Traditional houses with the Roman Catholic Church of the Holy Cross in the background, walled city of Nicosia

A typical street in the old town of Limassol

Old Town is the typical designation of a historic or original core of a city or town. Although the city may be larger in its present form, many cities have redesignated this part of the city to commemorate its origins after thorough renovations. There are many places throughout the world named Old Town, including:

Argentina[link]

• San Telmo and La Boca in Buenos Aires

Bangladesh[link]

• Old Town in Dhaka

Bulgaria[link]

• Old Town in Plovdiv
• Old Town in Lovech
• Old Town in Nessebur

Czech Republic[link]

• Staré Město in Prague

Cyprus[link]

• Walled city of Nicosia
• Walled city of Famagusta
• Old town of Limassol

Colombia[link]

• La Candelaria, a historic neighborhood in downtown Bogotá

Denmark[link]

• Den Gamle By in Aarhus

Dominican Republic[link]

• Ciudad Colonial in Santo Domingo, oldest European city in America, UNESCO World Heritage Site

Estonia[link]

• Old Town (Vanalinn) in Tallinn, UNESCO World Heritage Site

Finland[link]

• Vanhakaupunki in Helsinki

Georgia[link]

• Old Town in Tbilisi

Germany[link]

Greece[link]

• Old Town in Rhodes, UNESCO World Heritage Site

Ireland[link]

• An Seanbhaile in County Roscommon

Israel[link]

• Old City of Jerusalem
• Old Jaffa
• Old City of Akko (Acre)
• Old City of Tiberias

Italy[link]

• Old Town in Bari

Kenya[link]

• Mombasa Old Town

Latvia[link]

• Vecrīga in Riga, UNESCO World Heritage Site

Lithuania[link]

• Senamiestis in Vilnius

Malaysia[link]

• Old Town in Ipoh
• Old Town in Petaling Jaya

Netherlands[link]

• Oude Stad in Nijmegen
• Oude Stad (Tilburg)

Pakistan[link]

• Old Town in Karachi

Poland[link]

• Kraków Old Town, a UNESCO World Heritage Site
• Warsaw Old Town, a UNESCO World Heritage Site
• Old City of Zamość, UNESCO World Heritage Site
• Medieval Town of Toruń, UNESCO World Heritage Site
• Poznań Old Town
• Police Old Town
• Old town of Chełmno
• Old town of Sandomierz
• Old town in Gdańsk
• Old town in Lublin
• Old town in Przemyśl

Serbia[link]

• Tešnjar, Valjevo
• Stara čaršija, Grocka, Belgrade
• Stara čaršija, Novi Pazar
• Stari Grad, a municipality in Belgrade
• Stari Grad, a neighborhood in Novi Sad
• Stari Grad, a municipality in Kragujevac
• Stari Grad, the remains of a fort in Užice

Slovakia[link]

• Staré Mesto in Bratislava

Sweden[link]

• Gamla staden, Malmö
• Gamla stan, Stockholm
• Gamlestaden, Gothenburg
• Gammelstaden, Luleå Municipality

Ukraine[link]

• Stare Misto in Lviv

United Kingdom[link]

England[link]

• Old Town, Barnsley
• Old Town, Croydon
• Old Town, Cumbria
• Old Town, Eastbourne
• Old Town, Hastings
• Old Town, Isles of Scilly
• Old Town, Northumberland
• Old Town, Southampton, a district of the city of Southampton
• Old Town, Swindon
• Old Town, West Yorkshire

Scotland[link]

• Old Town, Edinburgh, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, along with the New Town, Edinburgh

United States[link]

California[link]

• Old Town, California (disambiguation)
  • Old Town Eureka, California an original 19th Century Victorian commercial district in Eureka, California
  • Old Town, Kern County, California
  • Old Town, Marin County, California
  • Old Town, Santa Barbara County, California
  • Old Town, Ventura County, California
  • Old Town, California, former name of Pine Town, California, in Lassen County
  • Old Town Pasadena, California
  • Old Sacramento State Historic Park, Sacramento, California
  • Old Town San Diego State Historic Park, San Diego, California
  • Old Town, San Diego, California, a neighborhood of San Diego

Florida[link]

