The Pogues say Shane MacGowan's 'spirit lives on' as they announce tour that will come to Newcastle

The Pogues have hailed their late frontman Shane MacGowan, saying his "spirit lives on" as they gear up to celebrate the 40th anniversary of their influential second album 'Rum, Sodomy & The Lash' in the coming year.

The band has announced six performances for next May 2025, including a gig at Newcastle's City Hall, to honour the much-loved album. Three of the original band will be at the gig, along with "special guests".

Banjo player Jem Finer reminisced about MacGowan in a conversation with PA news agency, labeling him "irreplaceable" yet feeling that his essence continues to resonate through the guest vocalists who've graced recent shows. The singer passed away in November 2023 at the age of 65.

Reflecting on MacGowan’s enduring impact, 69 year old Finer, who is also known for co-writing the band's renowned hit 'Fairytale Of New York', said: "He’s an irreplaceable person, but somehow his spirit lives on in these people, in working with these other singers, it’s kind of like flowing through them, so he’s very much there, very celebratory and beautifully respectful."

Special guests for next year's shows are still to be confirmed, but Finer praised the involvement of North East singer Nadine Shah, who joined the Pogues in gigs this year.

He said: "I asked Nadine Shah, I’ve always loved her voice, and when Shane died, she just did a really very cool post, just marking his death, which I liked the tone of, I really like what she wrote, I’d never met her."

"So I just thought, she would be great doing The Auld Triangle, and as it turned out Tom Coll knows her and had her phone number, from Fontaines DC, who was actually the person who had the idea in the first place of doing something to mark Red Roses for Me so credit where credit’s due."

"So that’s how Nadine Shah became involved, I asked her if she’d fancy doing it, and she came straight back and said she’d love to, and then other people, it kind of all falls into place."

Rum, Sodomy & the Lash is one of the Celtic punk band’s most critically acclaimed albums, and features some of the group’s best-known songs such as Dirty Old Town, A Pair Of Brown Eyes and Sally MacLennane.

The album is known for its striking cover, which features the Theodore Gericault painting The Raft of the Medusa, altered to include band members’ faces.

The gigs, set to include performances of the Poguetry in Motion EP featuring A Rainy Night In Soho, will kick off in Leeds on May 1 and conclude in Newcastle on May 8. Tickets for the shows are set to go live on Friday at 9.30am, available through Ticketmaster and Gigs and Tours.

The Pogues’ Rum, Sodomy & The Lash tour dates are as follows: May 1 – O2 Academy, Leeds; May 2 – O2 Academy, Birmingham; May 3 – O2 Academy, Brixton, London; May 6 – Barrowland, Glasgow; May 7 – O2 Apollo, Manchester; May 8 – O2 City Hall, Newcastle.