Shane MacGowan of iconic punk group The Pogues has died at the age of 65. The singer had been admitted to hospital in December 2022 with viral encephalitis, where he remained, battling the condition, for much of 2023. He was discharged from hospital on November 22.
Born in Pembury, Kent on Christmas Day 1957, he is best known forrecorded with Kirsty MacColl, which allegedly was the result of a bet with Elvis Costello, who had believed that MacGowan would never be able to write a Christmas hit. Costello roundly lost; is the most-played Christmas song of the 21st century in the UK, where it has now racked up combined sales of more than 2.4 million.
