The Pogues

The Pogues are an English Celtic punk band founded in King's Cross, London, in 1982, by Shane MacGowan, Spider Stacy and Jem Finer. Originally named Pogue Mahone—an anglicisation of the Irish phrase póg mo thóin, meaning "kiss my arse"—the band fused Irish traditional music with punk rock influences. After adding more members, including James Fearnley and Cait O'Riordan, the Pogues built a reputation with their live shows in London pubs and clubs.

In 1984, the Pogues released their debut studio album, Red Roses for Me, featuring a mix of traditional Irish songs and original compositions by MacGowan. It was followed by Rum Sodomy & the Lash (1985), the four-track EP Poguetry in Motion (1986), and the critically acclaimed If I Should Fall from Grace with God (1988). "Fairytale of New York", recorded as a duet by MacGowan and Kirsty MacColl, reached number two in the UK charts at Christmas 1987 and remains a perennial seasonal favourite in Ireland and the UK. The Pogues recorded two more albums with MacGowan, Peace and Love (1989) and Hell's Ditch (1990), before sacking him during a 1991 tour as his drug and alcohol dependency increasingly affected their live performances.

The Pogues continued with Joe Strummer and then Stacy as frontmen, releasing new material on Waiting for Herb (1993), but broke up following the critical and commercial failure of their seventh and last studio album, Pogue Mahone (1996). The band re-formed in late 2001, again featuring MacGowan as frontman, and toured regularly in the UK, Ireland, mainland Europe, and the USA for over a decade. Following the death of longtime guitarist Philip Chevron, the Pogues dissolved again in 2014. Longtime bassist Darryl Hunt died in August 2022 and MacGowan died in November 2023. Stacy, Finer and Fearnley re-formed the Pogues in 2024 and toured the UK, Ireland, and North America in 2025.