One of the better pictures...
The Pogues were formed in 1982 in London. Which is funny because they mainly played Irish music. And if you are old enough to remember, being Irish in London during that time period wasn’t exactly easy with the IRA bombings happening every so often. I got into this band in my later years. Mainly because of one song in particular, “Summer in Siam”.
It was featured in the movie, “Basquiat”.(which I highly recommend if you haven’t seen it… one of my favorites). I realized that I had heard a lot of their music before… that I always liked it… but I just never bothered to follow up on it. So, I started a slow ascent into their musical library.
I discovered that they are connected to so many other musicians. Elvis Costello produced their album; Rum, Sodomy and Lash. Steve Lillywhite (who also produced a lot of The Smiths albums) produced their album; If I Should Fall From Grace With God. Joe Strummer took over vocal duties after Shane McGowan left the band. Matt Dillon starred in the video for “Fairytale of New York”. A lot of their songs have been covered by other bands.
When I moved to California, my good friend was a huge fan. He furthered my education and made my love for their music grow even more. Now, it’s at a point where they are becoming one of my go-to bands. And I enjoy hearing them at all times. So, I figured I’d throw some songs of theirs your way. Kind of a best of, but the best of in my opinion over the years. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.
The Pogues- Sunny Side Of The Street (This is off of the album, Hell’s Ditch)
The Pogues- Fairytale of New York (This is off of the album, If I Should Fall From Grace With God) (It is also, in my opinion, the greatest X-Mas song ever)
The Pogues- Love You ‘Till The End (This is off of the album, Pogue Mahone)
The Pogues- Body Of An American (This is off of the album, Poguetry In Motion)
The Pogues- If I Should Fall From Grace With God (This is off of the Straight to Hell: Original Soundtrack as well as an album of the same name)
The Pogues- Streams Of Whiskey (This is off of the album, Red Roses For Me)
The Pogues- Pair Of Brown Eyes (This is off of the album, Rum, Sodomy and Lash)
Here’s another video for ya… It’s for “Fiesta”.
And a couple of live ones…
The Pogues (with Joe Strummer on vocals)- Straight To Hell (Live in Germany) (this is originally a Clash song, do I really have to tell you that? I guess. I guess I should tell you that it was most recently sampled by MIA for her song, Paper Planes… which seems to grow stronger by the day even though it’s been out forever)
The Pogues- Dirty Old Town (Live in the Netherlands, 1986)
And just to be a prick… a scene from “The Wire” featuring the music of the Pogues…
