Shane MacGowan, 'Fairytale of New York' Singer and Pogues Frontman, Dead at 65

"You will live in my heart forever," his wife and longtime partner Victoria Mary Clarke said

Shane MacGowan has died at the age of 65, his wife and longtime partner Victoria Mary Clarke said in a touching Instagram post on Thursday.

The Irish singer-songwriter — best known as the frontman for The Pogues, the band behind the holiday favorite, “Fairytale of New York” — was recently hospitalized after being diagnosed with encephalitis.

In her post, MacGowan's widow remembered her late husband as someone "who will always be the light that I hold before me and the measure of my dreams and the love of my life and the most beautiful soul and beautiful angel and the sun and the moon and the start and end of everything that I hold dear"

"I don’t know how to say this so I am just going to say it," Clarke said. Shane...has gone to be with Jesus and Mary and his beautiful mother Therese."

She went on to say that she is "blessed beyond words" to have met MacGoawn "and to have loved him and to have been so endlessly and unconditionally loved by him and to have had so many years of life and love and joy and fun and laughter and so many adventures."

"There’s no way to describe the loss that I am feeling and the longing for just one more of his smiles that lit up my world,' Clarke wrote. "Thank you thank you thank you thank you for your presence in this world you made it so very bright and you gave so much joy to so many people with your heart and soul and your music. You will live in my heart forever."

"Rave on in the garden all wet with rain that you loved so much," she concluded her message. "You meant the world to me."

Clarke, 57, has been by MacGowan's side for over three decades, even though they only married in 2018. In recent months, the Irish journalist has shared updates of her husband’s worsening health. He was diagnosed with encephalitis, an uncommon and potentially life threatening condition that causes the brain to swell, in December 2022, per Sky News.

Back in November, Clarke asked fans for their “love and prayers” for her husband as he battled the condition from an ICU bed in the hospital. Just a few days before, she had shared another heartbreaking update via Instagram.

She posted: “Love ❤️ is the most beautiful and powerful thing that we can experience as humans but love can also feel painful especially if you are afraid of losing a person or anything else that you love.”

Since 2015, MacGowan had been in a wheelchair after fracturing his pelvis in a fall, according to U.K. newspaper The Independent. The star battled addictions to drugs and alcohol for years, but in 2016, his wife claimed that he was sober “for the first time in years,” according to the outlet. Clarke said that his sobriety came after he became sick with pneumonia, which required a “total detox.”

Born in December 1957 to Irish émigré parents in England, MacGowan spent childhood summers in the Irish county of Tipperary, per Rolling Stone. According to the publication, he was a “mischievous child with a precocious intellect.” He won a scholarship to the prestigious Westminster School in London, per the outlet, but was expelled for dealing drugs to fellow students.

Before joining The Pogues alongside Spider Stacy, James Fearnley, Andrew Ranken, Cait O'Riordan and Jem Finer in 1982, he performed under the alias Shane O’Hooligan and was a firm fixture on London’s punk scene.

Formed in 1987 alongside fellow Irish vocalist Kirsty MacColl, The Pogues' biggest and most enduring hit was “Fairytale of New York,” which is still a staple of holiday party soundtracks. The tune appeared on the band's album If I Should Fall From Grace With God, which they followed up with two more LPs.

However, due to his unreliability and ongoing substance problems, MacGowan was fired from The Pogues in 1991. They disbanded in 1996 before returning in 2001, but finally called it quits in 2015 with MacGowan claiming in an interview with Vice that his relationships with his bandmates were better when they were not working together.

MacGowan told the publication, “I don’t hate the band at all — they’re friends. I like them a lot. We were friends for years before we joined the band. We just got a bit sick of each other.”

He continued, “We’re friends as long as we don’t tour together. I’ve done a hell of a lot of touring. I’ve had enough of it.”

Despite his flaws, MacGowan was acknowledged as a “master” by Bruce Springsteen. During a 2020 appearance on Ireland’s The Late Late Show, he said, “He’s the man, you know? I truly believe that 100 years ago from now, most of us will be forgotten. But I do believe that Shane’s music is going to be remembered and sung. It’s just deep in the nature of it. He's a master for me. I have a deep, deep appreciation for his work and the work he did with The Pogues”

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