The Pogues have announced their first headline tour in a decade and their first shows since the death of vocalist and songwriter Shane MacGowan last year.
The influential Celtic punk-rock band will perform live in celebration of 40 years since their second album, Rum Sodomy and the Lash, with dates scheduled for May 2025 in Leeds, Birmingham, London, Glasgow, Manchester and Newcastle.
“The world got you down? What helps is celebrating 40 years of Rum, Sodomy and the Lash with The Pogues!” a statement shared to the band’s website said.
Original members Spider Stacy, James Fearnley and Jem Finer will apparently be joined by “special guests” to help them celebrate the album’s milestone.
Released in August 1985, Rum, Sodomy and the Lash was the Elvis Costello-produced follow-up to The Pogues’ debut, Red Roses for Me.
While it was not a commercial success, the album received rave reviews from critics and featured many of the band’s best-known works, including “A Pair of Brown Eyes”, “The Sick Bed of Cuchulainn” and MacGowan’s take on “Dirty Old Town” by Ewan MacColl.
Tickets for The Pogues tour go on general sale on 9.30am GMT on Friday 22 November – fans can gain pre-sale access by signing up to the website by 5pm on Tuesday 19 November.
The full dates announced so far are as follows:
Thursday 1 May – Leeds, O2 Academy
Friday 2 May – Birmingham, O2 Academy
Saturday 3 May – London, O2 Academy Brixton
Tuesday 6 May – Glasgow, Barrowland
Wednesday 7 May – Manchester, O2 Apollo
Thursday 8 May – Newcastle, O2 City Hall
The tour announcement comes ahead of The Pogues’ inevitable return to the charts with one of their signature songs, the Christmas-themed “Fairytale of New York”.
Featuring the late Kirsty MacColl on vocals with MacGowan, the folk ballad has re-entered the Top 75 in the UK every December since 2005, and has also made the Top 10 on several occasions.
MacGowan died on 30 November 2023, just a month before his 66th birthday (on Christmas Day).
Stacy, Fearnley and Finer previously announced that a 40th anniversary of Red Roses for Me will take place in Dublin on 17 December, featuring members of groups including Fontaines DC, The Pretenders and The Mary Wallopers.
A statement confirmed that longtime drummer Andrew Ranken would not be taking part in the reunion shows due to health issues; Fontaines DC’s Tom Cull will be standing in.
