Bruce Springsteen has released a surprise cover version of the Pogues‘ “A Rainy Night in Soho” to honor their late frontman Shane MacGowan. It’s the lead single from an upcoming all-star tribute album, 20th Century Paddy: The Songs of Shane MacGowan. Check out the artwork and single below.
Springsteen was touched by the loss of the Celtic punk rocker, who died in 2023 at age 65 after years of substance abuse and ill health. Ultimately, he couldn’t survive a final bout with viral encephalitis. Springsteen played live versions of “A Rainy Night in Soho” on three stops during his next visit to Ireland in 2024.
“Shane was one of my all-time favorite writers,” Springsteen said in an emotional remembrance after MacGowan’s death. “The passion and deep intensity of his music and lyrics is unmatched by all but the very best in the rock and roll canon.”
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The Pogues brilliantly combined traditional Irish music with punk over five albums with the troubled MacGowan, beginning in 1984. He was fired in the early ’90s, but not before taking part in a duet with Kirsty MacColl on “Fairytale in New York” that become a beloved new holiday favorite.
Springsteen was listening. “I truly believe … that a hundred years from now, most of us will be forgotten,” Springsteen told Irish TV’s Ryan Tubridy, “but I do believe that Shane’s music is going to be remembered and sung. It’s just deep in the nature of it.”
Instagram / @ShaneMacGowanOfficial
MacGowan’s doctors were initially upbeat after his diagnosis of viral encephalitis late in 2022, and he re-emerged in early 2023 to wish fans a happy new year. Springsteen then memorably visited ahead of a trio of sold-out E Street Band shows in Ireland.
“I was fortunate to spend a little time with Shane and his lovely wife Victoria the last time we were in Dublin,” Springsteen wrote on his official website. “He was very ill, but still beautifully present in his heart and spirit.”
Watch the Pogues’ Original ‘A Rainy Night in Soho’ Video
The History of the Pogues’ ‘A Rainy Night in Soho’?
MacGowan and the Pogues issued four consecutive Top 20 gold-selling U.K. hit albums after their debut Red Roses for Me stalled at No. 89. Their seven Top 10 Irish hit singles included 1987’s “The Irish Rover,” the first of two straight chart-topping hits. “Fairytale in New York” also reached No. 1 on the Irish charts, while soaring to No. 2 in the U.K. and the Top 10 in Norway and New Zealand.
“A Rainy Night in Soho” initially appeared in 1986 on the Elvis Costello-produced Poguetry in Motion EP. A remix of the song from an expanded 1991 reissue belatedly reached No. 24 on the Irish charts. By then, MacGowan was out of the band.
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The Pogues released 1993’s Waiting for Herb and 1996’s Pogue Mahone on their own before reuniting with MacGowan in the ’00s. The Pogues had been dormant since 2014 when the surviving members reunited to play MacGowan’s funeral. They later started playing shows again.
MacGowan’s widow Victoria revealed the Springsteen news on Tuesday (March 10) in a social media post. “Our very good friend Bruce has recorded a beautiful version of ‘A Rainy Night in Soho,'” she said. “It’s a stunning tribute to Shane’s songwriting.”
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Gallery Credit: Michael Gallucci
