16-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Sunday World
Shane MacGowan's sister and widow delighted by Bob Dylan's cover of Pogues' classic
Fans have shared clips of the performance online with one describing it as "the most beautiful thing I've ever heard'
Shane MacGowan's sister Siobhan and his widow Victoria Mary Clark have both hailed Bob Dylan's cover version of The Pogues' classic 'A Rainy Night in Soho' that he performed live this week.
Dylan took to the stage during the opening night of Willie Nelson's Outlaw Music Festival Tour, which the American rocker was co-headlining.
The iconic singer and song-writer sat down at the piano at the close of his gig at the Talking Stick Resort Amphitheatre in Phoenix, Arizona, on Tuesday, IrishCentral reports.
It was the first time he performed the song, which was originally written by MacGowan, who died in November 2023, live.
Fans have shared clips of the performance online – with one describing it as "the most beautiful thing I've ever heard."
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A delighted Siobhan posted on social media that it would have meant the world to her brother.
"When I was a kid I listened to the constant sound of @bobdylan playing in Shane's room," Siobhan wrote.
Victoria Mary Clark said her husband "spent hours and hours and hours listening to Dylan and watching footage of him and he was very grateful for the mutual respect."
The US star had invited The Pogues to open for him during his North American tour in the autumn of 1989 but MacGowan infamously collapsed at London's Heathrow Airport, leaving the rest of the band to fly out to California without him.
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Rolling Stone reported afterwards that MacGowan missed all the Dylan shows but was forgiven when Dylan last played in Dublin in November 2022 when MacGowan was special guest at the concert at the 3Arena.
During the gig, Dylan only addressed the crowd once, to send a greeting to "one of our favourite artists', Hot Press reported.
"We hope he makes another record soon," Dylan said, adding: "'Fairytale Of New York' is close to all of our hearts and we listen to it every Christmas..."
MacGowan joined Dylan and his entourage at the InterContinental in Dublin after the gig as, according to friend and manager Joey Cashman: "Bob was very keen to meet up with Shane when he was in Dublin and his people were on a fair bit trying to set it up.
"There's a lot of respect there and Dylan was the one who booked the Pogues to open for him back in the day, even though Shane didn't actually make it,' he told the Irish Sun at the time.
"I have a theory that Dylan didn't realise Shane never made it out to the States because the band were so good without him.
"That tour was crazy and I became good friends with Dylan's son Jesse along the way.
"Dylan had his people get in contact and Shane was reluctant because he wasn't feeling well but then he decided he wanted to go, he couldn't miss out on the chance.
"We went to the hotel and let reception know that Shane had arrived. Bob was downstairs within ten minutes.
"So we had a meal in his hotel on Sunday. It turned into a late one."
Last year, the Bob Dylan Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma, hosted the "They Gave The Walls A Talking" exhibition, which was on loan from EPIC: The Irish Emigration Museum in Dublin.
Dedicated to the legacy of The Pogues and MacGowan, it was the first time an exhibit dedicated to someone other than Dylan was featured.
