As tributes continue to pour in for Shane MacGowan, one UK newspaper has drawn the ire of MacGowan's band The Pogues for their obituary of the late singer.
MacGowan, 65, died peacefully early on Thursday morning, after a lengthy battle with illness. His ultimate cause of death was confirmed on Friday as pneumonia, and he passed away with family by his side after being read the Last Rites.
A titan of Irish music, MacGowan is best known for fronting The Pogues, creating such iconic hits as 'Fiesta,' 'Rainy Night in Soho,' and, most famously, 'Fairytale of New York' - which will undoubtedly now be in the mix for Christmas number one.
Tributes have poured in from all corners, as the Irish public and music lovers alike clamour to remember one of their most beloved figures of recent decades.
One tribute, however, has not gone down well with The Pogues themselves, as they lashed out on Twitter after The Guardian newspaper shared their obituary for MacGowan.
Pogues unhappy with the Guardian's obituary for Shane MacGowan
The Guardian's obituary to Shane MacGowan was published on Thursday afternoon, recounting the story of a life which "brought punk style and attitude to Irish folk music."
The obituary opens in a less-than-respectful manner, by seemingly poking fun at MacGowan's apperance, with the opening line gaining widespread criticism on social media. The line in question reads:
With his broken teeth and large ears, Shane MacGowan, who has died aged 65, might have seemed the most unlikely frontman for a pop group.
Amid the body of the piece, many references are made to MacGowan's battles with addiction, with a suggestion that he had become aloof from the Pogues during the 1990s. The band shared a post to their Twitter page on Friday ripping into the obituary, calling it "terrible" and "full of errors."
@guardian Such a terrible obituary. Full of errors. https://t.co/FU24LLJQqS
— The Pogues (@poguesofficial) December 1, 2023
The general seemingly hostile atmosphere towards MacGowan in the obituary was another element which garnered criticism on Twitter, and it is not the first such incident involving The Guardian this year.
In a desperately sad year for Irish music, MacGowan, Christy Dignam, and Sinéad O'Connor have all passed away - and the Guardian's obituary for O'Connor earned a similar reaction to that of MacGowan when she died in July.
That obituary appeared to suggest O'Connor had not fulfilled her potential, with lines such as, "she lacked the obsessive drive needed to keep a top-flight pop career aloft," and "years before oversharing became the internet’s default mode, she regularly revealed troubling personal details about her mental health, relationships and family."
Understandably, outrage ensued at the disrespectful tone towards a true great of Irish music in the direct aftermath of her untimely passing.
After the similarly questionable obituary published about Shane MacGowan on Thursday, Scottish comedian Frankie Boyle questioned the two articles, and whether "attitudes to Irish people have moved on very much."
I can’t help feeling there’s something in the British media that is ultimately just a bit suspicious of creative people. I also wonder whether its attitudes to Irish people have moved on very much. The Sinead O’Connor obituary was even worse. https://t.co/CNfhp6vsAL
— Frankie Boyle Updates (@frankieboyle) December 1, 2023
The Irish public will continue to mourn both Shane MacGowan and Sinead O'Connor, in a year which has left the country's music fans reeling.
SEE ALSO: Why The Pogues's Birmingham Six Song Was Banned In Britain
