew RankenPhil ChevronDarryl HuntTerry Woods
past members	Cait O'RiordanJoe StrummerDave CoulterJames McNallyJamie Clarke }}

The Pogues are a Celtic punk band from London, formed in 1982 and fronted by Shane MacGowan. The band reached international prominence in the 1980s and early 1990s. MacGowan left the band in 1991 due to drinking problems but the band continued first with Joe Strummer and then with Spider Stacy on vocals before breaking up in 1996. The band reformed in 2001, and has been playing regularly ever since, most notably on the US East Coast around St Patrick's Day and across the UK and Ireland every December. The group has yet to record any new music and, according to Spider Stacy on Pogues.com, has no inclination to do so.

Their politically-tinged music was informed by MacGowan and Stacy's punk backgrounds, yet used traditional Irish instruments such as the tin whistle, cittern, mandolin and accordion.

The Pogues were founded in Kings Cross, a district of North London, in 1982 as Pogue Mahone—''pogue mahone'' being the Anglicisation of the Irish ''póg mo thóin'', meaning "kiss my arse".

Band history

The roots of The Pogues were formed when MacGowan (vocals), Peter "Spider" Stacy (tin whistle), and Jem Finer (banjo) were together in an occasional band called The Millwall Chainsaws in the late 1970s after MacGowan and Stacy met in the toilets at a Ramones gig at The Roundhouse in 1977. MacGowan was already with The Nips, though when they broke up in 1980 he concentrated a bit more on Stacy's Millwall Chainsaws who changed their name to The New Republicans. During this period MacGowan and Finer auditioned unsuccessfully for a licence to busk at Covent Garden. In 1982 James Fearnley (accordion) joined MacGowan, Stacy, and Finer, calling the band Pogue Mahone. The new group played their first gig at The Pindar of Wakefield on 4 October 1982.

They later added Cait O'Riordan (bass) and Andrew Ranken (drums). The band played London pubs and clubs, and released a single, "Dark Streets of London," on their own, self-named label, gaining a small reputation—especially for their live performances. They came to the attention of the media and Stiff Records when they opened for The Clash on their 1984 tour. Shortening their name to "The Pogues" (partly due to BBC censorship following complaints from Gaelic speakers in Scotland) they released their first album ''Red Roses for Me'' on Stiff that October.

The band gained more attention when the UK Channel 4's influential music show ''The Tube'' made a video of their version of "Waxie's Dargle" for the show. The performance—featuring Spider Stacy repeatedly smashing himself over the head with a beer tray (in the manner of Bob Blackman's infamous "Mule Train/Mule Tray")—became a favourite with the viewers, but Stiff refused to release it as a single, feeling it was too late for it to help ''Red Roses for Me'' (in fact Stiff was by then in deep financial trouble). Nevertheless, it remained a favourite request for the show for many years.

With the aid of punk and New Wave forefather Elvis Costello they recorded the follow-up, ''Rum Sodomy & the Lash'', in 1985 during which time guitarist Philip Chevron joined. The album title is a famous comment falsely attributed to Winston Churchill who was supposedly describing the "true" traditions of the British Royal Navy. The album cover featured ''The Raft of the Medusa'', with the faces of the characters in Théodore Géricault's painting replaced with those of the band members. The album shows the band moving away from covers to original material. Shane MacGowan came into his own as a songwriter with this disc, offering up poetic story-telling, such as "The Sick Bed of Cúchulainn" and "The Old Main Drag", as well as definitive interpretations of Ewan MacColl's "Dirty Old Town" and Eric Bogle's "And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda" (this had previously been covered by Shane's fellow punk contemporaries The Skids in 1981).

The band failed to take advantage of the momentum created by the strong artistic and commercial success of their second album. They first refused to record another album (offering up the four-track EP ''Poguetry in Motion'' instead); O'Riordan married Costello and left the band, to be replaced by bassist Darryl Hunt, formerly of Plummet Airlines and Pride of the Cross; and they added a multi-instrumentalist in Terry Woods, formerly of Steeleye Span. Looming over the band at this period (as throughout their entire career) was the increasingly erratic behaviour of their vocalist and principal songwriter, Shane MacGowan. Their record label, Stiff Records, went bankrupt soon after the 1987 release of the single "The Irish Rover" (with The Dubliners). Members of the band, including O'Riordian, acted in Alex Cox's ''Straight to Hell'', and five songs by the band were included on the film's soundtrack album.

