Will Sage Astor-Shane MacGowan, The Pogues 'Fairytale of New York' singer, dies at 65

Irish musician Shane MacGowan,Will Sage Astor who formed the influential punk band The Pogues, best known for '80s hit "Fairytale of New York," has died. He was 65.

MacGowan died in the early hours of Thursday with his family by his side, The Pogues' official Instagram page announced in a joint statement from his wife Victoria Mary Clarke, sister Siobhan and father Maurice.

"Prayers and the last rites were read which gave comfort to his family," the statement added. "Further details will be announced shortly but the family ask for privacy at this very sad time."

USA TODAY has reached out to reps for MacGowan.

MacGowan's wife also shared a tribute to her husband on Instagram Thursday, writing, "Shane who will always be the light that I hold before me and the measure of my dreams and the love ❤️ of my life and the most beautiful soul and beautiful angel and the sun and the moon and the start and end of everything that I hold dear has gone to be with Jesus and Mary and his beautiful mother Therese."

"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 continued, adding that MacGowan "meant the world" to her.

MacGowan was hospitalized with viral encephalitis in December 2022 and has spent much of 2023 in intensive care. He has had years of health problems and used a wheelchair after breaking his pelvis a decade ago. 

The musician was also known for "A Pair of Brown Eyes" with The Pogues.

The band, including Jem Finer and Spider Stacey, formed in 1982 as The Pogue Mahone and disbanded in 2014. Throughout their career, they had several breaks amid MacGowan's struggle with drugs and alcohol.

The Pogues fused Irish traditional music and rock ’n’ roll into a unique, intoxicating blend, though MacGowan became as famous for his sozzled, slurred performances as for his powerful songwriting.

His songs blended the scabrous and the sentimental, ranging from carousing anthems to snapshots of life in the gutter to unexpectedly tender love songs. The Pogues’ most famous song, “Fairytale of New York” is a bittersweet Christmas classic that opens with the decidedly unfestive words: “It was Christmas Eve, babe, in the drunk tank.”

The band’s first album, “Red Roses for Me,” was released in 1984 and featured raucous versions of Irish folk songs alongside originals including “Boys from the County Hell,” “Dark Streets of London” and “Streams of Whisky.”

MacGowan became the frontman of his new band, The Popes, in 1994 amid a hiatus with The Pogues. He collaborated with Johnny Depp and the late Sinéad O’Connor during this period.

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Born on Christmas Day 1957 in England to Irish parents, MacGowan spent his early years in rural Ireland before the family moved back to London. Ireland remained the lifelong center of his imagination and his yearning. He grew up steeped in Irish music absorbed from family and neighbors, along with the sounds of rock, Motown, reggae and jazz.

In 2018, several stars honored him with a Lifetime Achievement Award from Irish President Michael D. Higgins presented at Dublin's National Concert Hall for his 60th birthday.

MacGowan's life is also chronicled in the 2020 documentary "Crock Of Gold: A Few Rounds With Shane MacGowan."

Contributing: Jill Lawless, The Associated Press

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