• Old Town, Florida, a town in Dixie County, not to be confused with the one in Orlando
• Old Town Fernandina, Fernandina Beach, Florida; the last town in the Western Hemisphere to be platted according to the Spanish "Law of the Indies" in 1811; named for King Ferdinand VII
• Old Town, Key West, the historic section of the city of Key West, Florida
• Old Town, an amusement park/shopping center in Kissimmee, Florida

North Carolina[link]

• Old Town, Brunswick County, North Carolina
• Old Town, Forsyth County, North Carolina
• Old Town Township, Forsyth County, North Carolina

Tennessee[link]

• Old Town (Franklin, Tennessee) a location along the Natchez Trace named for the Mississippian mound complex there
  • Old Town (Mississippian culture mound complex), Franklin, Tennessee
• Thomas Brown House (Franklin, Tennessee), also known as Old Town, NRHP-listed

Other[link]

• Old Town Scottsdale, Arizona
• Old Town, Augusta, Georgia
• Old Town, Chicago, Illinois
• Old Town, Maine, a city
• Old Town Albuquerque, New Mexico
• Old Town, Staten Island, New York
• Old Town Chinatown, Portland, Oregon
• Old Town Alexandria, Virginia
• Olde Towne Portsmouth, Virginia

Uruguay[link]

• Ciudad Vieja in Montevideo, "Old City" is the name of the oldest part of the city

Other uses[link]

• The Girls of Old Town, a group of prostitutes in the comic series Sin City
• Old Town (song), a song by Phil Lynott, later covered by the Corrs

See also[link]

• Altstadt
• Old City (disambiguation)
• Stare Miasto (disambiguation), "Old Town" in Polish
• Stari Grad (disambiguation), means "Old Town"

This article includes a list of related items that share the same name (or similar names). If an internal link incorrectly led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

Phil Lynott
Phil Lynott in Oslo, Norway, 22 April 1980
Background information
Birth name	Philip Parris Lynott
Born	(1949-08-20)20 August 1949 West Bromwich, West Midlands
Died	4 January 1986(1986-01-04) (aged 36) Salisbury, Wiltshire
Genres	Rock, hard rock, pop, heavy metal, folk, psychedelic rock
Occupations	Musician, songwriter, producer, poet
Instruments	Vocals, bass, keyboards, guitar, harmonica, Irish harp, percussion
Years active	1965–85
Labels	Vertigo, Warner Bros. (US)
Associated acts	Thin Lizzy, Gary Moore, Wild Horses, The Greedies, Skid Row, Grand Slam, John Sykes, Midge Ure
Notable instruments
Rickenbacker 4001 bass (early) Fender Precision Bass Fender Stratocaster Fender Telecaster

Philip Parris "Phil" Lynott ( /ˈlaɪnət/; 20 August 1949 – 4 January 1986) was an Irish musician who first came to prominence as a founding member, principal songwriter, and frontman of the Irish rock band Thin Lizzy.

As the leader of the band, Lynott's vocals and bass guitar were a key element in the commercial success of a string of hit songs, notably "Whiskey in the Jar", "The Boys are Back in Town", "Jailbreak" and "Waiting for an Alibi". Lynott also embarked upon a solo career, published two books of poetry,^[1] and after Thin Lizzy disbanded, he assembled and fronted the band Grand Slam, of which he was the leader until it folded in 1984. In the period before his death, he had major UK success with Gary Moore with the song “Out in the Fields”, followed by a minor hit "Nineteen".

Early life[link]

Lynott was born in Hallam Hospital (now Sandwell General Hospital) in West Bromwich (then in Staffordshire), England, and christened at St. Edwards Church in Selly Park, Birmingham. His mother, Philomena (or Phyllis) Lynott (b. 22 October 1930), is Irish, and his father was Cecil Parris, an Afro-Guyanese.^[2][3] Some news and fan-site sources said that he was an Afro-Brazilian,^[4][5] but in an August 2009 interview Parris's wife said that he was from Georgetown, British Guiana.^[6] This was confirmed by Philomena Lynott in July 2010.^[7] Lynott's mother met Parris in Birmingham in 1948 and they saw each other for a few months, until Parris was transferred to London. Shortly afterwards, Philomena found she was pregnant and, after Philip was born, she moved with her baby to a home for unmarried mothers in Selly Oak, Birmingham.^[8] When Parris learned of Philip's birth, he returned to Birmingham and arranged accommodation for Philomena and Philip in the Blackheath area of the city. Her relationship with Parris lasted two more years although he was still working in London and they did not live together.^[8] Philomena subsequently moved to Manchester but stayed in touch with Parris and, although she turned down a marriage proposal from him, he agreed to pay towards his son's support.^[8]