Success and breakup

The band remained stable enough to record ''If I Should Fall from Grace with God'' in 1988 (with its Christmas hit duet with Kirsty MacColl "Fairytale of New York", which was voted "the best Christmas song ever" in VH1 UK polls in 2004) and 1989's ''Peace and Love''. The band was at the peak of its commercial success, with both albums making the top 5 in the UK (numbers 3 and 5 respectively), but MacGowan was increasingly unreliable. He failed to turn up for the opening dates of their 1988 tour of America, and prevented the band from promoting their next album, ''Hell's Ditch'', so in 1991 the band sacked him. Vocal duties were for a time handled by Joe Strummer, before Stacy finally took over permanently. After Strummer's departure, the remaining seven Pogues recorded ''Waiting for Herb'', which contained the band's third and final top twenty single, "Tuesday Morning", which became their best-selling single internationally. Terry Woods and James Fearnley then left the band and were replaced by David Coulter and James McNally respectively. Within months of their departures, ill health forced Phil Chevron to leave the band; he was replaced by his former guitar technician, Jamie Clarke. This lineup recorded the band's seventh (and final) studio album, ''Pogue Mahone''. The album was a commercial failure, and, following Jem Finer's decision to leave the band in 1996, the remaining members decided it was time to call it quits. According to Shane MacGowan, amongst the reasons of the breakup was disagreement concerning the political orientation of his songs, the band not wanting to sing too obvious pro-republican songs — though some of their previous songs were already politically engaged : for instance, ''Streams of Whiskey'' is about the poet and IRA member Brendan Behan. Soon after the breakup Shane MacGowan recorded a song called ''Paddy Public Enemy Number One'' as a tribute to the Republican leader Dominic McGlinchey, a former leader of the INLA killed a few years before.

Post-breakup

After the Pogues' break-up, the three remaining long-term members (Spider Stacy, Andrew Ranken and Darryl Hunt) played together briefly as the Vendettas. They played mainly new Stacy-penned tracks, though Darryl Hunt also contributed songs, and the band's live set included a few Pogues songs. First Ranken then Hunt left the band, the latter going on to become singer/songwriter in an indie band called Bish, whose self-titled debut album was released in 2001. Ranken has gone on to play with a number of other bands, including hKippers, The Municipal Waterboard and, most recently, The Mysterious Wheels. In addition to The Vendettas who Stacy freely admits lost all attraction when the Pogues reformed, Spider continued to write and record music with various bands, including the James Walbourne, Filthy Thieving Bastards, Dropkick Murphys and Astral Social Club. Shane MacGowan founded Shane MacGowan and The Popes in 1992. They only managed two studio albums but struggled on until 2002. His autobiography ''A Drink With Shane MacGowan'', co-written with his journalist girlfriend Victoria Mary Clarke, was released in 2001. Jem Finer went into experimental music, playing a big part in a project known as "Longplayer", a piece of music designed to play continuously for 1,000 years without repeating itself. In 2005, Finer released the album ''Bum Steer'' with DB Bob (as DM Bob and Country Jem). James Fearnley moved to the United States shortly before leaving the Pogues. He was a member of The Low And Sweet Orchestra and later the Cranky George Trio. Philip Chevron reformed his former band The Radiators, which briefly included former Pogue Cait O'Riordan. Terry Woods formed The Bucks with Ron Kavana, releasing the album ''Dancin' To The Ceili Band'' in 1994. Later, he formed The Woods Band, releasing the album ''Music From The Four Corners of Hell'' in 2002.

Reunion

The band, including MacGowan, re-formed for a Christmas tour in 2001 and performed nine shows in the UK and Ireland in December 2004. In 2002 ''Q'' magazine named The Pogues as one of the "50 Bands To See Before You Die". In July 2005, the band — again including MacGowan — played at the annual Guilfest festival in Guildford before flying out to Japan where they played three dates. Japan is the last place they all played together before MacGowan was originally sacked in 1991, and they have a strong following there. They played a date in Spain in early September. The reunited Pogues played dates in the UK with support from the Dropkick Murphys in late 2005, and re-released their 1987 Christmas classic "Fairytale of New York" on 19 December, which went straight in at #3 in the UK Singles charts on Christmas Day 2005, showing the song's enduring popularity. On 22 December 2005 the BBC broadcast a live performance (recorded the previous week) on the Jonathan Ross Christmas show with Katie Melua filling in for the late Kirsty MacColl, the first time the band had played the song live on television. The following week they performed live on the popular music show ''CD:UK''.

