Shamrock! – Part 1

I first heard the Pogues’ music when I was 14 or 15 years old when I saw their video for “Yeah, Yeah, Yeah, Yeah, Yeah” on MTV and thought they were really cool- almost punk. The Pogues’ early albums (British imports) were difficult to find back then so I started borrowing them from friends (usually kids of Irish heritage) and by the time I graduated college I was a huge Pogues fan and had all their albums.

While I didn’t realize it at the time, the Pogues’ music- often called Celtic rock- was actually introducing me to folk music and probably owes more to Bob Dylan than to Johnny Rotten (although the Pogues’ lead singer Shane MacGowan got his start in the English punk scene and never lost his punk attitude). The mid-‘80s may have been the era of new wave and pop metal but the Pogues burst onto the music scene doing their own thing: drunken Irish pirate songs played by punks with tin whistle, accordion, and driving rhythm. Good lyrics, too. Here are some of my favorites. Enjoy!

The Pogues with Kirsty MacColl

01. The Pogues – “Greenland Whale Fisheries” (1984)

02. The Pogues – “When the Ship Comes In” (1995)

03. The Pogues & The Dubliners – “Whiskey in the Jar” (1990)

04. The Pogues – “The Sunnyside of the Street” (1990)

05. The Pogues – “Dirty Old Town” (1985)

06. The Pogues – “I’m a Man You Don’t Meet Every Day” (1985)

07. The Pogues – “Sally MacLennane” (1985)

08. The Pogues feat. Kirsty MacColl – “Fairytale of New York” (1988)

09. The Pogues – “If I Should Fall from Grace with God” (1988)

10. The Pogues – “London You’re a Lady” (1989)

Listen to the playlist on Spotify...

... or check out the playlist on YouTube

(To open music in separate window, click title bar at top of video box)