Tom Dunne: These are the artists I'd love to see on the Shane MacGowan covers album
The first anniversary of Shane MacGowan's death occurs on Saturday, November 30.
Shane MacGowan will be a year gone on Saturday. But his memory, the life of his songs, his voice on the radio, seems stronger than ever. There is talk of a biopic with Barry Keoghan playing Shane, and audiences still throng to all Shane-related gigs.
Even the Nenagh mural is described by locals as a much loved ‘focal point’ an achievement in public art. It is as you would expect from a man who bequeath us, as Andrew Ranken put it, “those brilliant, timeless, shining songs.” May they shine forever.
Amongst the tributes, one idea really caught my attention. His wife, Victoria Mary Clarke, mooted the idea of a Shane MacGowan covers albums. Bruce Springsteen has already covered ‘A Rainy Night in Soho’, as has Nick Cave. Get those two on an album and perspective purchasers would start queueing now.
But I’d urge caution. ‘Major label’ projects are sometimes approached with a “who is selling at the minute” approach. Follow that through and you could get a Shane album featuring Taylor Swift, Ed Sheeran, and Sabrina Carpenter. Yes, smelling salts immediately!
There is another way. We are currently enjoying the fruit of one of the richest seams of talent in Irish music history. We have Lankum, Fontaines DC, Hozier, Kneecap, CMAT, Mary Wallopers, A Lazarus Soul, John Francis Flynn, Sprints, Lisa O’Neill, Mick Flannery, Susan O’Neill, and too many more to mention here.
Plus the old school hasn’t gone away: There is still U2, The Waterboys, Christy Moore, Finbar Furey, Glen Hansard, Damien Dempsey, Van Morrison, Imelda May, Sharon Shannon, the surviving Pogues themselves.
Plus there is Rum, Sodomy and the Lash’s producer Elvis Costello, currently flying a flag for Kneecap with the kind of fervour he once displayed for Shane’s songs. Of that Poguesalbum he once said “My task was to capture them in their dilapidated glory before some more professional producer f--ked them up.” He succeeded, so might I suggest that in terms of a tribute album of Shane’s songs that is exactly the kind of vision that would be vital once again. Shane himself once said “Democracy doesn’t work in bands.” He couldn’t have been more right.
So, just as an example of some the fun you could have with the above-mentioned talents and the song writing genius of Shane Patrick Lysaght MacGowan.
Radie Peat’s voice, the signature drones, the usual explosive power: I want to hear it now. Radie has already performed this on an Abbey production of Brendan Behan’s The Quare Fellah.
Grian Chatten’s voice just seems to get better and better, particularly it seems when the space and sparse instrumentation to allow it breath. I can hear him on this already.
Finding something that is anarchic enough for Kneecap’s prodigious talents is not difficult with Shane’s back catalogue. They’d probably have their own ideas for what song they’d like, but they’d nail this.
Yes the Frames, as opposed to Glen. Glen would suit so many of Shane’s songs (and does) and I actually have a version of he and Frank Black performing The Auld Triangle. However The Frames, with Colm Mac Con Iomaire, would sound so amazing on this.
Christy’s voice, as evidenced by the new album, is possibly better than ever, and this song, written by Phil Chevron (I’m sure Shane would approve) would be beautiful in his hands.
Pause to reflect that both of those who sang the original single version are passed. How can it be? This is a big song and needs big voices, I can’t imagine better.
This, and ‘A Pair of Brown Eyes’ are the ones that might cause trouble, songs on which producer Elvis Costello would earn his fee. Everyone would want to do these songs: Bruce, Nick, Bono, Mike Scott, Damien Dempsey, CMAT, Lyra, you name it. And each would do an amazing version.
Elvis would the man saying, “Bruce, don’t call us, we’ll call you.”
What an amazing project it could be. What an amazing record, what a stunning tribute to one of our greatest ever talents! Putting these songs into the hands and voices of our new emerging talents and tempering that with some older heads would be an album for the ages.
