Shane MacGowan of The Pogues admitted to hospital

6 December, 2022

The Pogues frontman Shane MacGowan has been hospitalised.

MacGowan’s wife, Victoria Mary Clarke, took to Twitter yesterday (December 5) to announce the singer’s return to hospital, asking fans to “please send prayers and healing vibes” to the artist. “[MacGowan is] in hospital again and really hoping to get out asap”, Clarke added.

Clarke elaborated on the health update – which was accompanied by a photo of MacGowan smiling – in an interview with The Irish Mirror. She revealed that the singer had been admitted to hospital last Friday (December 2), and that she remains hopeful he’ll be discharged sometime this week.

Clarke added that she thinks MacGowan is “a bit frustrated” by this latest stint in hospital. “He finds it very frustrating”, she said. “He wants to get out.” Despite his frustrations, Clarke assured fans that she thinks MacGowan will recover, telling them not to “get too worried” and that she’s “sure he’ll be fine.”

While the specific cause of his recent hospitalisation is unknown, MacGowan has been in and out of medical care for the past few years, dating back to a 2015 pelvis injury that left him wheelchair-bound and with continued mobility issues as a result. That same year, the singer received teeth implants, following oral and dentistry complications stemming from his years-long struggle with substance abuse.

Last year, MacGowan broke his knee during a fall at his home. Clarke said at the time that the injury left him in bed and without an appetite for days. The singer himself has been open about his struggles with drug and alcohol addiction, which date back to his teenage years. Speaking with Spectator in an interview earlier this year, MacGowan said: “I am glad to be alive, so I’m grateful to wake up.”

“I have beautiful carers who come and get me out of the bed and into the lime green chair… Sometimes I end up in hospital. If I don’t end up in hospital, I thank Jesus and His Holy Mother and all the saints and angels”, he added.

In April of last year MacGowan released his first-ever art book, The Eternal Buzz And The Crock Of Gold. It featured sketches and handwritten lyrics, alongside candid shots of the singer with the likes of Nick Cave, Bob Dylan, Pete Doherty, and Bryan Adams.

More recently, BBC Radio 2 announced this month that it would play The Pogues‘ Christmas song ‘Fairytale Of New York’ without its homophobic slur for the first time.

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