Shane MacGowan, the frontman of the Pogues, has died at the age of 65.
The singer-songwriter, surrounded by his wife Victoria May Clarke and family, passed away in the early hours of Thursday morning.
“It is with the deepest sadness and heaviest of hearts that we announce the passing of SHANE MACGOWAN,” reads a statement posted to the band’s social media accounts on behalf of Clarke, MacGowan’s sister Siobhan and his father Maurice.
“Shane passed away peacefully at 3am this morning (November 30, 2023) with his wife Victoria and family by his side. Prayers and last rites were read, bringing comfort to his family.
“Further details will be announced shortly, but the family ask for privacy at this very sad time.”
Clark, who married McGowan in 2018, also took to Instagram to honor the musician, whom she called “the love of [her] life.”
“I am blessed beyond words to have met him and to have loved him and to have been so endlessly and unconditionally loved by him and to have had so many years of life and love and joy and fun and laughter and so many adventures,” she wrote. “There is no way to describe the loss I feel and the longing for just one more of his smiles that lit up my world… You will live forever in my heart.”
MacGowan has suffered from a number of health issues over the years. Most recently, he was admitted to St. Vincent’s Hospital in Dublin, Ireland, in June for an undisclosed infection and was finally released last week.
The irrepressible rocker began his music career in the 1970s in the punk band The Nipple Erectors, also known as The Nips, before forming the Celtic punk band The Pogues in 1982. The Pogues are best known for their festive 1987 folk hit, “Fairytale of New York,” featuring Kirsty MacColl.