Parris's wife stated in 2009 that Philomena also had a daughter and a second son with Parris, both of whom were given up for adoption.^[6] Philomena finally spoke of these children in July 2010, nearly twenty-five years after Philip's death, when the Irish Mail on Sunday and Irish Daily Mail ran a twelve page interview with her over three days. She revealed that her three children all had different fathers, and that her daughter was white. She had met her now-grown children, but they had never met their brother Philip.^[7] He knew he had a sister, but never knew he had a brother.^[7] Lynott did not see his father again until the late 1970s.^[2][6]

When he was four years old, Philip went to live with his grandmother, Sarah Lynott, in Crumlin, Dublin; his mother stayed in Manchester.^[8]

Music career[link]

Lynott with Thin Lizzy in Frankfurt, Germany, 1972

In the mid 1960s, Lynott began singing in his first band, the Black Eagles.^[5] Around this time, he befriended Brian Downey, who was later persuaded to join the band from the 'Liffey Beats'. Before long the Black Eagles broke up and Lynott joined 'Kama Sutra' before singing in Skid Row (not to be confused with an American band of the same name), a band that featured guitarist Gary Moore, bassist Brendan 'Brush' Shiels and drummer Noel Bridgeman. Lynott was let go by Skid Row following a temporary absence to have his tonsils removed. Shiels gave him a bass guitar he had bought from former musician Robert Ballagh and some lessons to help him on his way.^[9] Lynott and Downey quickly put together a new band called 'Orphanage', with guitarist Joe Staunton and bassist Pat Quigley. At the end of 2006 a number of Skid Row and Orphanage demo tapes featuring Phil Lynott were discovered. These were his earliest recordings and had been presumed lost for decades.^[10]

In 1969, Lynott and Downey quit Orphanage to form Thin Lizzy with guitarist Eric Bell and keyboard player Eric Wrixon (both ex-Them, but from different line-ups).^[5] Lynott was the main songwriter for Thin Lizzy, as well as the lead singer and bassist. Their first top ten hit was in 1973, with a rock version of the traditional Irish song "Whiskey in the Jar",^[5] featuring a cover by Irish artist and friend, Jim Fitzpatrick.^[11] The release of Jailbreak in 1976 made Lynott and Thin Lizzy international superstars on the strength of the album's biggest hit, "The Boys are Back in Town". The song reached the top 10 in the UK, Ireland and Canada, and peaked at #12 in the US. Billboard Hot 100 Archive 24 July 1976

Having finally achieved mainstream success, Thin Lizzy embarked on several consecutive world tours. The band continued on Jailbreak's success with the release of a string of hit albums, including Bad Reputation and Black Rose: A Rock Legend, with Gary Moore, and remained a very popular act in Europe and North America in spite of various personnel changes.

In 1978, he was featured in Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War of the Worlds, singing and speaking the role of Parson Nathaniel. In 1979, under the name "The Greedies" (originally "The Greedy Bastards", but edited for public politeness), he recorded a Christmas single, "A Merry Jingle", featuring other members of Thin Lizzy as well as Steve Jones and Paul Cook of the Sex Pistols. The previous year he had performed alongside Jones and Cook on Johnny Thunders' solo album "So Alone".^{[citation needed]}

Lynott playing at the Manchester Apollo, 1983

In 1980, though Thin Lizzy were still enjoying considerable success, Phil Lynott launched a solo career with the album, Solo in Soho: this was a Top 30 UK album and yielded two hit singles that year, "Dear Miss Lonelyhearts" and "King's Call". The latter was a tribute to Elvis Presley, and featured Mark Knopfler on guitar. His second solo venture, The Philip Lynott Album was a chart flop, despite the presence of the single "Old Town". The song "Yellow Pearl" (1982), was a #14 hit in the UK and became the theme tune to Top Of The Pops.

