THE POGUES
''JUST LOOK THEM STRAIGHT IN THE EYE AND SAY... POGUE MAHONE!!: THE POGUES BOX SET, DISC ONE''
2008
349:11
DISC ONE (65:23)
The Kerry Polka
(1987, previously unreleased) (d)
[Trad arr Woods, Fearnley, Chevron, Finer, MacGowan, Stacy, Hunt, Ranken]
Produced by The Pogues
The Rocky Road To Dublin
(1984, previously unreleased) (a)
[Trad arr Fearnley, Finer, MacGowan, Stacy, O'Riordan, Ranken]
Produced by Stan Brennan, Engineered by Richard Preston
Boys From The County Hell
(1984, "Radio-friendly" version of Stiff single) (a)
[S. MacGowan]
Produced by Stan Brennan, Engineered by Craig Thompson and Nick Robbins
NW3
(1987, previously unreleased) (d)
[S. MacGowan]
Produced by The Pogues
The Donegal Express/The Hen and the Cock are in Carrickmacross
(d)
(c.1991, rehearsal recording, previously unreleased)
[S. MacGowan] / [Trad arr Finer, MacGowan, Hunt, Woods, Fearnley, Chevron, Stacy, Ranken]
Produced by The Pogues and David Jordan
Do You Believe In Magic?
(1985, outtake from Poguetry In Motion EP sessions, rough mix, previously unreleased) (c)
[Sebastian / Yanovsky]
Produced by Elvis Costello
Hot Asphalt
(1992, previously unreleased) (f)
[E. MacColl]
Produced by The Pogues
Danny Boy
(BBC John Peel Show, December 4, 1984, previously unreleased) (a)
[F. Wetherley / arr. MacGowan, Finer, Fearnley, Stacy, Ranken, O'Riordan]
Maggie May
(1987, previously unreleased) (d)
[R. Stewart / M. Quittenton]
Produced by The Pogues
Haunted
(1986, from the movie and sountrack album Sid And Nancy, also released as a 7" and 12" single) (c)
[S. MacGowan]
Produced by Craig Leon, assisted by Cassell Webb
The Travelling People
(c.1991, rehearsal recording, previously unreleased) (d)
[E. MacColl]
Produced by The Pogues and David Jordan
Eve Of Destruction
(1990, outtake from the Hell's Ditch album sessions, previously unreleased) (d)
[P. F. Sloan]
Produced by Joe Strummer, Engineered by Paul Cobbold
My Baby's Gone
(1992 Demo, previously unreleased) (f)
[A. Ranken / J. Finer]
Produced by The Pogues
North Sea Holes
(1992, previously unreleased) (f)
[E. MacColl]
Produced by The Pogues
Garbo (aka In And Out)
(1990, from the movie and soundtrack release of Garbo) (d)
[S. MacGowan / J. Finer]
Produced by Jem Finer
The Last Of McGee
(1990, outtake from the Hell's Ditch album sessions, previously unreleased) (d)
[J. Finer]
Produced by Joe Strummer, Engineered by Paul Cobbold
Afro-Cuban Be-Bop
(Alt. Mix) (from the movie I Hired A Contract Killer, 1990, made during the Hell's Ditch sessions, this version previously unreleased) (d)
Joe Strummer and the Astro-Physicians
[J. Strummer]
Produced by Joe Strummer, Remixed by Simon Willey
Young Ned Of The Hill (Dub Version)
(1989, from the CD single Misty Morning Albert Bridge) (d)
[T. Woods / R. Kavana]
Produced by Steve Lillywhite, Engineered by Chris Dickee, assisted by Nick Lacey
Pinned Down / I'm Alone In The Wilderness
(1990, outtake from the Hell's Ditch album sessions, previously unreleased) (d)
[S. MacGowan] / [J. Hill]
Produced by Joe Strummer, Engineered by Paul Cobbold
When The Ship Comes In
(1994 Demo, previously unreleased) (g)
[B. Dylan]
Produced by The Pogues
Waxies Dargle
(1985, Live in Sweden, previously unreleased) (b)
[Trad arr Fearnley, Chevron, Finer, MacGowan, Stacy, Ranken, O'Riordan]
Produced by Paul Scully
***************
DISC TWO (68:19)
Repeal Of The Licensing Laws
