A Drink With Shane MacGowan
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Product Description
Sunday Times
'This endearing memoir... is Irish rock, distilled.'
Review
'One of the freshest, most original biographies I've ever read... Buy the book, it's great.' Lynn Barber, The Observer 'All human life is here.' Q Magazine
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
21 of 22 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
There's been a few attempts to write the seminal 'Shane Macgowan' story, but all have fallen by the wayside, frustrated by the complications of a 'living' subject, too entangled in his own myth to allow objective scrutiny.
Here instead Shane spouts his own murky blatherings to his Mrs and the tape recorder picks it all up, including Victoria's blunt & sometimes annoying questions & Shanes self aggrandising bull. There are raucously funny moments though, Shane describing how he painted himself blue on tour in New Zealand after Maori ghosts had persauded him to redecorate his hotel room, or where he's trying to persaude Victoria that Brandy is a truck load more deadly than crack cocaine.
His memories of childhood Ireland are intense as well, and his sensitive and depthy knowledge of Irish literature reveal a very clever man, who really never recovered from the break up of his beloved Pogues, which is evident in the bitter way he talks about them.
If your looking for a biography in the classic sense, this isn't it but then Shane is not exactly the 'classic' rock star celebrity. You can feel the warmth and passion of the man though through the pages when one of his rants occasionally ignites into something special. If he's p***ing himself about Samuel Beckett wanting to play cricket for Ireland, or musing on whether he could yet be the first Irish Pope you acn't help but revere the guy. You just have to wade through a bit of drool and spittle to get to the good bits, and at paperback prices it's worth it.
Here instead Shane spouts his own murky blatherings to his Mrs and the tape recorder picks it all up, including Victoria's blunt & sometimes annoying questions & Shanes self aggrandising bull. There are raucously funny moments though, Shane describing how he painted himself blue on tour in New Zealand after Maori ghosts had persauded him to redecorate his hotel room, or where he's trying to persaude Victoria that Brandy is a truck load more deadly than crack cocaine.
His memories of childhood Ireland are intense as well, and his sensitive and depthy knowledge of Irish literature reveal a very clever man, who really never recovered from the break up of his beloved Pogues, which is evident in the bitter way he talks about them.
If your looking for a biography in the classic sense, this isn't it but then Shane is not exactly the 'classic' rock star celebrity. You can feel the warmth and passion of the man though through the pages when one of his rants occasionally ignites into something special. If he's p***ing himself about Samuel Beckett wanting to play cricket for Ireland, or musing on whether he could yet be the first Irish Pope you acn't help but revere the guy. You just have to wade through a bit of drool and spittle to get to the good bits, and at paperback prices it's worth it.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
This is less a biography, more a series of conversations between the ex-Pogues singer and his girlfriend Victoria Mary Clarke. The topics range from Shane's apparently idyllic and decidedly odd childhood in Tipperary, through his experiences at the forefront of the London punk scene to his troubled relationship with the rock and roll business and the Pogues' messy disintegration. They also find time to discuss Irish literature and Shane's idiosyncratic religious beliefs, a weird amalgam of Taoism and Catholicism with a dash of 'Do what you will' thrown in. Perhaps because of the format of the book, there are plenty of interesting topics left undiscussed, but those they do cover are explored vividly and thoroughly. Victoria is also sharp - and brave - enough to confront Shane with some of his more blatant contradictions. The best bits are Shane's fond memories of his childhood and of his early success with the Pogues, the latter being the brief period of his life when his potential was being realised and his dreams coming true. The book shows Shane to be all over the place, but highly intelligent, and frequently very funny. Victoria's occasional prose may irritate, however.
11 of 13 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
It's hard to give this book five stars but at the same time, impossible not to give it anything less. Shane is such a tragic-comic figure that our heart immediately goes out to him. Whether dispelling all around him as complete charlatans; bemoaning the state of the pop world without the benefit of the Pogues, or having a go at all most everyone who doesn't measure up to his definition of a 'great bloke'... our Shane always makes for highly entertaining, if some what inconsistent reading.
Here the great-man casts his blurry eyes over everything from the importance of Irish literature, the current political problems of the country, his musical influences (everyone from the Dubliners and the Chieftains to Nick Cave and Van Morrison) and of course his infamous past discrepancies. Of course, whether or not any of this is TRUE is uncertain. Shane spins yarns with all the poetic grace of his many literary heroes, but the inconstancy of his stories (as well as the historical inaccuracies) are at times shocking. Maybe we needed a more neutral interviewer as opposed to Shane's wife Victoria Clark, who often allows herself to be argued down by the drunken rocker, instead of clearing up the facts.
This can be a problem, but as I said earlier; this is such an entertaining read that I personally can forgive the lack of clarity and instead, allow myself to be taken along on MacGowan's often-hilarious journey into the past. I'm sure there will be a better book released in the near future that will give us the true background of MacGowan and his fellow Pogues, but for the time being, I'm quite happy to revisit with this... and I'm sure you will be too. I'm gonn'a give it a four.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
MacGowan Rants
This is a must read for anyone intrigued by Shane MacGowan. Shane is credited with co-writing the book, but is less than comfortable with that. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Bob Mamrak
A definate book to read
I have got about 12 pages left of this book and I will be really sad to finish it. I love Macgowan as a musician and have always loved how contreversial and opinionated he is, this... Read more
Published on 21 Oct 2009 by Melanie
The boy from county hell
Most people who know the name Shane MacGowan probably have him pegged as a stereotypical drunken paddy, fronting The Pogues as a whirlwind of frenzied punk inspired folk music and... Read more
Published on 24 May 2009 by D. J. Franklin
The Boy from County Hell
I first saw Shane MacGowan on `The Old Grey Whistle Test' promoting the `Pogetry in Motion' e.p. with The Pogues. Read more
Published on 12 Jan 2008 by Ian Wood, Author of 'Here's 2 Absent Fathers'
Uncomfortable but compelling
They say that drunkenness brings out the truth of what you believe. It is this which makes this book so interesting Macgowan says what he thinks on a number of issues which are all... Read more
Published on 11 May 2003 by Maclennane
very, very disappointing
Basically, a series of interviews between Shane and wife. Shane holds court and all is obliginly written down. Lots of opinions, no attempts to balance this. Read more
Published on 24 Feb 2002 by tlloyd@idx.com.au
A Rant with Shane McGowan
I have two abiding impressions from this book.
One is that Shane is as well-read and intelligent as his many apologists would have us believe. Read more
One is that Shane is as well-read and intelligent as his many apologists would have us believe. Read more
Published on 11 Dec 2001
Great Book
This book is great, I take everything Shane says with a grain of salt, you know he is toasted when he is speaking,so how much could you really believe? Read more
Published on 31 Aug 2001
A lot of fun to read.
This book was a fun-filled roller coaster ride through the life and mind of one of the greatest songwriters of this or any other era. Read more
Published on 2 July 2001 by Dennis York
A quality read about a brillant songwriter
This book leaves no stone uncovered and fills the gaps for an admirer of Shane. What you see is what you get with Shane and this book illustrates this well.
Published on 25 May 2001
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