In 1983, Thin Lizzy disbanded.^[5] Later that year, Lynott recorded a rock'n'roll medley single, "We Are The Boys (Who Make All The Noise)" with Roy Wood, Chas Hodges, and John Coghlan. Phil regularly collaborated with former bandmate blues/rock guitarist Gary Moore on a number of tracks including the singles "Out in the Fields" (a No. 5 UK hit in 1985), his highest-charting single ever, "Parisienne Walkways" (a UK no. 8 hit in 1978), "Back On The Streets" and "Spanish Guitar" in 1979. In 1984, he formed a new band, Grand Slam, with Doish Nagle, Laurence Archer, Robbie Brennan, and Mark Stanway.

Sometime around 1984 or 1985, Lynott co-wrote an unknown number of songs with British R&B artist Junior Giscombe. The songs were never officially released. Most remain as demos, but one of the songs, "Lady Loves to Dance", was mastered and nearly released before being pulled by the record company.^{[citation needed]}

His last single, "Nineteen", released a few weeks before his death, was produced by Paul Hardcastle. It bore no relation to the producer's chart-topping single of the same title some months earlier.^[12] Throughout December 1985, Lynott had been promoting the track and this included performing live on various television shows. The same month, he gave his final interview in which he promulgated his possible plans for near future; these included more work with Gary Moore and even the possibility of reforming Thin Lizzy, something which he had privately discussed with Scott Gorham previously. He also recorded some material with Archer, Huey Lewis, and members of Lewis's band the News in 1985, which was not released.^[12]

Poetry books[link]

Lynott's first book of poetry, "Songs for While I'm Away", was published in 1974. It contained 21 poems which were all lyrics from Thin Lizzy songs, except one titled "A Holy Encounter". Only 1000 copies of the book were printed.^[1] In 1977, a second volume was released, titled "Philip". Again, most of the 25 poems were song lyrics, except for "Legend of the Vagabond" and the short piece of prose from the back sleeve of the Jailbreak album.

In 1997, both books were brought together in a single volume, again titled "Songs for While I'm Away". This compendium edition also featured illustrations by Tim Booth and Thin Lizzy artist Jim Fitzpatrick, and the original introductions by Peter Fallon and John Peel.^[1]

Personal life[link]

In 1980, Lynott married Caroline Crowther, the daughter of British comedian Leslie Crowther.^[5] They had two children: Sarah (1978), for whom the eponymous 1979 song was written, and Cathleen (1980).^[5] Lynott also had a son, born in 1968, who had been put up for adoption. In 2003, Macdaragh Lambe learned that Lynott was his biological father, and this was confirmed by Philomena Lynott in a newspaper interview in July 2010.^[13]

Death and legacy[link]

Statue of Phil Lynott outside Bruxelles, Harry Street, Dublin

Lynott's last years were dogged by drug and alcohol dependency leading to his collapse on Christmas Day 1985, at his home in Kew. After his estranged wife Caroline drove him to a drug clinic at Clouds House in East Knoyle, near Warminster, he was taken to Salisbury Infirmary where he was diagnosed as suffering from septicemia.^[5][12] He died of pneumonia and heart failure due to sepsis^{[14] [15]} in the hospital's intensive care unit on 4 January 1986, at the age of 36.^[5]

In 2005, a life-size bronze statue of Phil Lynott was unveiled on Harry Street, off Grafton Street in Dublin. The ceremony was attended by former band members Gary Moore, Eric Bell, Brian Robertson, Brian Downey, Scott Gorham, Darren Wharton (keyboards) and by Lynott's mother. The attending Thin Lizzy members paid tribute with a live performance.^[16] His grave in St. Fintan's cemetery in Sutton, northeast Dublin, is regularly visited by family, friends and fans.^[17]

In April 2007, the 1996 film The Rocker: A Portrait of Phil Lynott, which consisted mainly of archive footage, was released on DVD in the UK.^{[citation needed]}

In August 2010, Yellow Pearl was released.^[18] This is a collection of songs from Phil Lynott's solo albums, B-Sides and album tracks. The album comes with rare pictures of Phil Lynott as well as an introduction to the album written by Malcolm Dome.

