According to a new report, Shane MacGowan had finished his final solo album before his death.
The Irish singer-songwriter and former Pogues frontman died from pneumonia in hospital, aged 65, on November 30, as shared by his wife Victoria Mary Clarke.
MacGowan’s final LP is said to comprise 15 tracks featuring both original songs and covers. The album was produced in collaboration with the Irish band Cronin and includes appearances from the late singer’s Pogues bandmates, Spider Stacey and Jem Finer.
Johnny Cronin, the frontman of Cronin, spoke to the The Irish Sun about MacGowan’s final LP and said that he had “a fine voice right to the end”, adding: “Shane was ill but he wanted to keep working. I was driving up to Dublin to record his vocals at his house.”
MacGowan had spent the final seven years of his life working on the LP. Cronin, who is bandmates with his own brother Mick, added: “We are beyond devastated to lose our friend, the only consolation we have is that Shane had finished all his vocals for this record.”
He continued: “Shane was always in charge when we went into the studio, he was telling us what to play and where to play it. If I was going to try and describe it, it’s like the recordings Johnny Cash did with producer Rick Rubin at the end of his career.”
“Shane came up with some beautiful songs as well as (recording) some cover versions,” said Cronin. “We spent seven years working on this with Shane, and he brought in people like Spider Stacey and Jem Finer to play on some of the songs as well as Waterboys fiddle player Steve Wickham and musical duo Foster and Allen.”
At the moment, there is no set release date for the posthumous album or a label attached to release it. “Shane wanted this record out, so it will come out, but it’s not something we are thinking about right now,” said Cronin.
Speaking of his final moments seeing MacGowan, Cronin said: “Shane was very weak but smiling and still able to have the craic. We sat at his bedside and reminisced.”
In other news, details of his funeral have since been shared, which will see the musician put to rest in County Tipperary, where he lived until age six after being born in Kent to Irish parents.
Nick Cave paid tribute to his close friend by describing MacGowan as “the greatest songwriter of his generation”, before penning a lengthier tribute to MacGowan and Sinéad O’Connor following their deaths.
Pete Doherty echoed the sentiment, remembering him as one of the best lyricists of “the last 30 or 40 years”, while Bruce Springsteen wrote his own tribute, describing MacGowan as “one of my all-time favourite writers”.
Musical tributes, meanwhile, have been paid by U2, who performed a cover of The Pogues’ ‘A Rainy Night in Soho’ at Las Vegas’ Sphere. Glen Hansard also led a group of Irish musicians in a version of the song. The Murder Capital also covered ‘I’m A Man You Don’t Meet Every Day’ during a recent live performance in Ireland.
After his death, fans began rallying to get The Pogues’ ‘Fairytale Of New York’ to Christmas Number One – it’s since re-entered the Top 40.
The post Shane MacGowan finished final album before death, collaborator reveals appeared first on NME.
