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Reviews, Books |
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Paddy Rolling Stone
"A Drink With Shane MacGowan" by Victoria Mary Clarke and Shane MacGowan
By Nickolas Boldock
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Shane MacGowan may just be a medical miracle. He is, of course, a chronic alcoholic, whose love affair with drink will likely never cease until he is six feet below. His consumption of other inebriants is now the stuff of legend. His hedonistic exploits are usually the first thing to come to mind at the mention of his name; the first subject covered in any interview; the introduction to any article (even this one). Forget that though. Read "A Drink With Shane MacGowan" and you realise the great man is much more than the archetypal drunken Paddy - he is charming, articulate, intelligent and witty. He is also arrogant, egotistical and extremely opinionated.
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This fascinating book takes the form of a series of interviews between Shane and his long-suffering partner Victoria Clarke. Theirs is an odd relationship (can anyone be higher maintenance than Shane MacGowan?) yet throughout the book their bond is obvious - Shane's handwritten introduction to the book, in which he tells how he and Victoria first met, is a stunningly moving, romantic piece of writing.
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Shane is never short of an opinion. At one point he provides a detailed history of Irish literature, entirely from memory. His powers of recall are nothing short of astonishing, particularly given the way he has treated his body and brain over the years. His reflections on Catholicism and Taoism (both of which he practices) are fascinating. His thoughts on Anglo-Irish politics may be uncomfortable to many (he holds some strong opinions regarding the IRA in particular) but this is how he is - unflinchingly honest and excruciatingly real. He talks with candour about heroin ("it destroys too many precious things in your life") and of course, alcohol, ("I think the most dangerous drugs are brandy and nicotine."). He speaks with resentment of his time in a mental institution ("The Bin"), when he was younger, and messed up on stress and narcotics.
Continued below
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"A Drink With Shane MacGowan" by Victoria Mary Clarke and Shane MacGowan continued
By Nickolas Boldock
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But what of The Pogues? Naturally, the majority of the book covers Shane's exploits with the band, and, with the exception of Spider Stacy, for whom he appears to have a great deal of affection, most of them come in for a pretty rough ride. It is unfortunate that he appears to heap all of the blame for the band's demise on everyone except himself - the way MacGowan tells it, the rest of The Pogues were determined to turn the band into a mainstream rock group, whereas MacGowan himself longed to stay true to his roots and retain the Irish folk influences as the primary sound.
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Whilst there is almost certainly some truth in this, Shane seems blissfully unaware of his own part in the Pogues' downfall - certainly, no-one could find it easy to keep a band together when the lead singer and chief songwriter is almost continually drunk, or out of his tree on acid, or both. That said, the albums which the Pogues released after Shane's departure were poor - he may have been the drunken front man, but also he was (and still is) a majestic songwriter, and without his songs, the Pogues were a shadow of what they had been before. Tellingly, Shane's subsequent work with the Popes has seen some gems of songs which at least equal his output with the Pogues ("Lonesome Highway" and "Aisling", for example). You get the impression that Shane MacGowan could swallow rat poison and still produce classic songs with one hand tied behind his back.
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As biographies go, this one is essential. It shows MacGowan in all his guises - charmer, megalomaniac, romantic, cynic - and above all - genius. The only criticism that could be levelled at the book - and this may seem churlish - is that the brief sections written by Victoria (usually in between chapters) give away the fact that, while she may be a dab hand at gently urging MacGowan to open up, she is certainly no writer. She persists in using complicated adverbs throughout, presumably as a style statement of some kind. She does it like this, irritatingly.
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Even after the first couple of these, it grates, annoyingly. See? But forget it - Victoria, likeable as she is, is not the star of the show here. One suspects that where Shane MacGowan is involved, there could only ever be one star anyway.
© Nicholas Boldock, 2003.
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Reviews, Theatre - Emily Brontė's Wuthering Heights
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Adapted by John Godber, Hull Truck Theatre 09/10/03
By E.M.X. Creek
I went to this production with some apprehension. I am not a huge Brontė fan, and in addition had some doubts as to how well Wuthering Heights would adapt for our modest location. I am happy to say that the result was remarkably good.
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Exclusive Featured Serial on www.thisisUll.com
Articles Part Four - 1973: Super tug to defend fishing fleet
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By John Boldock
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A few weeks at sea now and really settling down to a routine, if only a boring one! When action is scarce it becomes a case of simply steaming up and down around a pack of several trawlers and keeping an eye out for the Icelanders.
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People - Franks first night at Glastonbury Festival
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by Alfred Lawyer
It all seemed to be looking up for Frank Malarky, Dance DJ extraordinaire and full-time Law Man - loved by the masses if only they had heard of him. At last a chance to strut his stuff, shake his (ample) booty and impress the young ladies at the festival he loved the most; Glastonbury.
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Music Reviews - Sidewinder Saturday 27th September, Silhouette Club by Albert Dukes.
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Where many local bands are poor copies of national trends, Sidewinder don't fit neatly to a single comparison, unlike say, The Paddingtons, who clearly want to BE the Libertines (sort it out lads, it's like a tribute) and Turismo, who want to be The Coral, Favours, who want to be the Yeah, Yeah Yeahs (admittedly with a bass player). Sidewinder sound like everything and nothing.
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Poetry - Drink, by Shelly D.
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Drink in the morning,
drink at night.
Drink in the dark,
drink in the light.
Drink from the bottle,
drink from the can.
Drink like a fish,
as only you can.
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Drink at work,
drink at school.
Drink in the pub,
drink like a fool.
Drink while you're dancing,
drink when you're stoned.
Drink at your wedding,
drink 'cos your boyfriend
never phoned.
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Music Reviews - Pave Perform at the Welly Club
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Paves performance is polished. Considering the band only formed in March this year, I was staggered to see how much theyd got their act together! Such a tight, professional band. I felt reassured when I took a look at their biographies. Thats when it all fell into place.
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