

A Drink with Shane MacGowan
Victoria Mary Clarke And Shane Macgowan
Funny, honest, brilliant and opinionated, A Drink with Shane MacGowan is the highly-acclaimed memoir of a true music icon.
'One of the freshest, most original biographies I've ever read' - Lynne Barber, Observer
'His candour, coupled with an acerbic wit, makes him an ideal guide through an unmistakably colourful life' - Time Out
Shane MacGowan was an intensely talented songwriter whose band, The Pogues, merged punk with Irish folk music to create a sound uniquely their own. An anarchic hellraiser with the soul of a poet, he is forever associated with Christmas after the chart-topping success of 'Fairytale of New York', his duet with Kirsty McColl.
He grew up on a small farm in Tipperary, won a scholarship to Westminster, was rapidly expelled, became a rent boy, then a central figure of punk and the hugely influential star of The Pogues - until his bandmates got so fed up of his behaviour they kicked him out for a time. MacGowan's music, innovative and powerful, is as distinctive as his chaotic, breakdown-scarred, drug and alcohol-fuelled lifestyle.
Written with his girlfriend (and later wife) Victoria Mary Clarke, A Drink With Shane MacGowan is a joyful celebration of a charming musician with a remarkable perspective on the world.
'An enormously vivid and descriptive picture of his life and dramatic times' - Irish Times
'This endearing memoir . . . is Irish rock distilled' - Sunday Times
Product Details
About Victoria Mary Clarke And Shane Macgowan
Reviews for A Drink with Shane MacGowan
Sunday Times One of the freshest, most original biographies I've ever read . . . Buy the book, it's great.
Lynn Barber, the Observer A refreshingly intimate read
Guardian A truly fascinating insight into a genuine creative maverick. Untramelled by convention, and, in the aftermath of all that hellraising, MacGowan on his own terms is astronishgly articulate and intelligent
Big Issue All human life is here
Q Magazine A brilliant and compelling read, and deserves the widest recognition . . . What strikes you is his honesty, artistic integrity, courage, lack of pretension and refusal to conform
Record Collector Probably the most illuminating drink you'll have with anyone in a while
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