Watch The Darkness pay tribute to Shane MacGowan with The Pogues sing-along in Dublin

8 December, 2023

Justin Hawkins of The Darkness and Shane MacGowan of The Pogues

The Darkness have paid tribute to the late Shane MacGowan at a recent show in Dublin by leading the crowd through a sing-along of The Pogues’ signature song, ‘Fairytale of New York’. 

At the band’s show at Dublin’s 3Olympia Theatre on December 3, they performed the cover towards the end of the set, with frontman Justin Hawkins singing minimally, frequently pointing the microphone towards the crowd as an invitation to lead the sing-along, against sporadic guitar accompaniment.

The band posted a clip of the performance on X yesterday (December 7), writing: “Thanks for the sing-a-long Dublin. RIP Shane MacGowan”.

Watch The Darkness cover ‘Fairytale of New York’ in Dublin below:

The Darkness are the latest act to pay tribute to the late Irish singer. Shortly after his passing, close friend Nick Cave honoured MacGowan, calling him the “greatest songwriter of his generation”. “I would say he’s sitting up there – within the whole historical context – as one of the great Irish songwriters,” he said in an interview. “He always had something that I didn’t quite understand.”

Bruce Springsteen also chimed in, calling him one of “[his] all time favourite writers”, stating: “The passion and deep intensity of his music and lyrics is unmatched by all but the very best in the rock and roll canon.” The Libertines’ Pete Doherty hailed him as “bulletproof”, calling him one of the best lyricists “in the last 30 or 40 years”. Tom Waits eloquently praised him in a tweet, calling him “a bard’s bard”: “May he cast his spell upon us all forevermore”.

Various artists have also paid tribute by covering The Pogues’ music, with U2 and Glen Hansard each performing renditions of their 1985 album ‘Rum Sodomy & The Lash’ cut, ‘A Rainy Night In Soho”. Post-punks The Murder Capital have also covered The Pogues’ rendition of traditional Irish song ‘I’m A Man You Don’t Meet Every Day’ from the same album.

Following his passing, ‘Fairytale of New York’ also re-entered the Top 40, triggered by fans who have rallied to get the song to number one. MacGowan’s wife, Victoria Mary Clarke, approved the effort, commenting: “It should be the Christmas number one. It absolutely should.”

Shane MacGowan passed away peacefully at the age of 65 on November 30, surrounded by family and friends. He had been ill for some time, but was discharged from the hospital as recently as the week before his passing. He had been hospitalised since June for an unspecified condition.

Clarke recently confirmed that the singer died from a bout of pneumonia, and paid her own tribute, writing: “Shane will always be the light that I hold before me and the measure of my dreams and the love of my life”.

The post Watch The Darkness pay tribute to Shane MacGowan with The Pogues sing-along in Dublin appeared first on NME.