We could not ignore alcohol in telling Shane’s story — Victoria
THE decision to turn the set of the Late Late Show into a pub as a tribute to Shane MacGowan last Friday came after a brainstorming session by a group including RTE “creative people” and a wellknown publican, according to Victoria Mary Clarke, the singer’s wife.
Speaking to the Sunday Independent this weekend, Ms Clarke said The Pogues frontman played no part in forming the idea.
“The reason the set was turned into a pub was as a tribute to Gerry O’Boyle’s bar Filthy MacNasty’s,” she explained.
“Filthy MacNasty’s was a hub of creativity and it was a place that nurtured a lot of people in those circles.
“People like Edna O’Brien gave a reading there, as did Nick Cave, Pat McCabe, even Helen Fielding — who wrote Bridget Jones’s Diary — gave her first reading there and it is rumoured that that is how she got her book deal.
“Pete Doherty worked behind the bar at Filthy’s before he became a singer. And myself and Shane had spent a lot of time there over the years.
“So it was meant to be a tribute to the literary pub.”
She said: “Between Gerry and the RTE creative people and myself we came up with the idea — because we wanted to create a set that wasn’t like the typical RTE studio. But it wasn’t Shane’s idea, it had nothing to do with him.”
Ms Clarke said censoring the subject of alcohol and drinking on the night would have done a disservice to the singer’s life story and body of work and would have ignored an intrinsic part of his life. And she said that the singer was also honest about its effects.
“Shane often wrote about people who were living that lifestyle. He wrote about drinking very honestly and he never whitewashed it. He could never ever be accused of glamorising it. No one would ever want to be the couple in Fairytale of New York, for example, no one would want that for themselves.”
She explained that ignoring alcohol on the night “would leave out a lot of what Shane wrote about in his songs”.
If MacGowan’s drinking had been ignored, “it would have been someone else’s story”, she said.
The programme was partially set in an on-set bar, where MacGowan’s musical career was celebrated.
Ryan Tubridy was filmed making a cheers gesture to the singer with a pint of Guinness while MacGowan held his pint. No drinking was filmed and the station never gave any indication it would take place, but Alcohol Action Ireland (AAI) criticised the segment for the message it said it was sending to the public.
RTE issued free publicity shots yesterday showing
Tubridy and MacGowan holding pints of Guinness in a ‘‘cheers’’ gesture, but later claimed that this image was not approved for use.
An RTE spokeswoman said: “The Shane MacGowan segment of the Late Late Show was in a bar room setting, as such locations were a major feature of Shane’s musical career and a backdrop to his music and lyrics.
“These songs were discussed and performed on the show and the alcohol on set was in context with the performances and conversations involved.”