Published by Cel Manero from Global One Media Inc.
Bruce Springsteen’s cover is the lead single from 20th Century Paddy: The Songs of Shane MacGowan.
Bruce Springsteen has released his rendition of The Pogues’ A Rainy Night in Soho for an upcoming tribute album honoring the late Shane MacGowan.
The tribute compilation, 20th Century Paddy: The Songs of Shane MacGowan, will feature performances from a wide array of artists, including Tom Waits, Steve Earle, Primal Scream, The Jesus and Mary Chain, Kate Moss, Johnny Depp alongside Imelda May, Hozier with Jessie Buckley, The Libertines, The Murder Capital, Dropkick Murphys, Glen Hansard, and the surviving members of The Pogues, among others.
Springsteen’s cover pays homage to the 1986 single from The Pogues’ Poguetry in Motion EP, which was the band’s first UK Top 40 hit. Alongside the recording, he contributed an essay placing MacGowan in a lineage of “natural rebels,” citing icons like Woody Guthrie, Little Richard, Hank Williams, Miles Davis, Aretha Franklin, and Elvis Presley.
In the essay, Springsteen praises MacGowan’s artistry and authenticity: “Great art is by nature lawless… Shane’s voice was so deeply real, profane and honest, his writing so flashing, alive and historically rich its genesis appeared as a mystery even to its creator… Shane was all naked bottomless humanity… His soul was filled with the transgressive and ecstatic properties of the saints.” He adds, “I don’t know who’ll be listening to my music in 100 years but I know they’ll be listening to Shane’s.”
Springsteen also reflects on a final visit with MacGowan in Dublin, noting the warmth of the musician and his wife, Victoria. “I thanked him for his beautiful work… I stood in his warmth, kissed him and told him I loved him,” he recalls.
Surviving Pogues members Spider Stacy, James Fearnley, and Jem Finer will celebrate MacGowan with a series of live shows across the U.K. and Ireland this November and December, including performances in Portsmouth, Nottingham, Leeds, Birmingham, Manchester, London, Newcastle, Glasgow, Dublin, Belfast, and Killarney.
