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Hozier, Jessie Buckley and Bruce Springsteen record Shane MacGowan tribute album

Mark SavageMusic correspondent
News imageGetty Images Shane MacGowan is pictured in tinted sunglasses and holding a microphone, while preparing to sing at a concert in 2012. The background is a dark blue stage backdrop with a bloom of spotlights.Getty Images
Shane MacGowan died in 2023 at the age of 65

Three years after his death, some of music's biggest names have combined to record a tribute album to Pogues frontman Shane MacGowan.

The album, titled 20th Century Paddy - The Songs of Shane MacGowan, was announced on Thursday, alongside the first single, Bruce Springsteen's cover of A Rainy Night In Soho.

In an accompanying essay, Springsteen described the Irish musician's songwriting as "raw, hilarious, no apologies and profound".

The album, which will be released in November, also includes a duet between Hozier and Oscar nominee Jessie Buckley, as well as songs by Tom Waits, Primal Scream, Steve Earle and David Gray.

Actor Johnny Depp has a duet with singer Imelda May, while the album will also feature The Jesus and Mary Chain, The Libertines and Kate Moss.

MacGowan died in November 2023 at the age of 65, following a period of ill health.

He left a peerless catalogue of songs articulating the life of working class Irish immigrants, with tales of finding love in the slums littered with references to literature, mythology and the Bible.

News imageVictoria MacGowan / Twitter Bruce Springsteen embraces Shane MacGowan, who is resting on a sofa, looking frail. Victoria MacGowan / Twitter
Bruce Springsteen spent time with MacGowan at his home in Ireland before his death

In his essay, Springsteen recalled spending an afternoon with MacGowan shortly before his death.

"He was not well but he and his wife, Victoria, proved warm and gracious hosts. As I left, I thanked him for his beautiful work, his music, his songs, his life. I stood in his warmth, kissed him and told him I loved him."

Springsteen called the musician a writer in the lineage of "geniuses" and "natural rebels" like Woody Guthrie, Hank Williams, Miles Davis, Aretha Franklin and Bob Dylan.

"Shane was all naked bottomless humanity. Threatening to force us to ask ourselves if we were living deeply, authentically," he continued.

"[His] voice was so deeply real, profane and honest, his writing so flashing, alive and historically rich its genesis appeared as a mystery to all including, I believe, its creator," Springsteen added.

"His soul was filled with the transgressive and ecstatic properties of the saints.

"I don't know who'll be listening to my music in 100 years but I know they'll be listening to Shane's."

'Humbled and thankful'

MacGowan's wife Victoria Mary Clarke, who oversaw the tribute album, said in a statement: "Shane's spirit and songwriting are eternally exalted through this glorious collection, each song is uniquely and graciously interpreted by these beyond-beautiful artists and his family are humbled by and thankful to each and every one of the musicians involved."

The Dublin Simon Community, a charity working with the city's homeless population, will receive 50% of the artist royalties generated by the album.

"Shane's empathy for people sleeping rough in Dublin was well known," the charity's CEO Catherine Kenny said.

"He never hesitated to stop, acknowledge, and share a moment with someone on the street."

The list of artists currently confirmed for the record is:

  • Amble
  • Bruce Springsteen
  • Camille O'Sullivan
  • Cronin
  • Damien Dempsey
  • David Gray
  • Dropkick Murphys
  • Garron Noone
  • Glen Hansard
  • Hozier & Jessie Buckley
  • Johnny Depp & Imelda May
  • Johnny Mac and The Faithful
  • Kate Moss
  • Liam Ó Maonlaí
  • Lisa Moorish & Another Day
  • Lisa O'Neill
  • LYRA
  • Madra Salach
  • Moya Brennan
  • Mundy
  • Picture This
  • Pinch of Snuff
  • Primal Scream
  • Steve Earle
  • The High Kings
  • The Jesus and Mary Chain
  • The Libertines
  • The Murder Capital
  • The Pogues
  • Tom Waits