Shane MacGowan wrote a blog for ''The Guardian'' website in 2006, detailing his thoughts on the current tour. The band was awarded the lifetime achievement award at the annual Meteor Ireland Music Awards in February 2006. In March 2006, the band played their first U.S. dates with Shane in over 15 years. The band played a series of sold-out concerts in Washington D.C., Atlantic City, Boston, and New York. Later they played a series of highly acclaimed and sold-out gigs during mid-October 2006 in San Francisco, Las Vegas, and Los Angeles, and toured Glasgow, Manchester, Birmingham, London, Dublin, and Nottingham in mid-December 2006. They began a second U.S. tour in March 2007, once again to coincide (and conclude) with a Roseland Ballroom New York City show on Saint Patrick's Day. 2007 has proved to be the most prolific year of touring since the reunion. A tour of the west coast of America and eleven dates in the UK in December complement the headlining festival appearances made in the summer across Europe (Sweden, Belgium and Spain). They continue to be in huge demand, often selling out very large venues, despite criticism of selling out, and claims that arenas and festivals do not suit the band's sound. Guitarist Phil Chevron has stated there were no plans to record new music or release a new album. Chevron said that one way to keep enjoying what they were doing was to avoid making a new album, although he did say that there still is a possibility in the future for new music, but certainly not in the near future. Terry Woods has commented that MacGowan has been writing, and most of it sounds good. In 2008 the band released a box set ''Just Look Them Straight in the Eye and Say....POGUE MAHONE!!'', which included rare studio out-takes and previously unreleased material.

The band has received mixed reviews of some recent performances though they continue to pull the crowds. Reviewing a March 2008 concert, The ''Washington Post'' described MacGowan as "puffy and paunchy," but said the singer "still has a banshee wail to beat Howard Dean's, and the singer's abrasive growl is all a band this marvelous needs to give its amphetamine-spiked take on Irish folk a focal point." The reviewer continued: "The set started off shaky, MacGowan singing of `goin' where streams of whiskey are flowin,' and looking like he'd arrived there already. He grew more lucid and powerful as the evening gathered steam, through two hours and 26 songs, mostly from the Pogues' first three (and best) albums". In December 2010 the Pogues (with support from Crowns) played what was billed as a farewell UK Christmas tour.

In March 2011, the Pogues played a six-city/ten-show sold out US tour titled "A Parting Glass with The Pogues" visiting Chicago, Detroit, Baltimore, Washington D.C., Boston, and New York (in that order), with only the last three cities getting more than one show. It may, or may not, be the last time they tour the States. Stacy said “I think we are basically pretty certain this is the last tour of this type we’ll be doing in the States. There might be the odd sort of one-off here and there. We’re not saying this is absolutely, definitely the end.”

Current members

Shane MacGowan: vocals, guitar, banjo, bodhrán (1982–1991, 2001–present)

Spider Stacy: vocals, tin whistle (1982–1996, 2001–present)

Jem Finer: banjo, mandola, saxophone, hurdy-gurdy, guitar, vocals (1982–1996, 2001–present)

Andrew Ranken: drums, percussion, harmonica, vocals (1982–1996, 2001–present)

James Fearnley: accordion, mandolin, piano, guitar (1982–1993, 2001–present)

Philip Chevron: guitar, vocals (1985–1994, 2001–present)

Darryl Hunt: bass guitar (1986–1996, 2001–present)

Terry Woods: mandolin, cittern, concertina, guitar, vocals (1986–1993, 2001–present)

Former members

Cait O'Riordan: bass, vocals (1982–1986, 2004)

Joe Strummer: vocals, guitar (1991-1992; also replaced an ailing Phil Chevron for a U.S. tour in 1987)

Dave Coulter: mandolin, violin, ukulele, percussion (1993–1996)

James McNally: accordion, whistles, percussion (1993–1996)

Jamie Clarke: guitar, vocals (1995–1996)

Discography

Hit-song 'Fairytale of New York'

"Fairytale of New York" was released as a single in 1987 and reached #1 in the Irish charts and #2 in the British charts over Christmas (the time of peak sales). The song has become a festive classic in the UK and Ireland over the years, and was voted the best Christmas song of all time three years running in 2004, 2005, and 2006 in polls by music channel VH1 UK, despite not achieving Christmas Number One when it was released. It was also voted as the 27th greatest song never to reach UK#1 in another VH1 poll, and also voted as the 84th greatest song of all time by BBC Radio 2 listeners in their "Sold on Song" top 100 poll. In 2007 the record was briefly censored by the BBC because of the word "faggot" being deemed potentially offensive to gay people. Following protests from listeners, including the mother of Kirsty MacColl, the censorship was lifted.

