Jennifer Byrne wrote this review which ran on Roots & Branches.
London Irish Punk Life and Music claims to “trace the life of this complex figure from his childhood in England and Tipperary, through The Pogues’ success and subsequent painful break-up, before bringing the story up to date with an evaluation of MacGowan’s solo career”. Quite a feat, given the elusive nature of the protagonist.
Unfortunately, but hardly surprisingly, Shane MacGowan had no input into this book. Perhaps as something of a compensation for this, the author spends a lot of effort reviewing albums. Thus, we get whole chapters of reviews, which is constructive when attempting to trace the career of The Pogues, but doesn’t always make for a riveting read as, presumably, those reading will already have formed their own opinions on these records. This raises another point — the vast majority of the text concerns The Pogues. There is even a review of the first Pogues album after Shane’s departure. Admittedly,The Pogues were a major aspect of MacGowan’s career, but by spending so much time on their trail, we actually learn very little about Shane the person. Rather, we are presented with a paraphrase of the life and times of The Pogues.
There are one or two rather sweeping statements in the book which make me wonder how much the author truly understands the history of Ireland, Irish music, or Ireland’s relationship with England. Chapter one seems like a good place to start — “Shane Patrick Lysaght MacGowan was born on Wednesday, December 25, 1957 in Tunbridge Wells, Kent. Some fifty miles away in Buckingham Palace, London, Queen Elizabeth II was making her first Christmas broadcast on television. Understandably, no mention of Shane’s arrival was made in her speech. Yet, had she known of his future contribution to the cause of Anglo/Irish relations, the oversight might well have been corrected.”
Firstly, it would take a great deal more than one man’s music to heal that particular rift, and secondly, Shane MacGowan, throughout his career, sang out against the treatment of Ireland and her people by the British establishment. If anything, he made the Irish more proud to stand alone, through his assertion of his own identity and through his music.
Another notable slip is the author’s rather vague use of terminology regarding Irish music. He seems particularly fond of the word “ceilidh”, which he uses to describe all forms of Irish traditional music. The word ceilidh itself is actually the Scottish equivalent of the Irish word ceili, which, in any case, describes a very specific type of Irish music, and cannot be used as a generic term for Irish trad. A minor detail maybe, but quite frustrating.
Having said all of the above, London Irish Punk Life and Music…Shane MacGowan is not an unpleasant read. For me, it served the purpose of
placing MacGowan within the London music scene, and bringing that era into perspective and context. Another positive aspect is that Merrick avoids the trap of judging or pitying MacGowan, something to which so many journalists have been prone. The book does contain plenty of references to his drunk and drug habits, (how could it not?), but not in a derogatory manner.
All in all, this book provides a fairly good overview of MacGowan’s place within the music scene over a particular time, his involvement with the Pogues and, to some extent, his career as a solo artist. However, do not expect the book to bring you any closer to MacGowan the person.
(Omnibus Press, 2001)
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