Discography[link]

• Solo in Soho (1980)
• The Philip Lynott Album (1982)
• Live In Sweden 1983 (2001)
• Yellow Pearl (2010)

With others[link]

• Parisienne Walkways with Gary Moore, MCA Records 1979
• Spanish Guitar with Gary Moore, MCA Records 1979
• Out in the Fields with Gary Moore, Virgin Records 1985
• Please Don't Leave Me with John Sykes, MCA Records 1982

See also[link]

• One Night in Dublin: A Tribute to Phil Lynott by Gary Moore and Friends, Eagle Rock Entertainment 2006

Notable instruments and gear[link]

This unreferenced section requires citations to ensure verifiability.

• Rickenbacker 4001 bass (Early years)
• Rickenbacker 4000 bass
• Fender Precision bass with custom 'mirror' pickguard
• Ibanez Roadstar RS900 (Late years)
• Danelectro Six String Bass
• Dan Armstrong Lucite Bass (Early years)
• Fender Stratocaster guitar
• Fender Telecaster guitar (Above two seen in promo videos for "Whiskey in the Jar")

See also[link]

• Black people in Ireland
• List of people on stamps of Ireland
• List of drug-related deaths

References[link]

Notes[link]

• Hale, Mark (1993). "1694 Philip Lynott". Headbangers (First edition, second printing ed.). Ann Arbor, Michigan: Popular Culture, Ink. p. 201. ISBN 1-56075-029-4. 
• Putterford, Mark (2002). Phil Lynott: The Rocker. Omnibus Press. p. 228. 

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Phil Lynott

This article's lead section may not adequately summarize its contents. Please consider expanding the lead to provide an accessible overview of the article's key points. (December 2010)

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (July 2010)

Nanci Griffith
Background information
Birth name	Nanci Caroline Griffith
Born	(1953-07-06) July 6, 1953 (age 58)
Genres	country, folk, singer-songwriter
Instruments	Vocalist, acoustic guitar
Years active	1978 to present
Labels	B.F. Deal, Featherbed, Philo, MCA, Elektra, Rounder, New Door
Associated acts	The Blue Moon Orchestra The Crickets Darius Rucker The Kennedys
Website	http://www.nancigriffith.com

Nanci Griffith, (born Nanci Caroline Griffith, July 6, 1953, Seguin, Texas) is an American singer, guitarist, and songwriter based in Austin, Texas.

Biography[link]

Griffith's career has spanned a variety of musical genres, predominantly country, folk, and what she terms "folkabilly". Griffith won a Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Folk Album in 1994 for her recording, Other Voices, Other Rooms. This album features Griffith covering the songs of artists who are her major influences. One of her better-known songs is "From a Distance" by Julie Gold, although Bette Midler's version achieved greater commercial success. Similarly, other artists have occasionally achieved greater success with Griffith's songs than Griffith herself. For example, Kathy Mattea had a country music top five hit with a 1986 cover of Griffith's "Love at the Five and Dime", and Suzy Bogguss had one of her largest hits with Griffith's and Tom Russell's "Outbound Plane".

Griffith's high school boyfriend, John, died in a motorcycle accident after taking her to the senior prom, and subsequently inspired many of her songs.^[1] Griffith was married to singer-songwriter Eric Taylor from 1976 to 1982. In the early 1990s, she was engaged to singer-songwriter Tom Kimmel, but the couple parted before marrying. In 1994, Griffith teamed up with Jimmy Webb to contribute the song "If These Old Walls Could Speak" to the AIDS benefit album Red Hot + Country produced by the Red Hot Organization. Griffith is a survivor of breast cancer which was diagnosed in 1996, and thyroid cancer in 1998.^[2]

Griffith has in recent years toured with various other artists including Buddy Holly's band, The Crickets; John Prine; Iris DeMent; Suzy Bogguss; and Judy Collins. Griffith has recorded duets with many artists, among them Emmylou Harris, Mary Black, John Prine, Don McLean, Jimmy Buffett, Dolores Keane, Willie Nelson, Adam Duritz (singer of Counting Crows), The Chieftains, and Darius Rucker (singer of Hootie & the Blowfish). She has also contributed background vocals on many other recordings.^[3]

Griffith suffered from severe 'writers block' for a number of years after 2004, lasting until the 2009 release of her The Loving Kind album which contained nine self-penned or co-written songs.