Albums

''Red Roses for Me'' (1984): #89 UK

''Rum Sodomy & the Lash'' (1985): #13 UK

''If I Should Fall from Grace with God'' (1988): #3 UK, #88 US, #15 NO

''Peace and Love'' (1989): #5 UK, #118 US, #13 NO

''Hell's Ditch'' (1990) #12 UK, #187 US

''Waiting for Herb'' (1993): #20 UK

''Pogue Mahone'' (1996)

Live albums

''Streams of Whiskey: Live in Leysin, Switzerland 1991'' (2002)

''The Ultimate Collection including Live at the Brixton Academy 2001'' (2005): #15 UK

Compilation albums

''The Best of The Pogues'' (1991): #11 UK

''Essential Pogues'' (1991)

''The Rest of The Best'' (1992)

''The Very Best of The Pogues'' (2001): #18 UK

''The Ultimate Collection'' (2005): #15 UK

''Dirty Old Town: The Platinum Collection (Budget CD)'' (2005)

''Just Look Them Straight in the Eye and Say....POGUE MAHONE!!'' (Anthology/Box Set of rare and unreleased tracks) (2008)

Video

''The Pogues: Live at The Town & Country Club St Patricks Day 1988'' VHS 1988

''POGUEVISION" Music Video Collection - VHS 1991

Singles

Year	Title	Chart positions	Album
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	"Dark Streets of London"
"Boys from the County Hell"
	"A Pair of Brown Eyes"
"Sally MacLennane"
"Dirty Old Town"
						-
	"Irish Rover" (featuring The Dubliners)					-
"Fairytale of New York" (featuring Kirsty MacColl)
	"Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah"					''Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah''
"Misty Morning, Albert Bridge"					''Peace and Love''
	"Summer in Siam"					''Hell's Ditch''
"Jack's Heroes" (featuring The Dubliners)					''Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah''
					Red Hot + Blue (Produced by the Red Hot Organization)
						''Hell's Ditch''
"Rainy Night in Soho (remix)"					''Poguetry in Motion''
"Fairytale of New York" (re-issue)					''If I Should Fall from Grace with God''
1992	"Honky Tonk Women"					''Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah''
2005	"Fairytale of New York" (re-release)
2006	"Fairytale of New York" (re-entry of re-release)
2007	"Fairytale of New York" (re-entry on downloads alone)
2008	"Fairytale of New York" (re-entry on downloads alone)
2009	"Fairytale of New York" (re-entry on downloads alone)
2010	"Fairytale of New York" (re-entry on downloads alone)
2011	"Fairytale of New York" (re-entry on downloads alone)

References

External links

Official Pogues site

Official Shane MacGowan site

''The Guardian'' article

"dirty old town"

Category:British punk rock groups Category:Buskers Category:Celtic punk groups Category:Musical groups established in 1982 Category:Musical groups from London Category:People from Kings Cross, London

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Coordinates	53°15′″N14°29′″N
name	Antoine de Caunes
birth date	December 01, 1953
birth place	Paris
occupation	Television presenter and film actor and director
children	Emma de Caunes
parents	Georges de Caunes and Jacqueline Joubert }}

Antoine de Caunes (born 1 December 1953 in Paris, France) is a television presenter, actor, writer and film director. He is the son of two prominent French personalities, television journalist-reporter Georges de Caunes and television announcer Jacqueline Joubert. He is the father of the actress Emma de Caunes.

Career

He began his career writing theme songs for cartoons for Antenne 2 under the pseudonym of Paul Persavon, including ''Cobra'' and ''Space Sheriff Gavan'' (known in France as ''X-Or'').

He first appeared in front of the camera with the series ''Les Enfants du rock'', again for A2, before making a breakthrough with ''Nulle part ailleurs'' for Canal+.

De Caunes came to fame in the English-speaking world on the BBC2 television series ''Rapido'' before starting the long-running adult entertainment programme ''Eurotrash'' with Jean-Paul Gaultier for Channel 4. He also presented a short-lived chat show on Channel 4 called ''Le Show''. He also appeared in an advertising campaign for Rowntree's Fruit Pastilles ice lollies, which he claimed to be "a French lollipop, on a very British stick."

He provided voices in Aardman Animation TV show ''Rex the Runt''.

He has been a long-time AIDS awareness campaigner, fronting the organisation Soirées de l'humour — Solidarité sida.

Film actor

''Pentimento'' (1989)

''Les deux papas et la maman'' (1996)

''C'est pour la bonne cause!'' (1997)

''La divine poursuite'' (1997)

''L'homme est une femme comme les autres'' (1998)

''Au coeur du mensonge'' (1999)

''Chili con carne'' (1999)

''Là-bas... mon pays'' (2000)

''Le vélo de Ghislain Lambert'' (2001) (narrator)

''Blanche'' (2002)

''Les clefs de bagnole'' (2003)

''Mr. Bean's Holiday'' (2007)

Film director

''T'en as?'' (2000)

''Scénario sur la drogue'' (2000)

''Les Morsures de l'aube'' (2001)

''Monsieur N.'' (2003)

''Coluche, l'histoire d'un mec'' (2008)

External links

Eurotrash at Channel 4 - Adult content

Category:French actors Category:French television presenters Category:1953 births Category:Living people Category:Actors from Paris

fr:Antoine de Caunes pl:Antoine de Caunes pt:Antoine de Caunes