In his biography A Furious Devotion: The Life of Shane MacGowan English music journalist Richard Balls noted that, during the dark days of the late '80s, The Pogues' iconic frontman would gobble LSD and conduct imaginary conversations with the late Jimi Hendrix.
Although you'd be hard-pressed to find traces of Hendrix's influence in The Pogues' wild, romantic folk-punk, both MacGowan and co-vocalist/tin whistler player Spider Stacy were lifelong fans of the Seattle-born guitar god.
"I knew absolutely that I would never be able to play guitar like Hendrix," MacGowan wrote on Instagram in 2021. "Because he was born with it as a gift and I haven't got that gift. No amount of practice could give me that gift."
In a new interview with The Quietus, Spider Stacy hails the importance of Hendrix to the formation of the London-Irish band.
"Jimi Hendrix was really, really important to me and the close group of friends who became part of that Burton Street scene, which then led to the Pogues emerging," Stacy tells writer Patrick Clarke. "We just used to listen to him constantly. It’s just the noise of the guitar, and his whole attitude – he was just so cool. Voodoo Child was sort of an anthem for us."
"It’s possibly fair to say that my favourite Hendrix songs are actually on Axis: Bold As Love, but I think Electric Ladyland is the most ‘Jimi Hendrix’ Jimi Hendrix record," Stacey continues. "It’s the distillation. I think listening to this was the first time when you became aware of things like the crucial importance of the rhythm section. Shane loved Jimi Hendrix too. Siobhan [MacGowan, his sister] mentioned in her eulogy that when Jimi Hendrix died, Shane spent the whole day with his face turned to the wall."
Spider Stacy led a celebration of The Pogues' debut album Red Roses For Me in Dublin earlier this week, and The Pogues are reuniting in 2025 to undertake their first UK tour in 13 years, celebrating 40 years of their classic second album Rum Sodomy & the Lash.
Spider Stacv, James Fearnley and and Jem Finer will be joined by special guests for the six-date tour, which begins in Leeds on May 1, and will visit Birmingham, London, Glasgow and Manchester before closing in Newcastle on May 8.
These will be the band's first dates since the death, on November 30 last year, of their former frontman.
They will play:
May 01: Leeds O2 Academy
May 02: Birmingham O2 Academy
May 03: London O2 Academy Brixton
May 06: Glasgow Barrowland
May 07: Manchester O2 Apollo
May 08: Newcastle O2 City Hall