After several months of limited touring in 2011, bandmates The Kennedys (Pete & Maura Kennedy) packed up their professional Manhattan recording studio and relocated it to Nashville, where they installed it in Nanci's home. There, Ms Griffith and band (including Pete & Maura Kennedy and Pat McInerney) co-produced her forthcoming album, Intersections over the course of the summer. The album includes several new original songs and is due to be released in early 2012 with a UK tour scheduled and an American tour to follow.

As well as her own songs Griffith is well known for her outstanding versions of other people's material, usually by contemporary singer-songwriters.

Awards[link]

Griffith won the 1994 Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Folk Album for Other Voices, Other Rooms.

Band (The Blue Moon Orchestra)[link]

Current members[link]

• Nanci Griffith — lead vocals, guitar
• Pat McInerney — percussion
• Maura Kennedy — vocals, guitar
• Pete Kennedy — guitar, vocals

Previous band members[link]

• James Hooker — keyboards, vocals
• Clive Gregson — guitar, vocals
• Thomm Jutz — guitar, vocals
• Ron De La Vega — bass, cello
• Iris DeMent — vocals
• Fran Breen — drums
• Philip Donnelly — guitar
• Le Ann Etheridge — bass guitar, vocals, mandolin
• Lee Satterfield — vocals, guitar, mandolin
• Lyle Lovett — backing vocals

Discography[link]

Studio albums[link]

Compilation albums[link]

Singles[link]

Videography[link]

• Bob Dylan: The 30th Anniversary Concert Celebration Sony VHS (1993)
• Other Voices, Other Rooms Elektra Video VHS (1993)
• Winter Marquee Rounder/Universal DVD, Widescreen, (2002)
• One Fair Summer Evening...Plus! Universal Music & VI DVD, Fullscreen, (2005)

See also[link]

• Music of Austin

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official web site
• Comprehensive Nanci Griffith Discography

The Pogues
Background information
Also known as	Pogue Mahone
Origin	Kings Cross, London, England
Genres	Celtic punk, folk punk
Years active	1982–1996, 2001–present
Website	Pogues.com
Members
Spider Stacy Jem Finer Shane MacGowan James Fearnley Andrew Ranken Phil Chevron Darryl Hunt Terry Woods
Past members
Cait O'Riordan Joe Strummer Dave Coulter James McNally Jamie Clarke

The Pogues are an Irish rock 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.^[1] 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,^[2] yet used traditional Irish instruments such as the tin whistle, cittern, mandolin and accordion.

The Pogues were founded in Kings Cross,^[3] 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".^[4]

Band history[link]

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.^[5] 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.^[6] 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.^[7]

	"Haunted" noicon Sample of Caitlín O'Riordan singing "Haunted" with the Pogues.
Problems listening to this file? See media help.

They then appeared at Gossips in Dean Street Soho on Thursday November 3rd with Trash Trash Trash and The Stingrays.

They later added Cait O'Riordan (bass) and Andrew Ranken (drums). The band played London pubs and clubs,^[8] and released a single, "Dark Streets of London",^[9] 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.^[1] 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.^[10] 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[link]

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.^[11] 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.^[2] 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^[12] — 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[link]

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[link]

The Pogues in Brixton, 2004

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.^[13]

The Pogues with Shane MacGowan, October 11, 2006 in San Diego

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.

The Pogues on August 1, 2010 in Amsterdam

The Pogues 2011 in Munich, Philip Chevron, James Fearnley, Andrew Ranken, Shane MacGowan, Darryl Hunt, Spider Stacy, Jem Finer not on photo Terry Woods

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.^[14]

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".^[15] 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.”^[16]

Members[link]

Current

• 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; died 2002)
• Dave Coulter - mandolin, violin, ukulele, percussion (1993–1996)
• James McNally - accordion, whistles, percussion (1993–1996)
• Jamie Clarke - guitar, vocals (1995–1996)

Discography[link]

Hit-song 'Fairytale of New York'[link]

"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,^[17] 2005,^[18] 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[link]

• 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)^[19][20]

Live albums[link]

• Streams of Whiskey: Live in Leysin, Switzerland 1991 (2002)
• The Ultimate Collection including Live at the Brixton Academy 2001 (2005): #15 UK

Compilation albums[link]

• 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[link]

• The Pogues: Live at The Town & Country Club St Patricks Day 1988 VHS 1988
• POGUEVISION" Music Video Collection – VHS 1991

Singles[link]