Instant Karma!

Cave, Depp, Bono and a bevy of other big-hitters raise a glass to Shane MacGowan on his 60th birthday

Shane MacGowan, Brett Anderson, Derek Taylor, Lucy Dacus

He may be confined to a wheelchair these days after breaking his pelvis in a fall in 2015, but Shane MacGowan hasn’t forgotten how to throw a party. His 60thbirthday celebrations at Dublin’s National Concert Hall on January 15 brought together one of the most impressive musical lineups ever seen on an Irish stage.

Hosted by broadcaster John Kelly, with Terry edwards as musical director, the evening began with Glen Matlock, Spider Stacy, Jesse Malin and Blondie’s Clem Burke tearing through a set of punked-up Pogues songs. Stacy then joined fellow ex-Pogues Cait O’Riordan, Jem Finer and Terry Woods – plus Sharon Shannon and The Waterboys’ Steve Wickham – in a formidable backing band for a procession of big-name guest singers, including Damien Dempsey, Cerys Matthews, Carl Barât of The Libertines, Sinéad O’Connor, Imelda May, Bobby Gillespie, Nick Cave and Bono. Oh, and some guy called Johnny Depp turned up to play guitar.

Midway through a stirring rendition of “Summer In Siam”, Cave was joined onstage by MacGowan himself for an emotional duet. Finally, after saluting the audience and leading the assembled through “Wild Mountain Thyme”, MacGowan was handed a Lifetime Achievement Award by Irish President Michael D Higgins.

“I was blown away,” MacGowan told Uncut. “It really meant a lot to me to have all my friends sing my songs. I got sick of singing them myself! When you love and admire people like Nick Cave and Bobby Gillespie and Johnny and Finbar Furey and Big B [Bono], it is very moving to see them sing your stuff. I nearly cried when me and Nick did ‘Summer In Siam’.”

Speaking to Uncut the following week, Cave was modest about his contribution. “Well, I just sat and sang a song with a dear friend. I’ve always considered Shane to be the best, most natural, most human songwriter of our generation. And he is also a phenomenally powerful singer.

“It’s difficult to understand why sometimes, because his voice is so fucking ragged, but he has this extraordinary capacity to emote, you know, so when he sings he carries on his voice all our hopes and dreams and longings, without artifice and without effort. It was really a huge privilege to sing with Shane and to feel the incredible warmth in the room for him. My God, he is so loved.”

“It was an utter privilege to play the birthday show for Shane,” added Carl Barât. “He’s a fine fellow, a bon vivant, and a perfect poet. All in all, a most enjoyable, moving and sometimes surreal evening.”

MacGowan’s partner Victoria Mary Clarke, who helped to organise the concert, confirmed that the singer is planning to record and perform live again later this year. Sam RichaRdS