(1983 Demo, previously unreleased) (a)
[P. Stacy]
Produced by The Pogues, Recorded by Justin Ward, Remixed (2007) by Nick Robbins and Rob Kyloch
Dark Streets Of London
(1983 Demo, previously unreleased) (a)
[S. MacGowan]
Produced by The Pogues, Recorded by Justin Ward, Remixed (2007) by Nick Robbins and Rob Kyloch
Greenland Whale Fisheries
(1983 Demo, previously unreleased) (a)
[Trad arr MacGowan, Ranken, Finer, Fearnley, Stacy, O'Riordan]
Produced by The Pogues, Recorded by Justin Ward, Remixed (2007) by Nick Robbins and Rob Kyloch
Streams of Whiskey
(1983 Demo, previously released on Poguevision DVD/VHS) (a)
[S. MacGowan]
Produced by The Pogues, Recorded by Justin Ward, Remixed (2007) by Nick Robbins and Rob Kyloch
The Auld Triangle
(BBC John Peel Show, April 10, 1984, previously unreleased) (a)
[B. Behan]
Poor Paddy On The Railway
(BBC David "Kid" Jensen Show, June 21, 1984, previously unreleased) (a)
[Trad arr MacGowan, Ranken, Finer, Fearnley, Stacy, O'Riordan]
Sea Shanty
(1984 Demo, previously unreleased) (a)
[S. MacGowan]
Produced by Stan Brennan, Engineered by Richard Preston
Transmetropolitan
(1984 Demo, previously unreleased) (a)
[S. MacGowan]
Produced by Stan Brennan, Engineered by Richard Preston
Kitty
(1984 Demo, previously unreleased) (a)
[Trad arr MacGowan, Ranken, Finer, Fearnley, Stacy, O'Riordan]
Produced by Stan Brennan, Engineered by Richard Preston
Boys From The County Hell
(BBC David "Kid" Jensen Show, June 21, 1984, previously unreleased) (a)
[S. MacGowan]
Connemara, Let's Go! (aka Down In The Ground Where The Dead Men Go)
(1984 Demo, previously unreleased) (a)
[S. MacGowan]
Produced by Stan Brennan, Engineered by Richard Preston
Billy's Bones
(BBC Janice Long Show, July 3, 1985, previously unreleased) (b)
[S. MacGowan]
The Old Main Drag
(BBC Janice Long Show, July 3, 1985, previously unreleased) (b)
[S. MacGowan]
Sally Maclennane
(BBC John Peel Show, December 4, 1984, previously unreleased) (a)
[S. MacGowan]
The Town That Never Sleeps
(c. 1986, previously unreleased) (c)
[J. Finer]
Produced by The Pogues and Nick Robbins
Something Wild
(c. 1986, previously unreleased) (c)
[S. MacGowan]
Produced by The Pogues and Nick Robbins
Driving Through The City
(c. 1986, previously unreleased) (c)
[S. MacGowan]
Produced by The Pogues and Nick Robbins
Rainy Night In Soho
("Oboe version", released on the North American editions of the Poguetry In Motion EP, MCA Records, February 1986) (c)
[S. MacGowan]
Produced by Elvis Costello, Mixed by Elvis Costello, Philip Chevron and Nick Robbins
Fairytale Of New York
(extract from 1st Demo, c. 1986, previously unreleased) (c)
[S. MacGowan / J. Finer]
Produced by Elvis Costello and The Pogues, Engineered by Nick Robbins
Fairytale Of New York
(extract from 2nd Demo, c. 1986, previously unreleased) (c)
[S. MacGowan / J. Finer]
Produced by Elvis Costello and The Pogues, Engineered by Nick Robbins
Fairytale Of New York
(extract from 3rd Demo, 1987, previously unreleased) (d)
[S. MacGowan / J. Finer]
Produced by The Pogues
Navigator
(live, Sweden 1985, previously unreleased) (b)
[P. Gaston]
Produced by Paul Scully
***************
DISC THREE (64:48)
The Aria
(c. 1864, previously unreleased) (d)
[J. Finer]
Produced by Jem Finer
The Good, The Bad and the Ugly
(1987, from the original soundtrack LP of the movie Straight To Hell) (c)
[E. Morricone]
Produced by David Jordan
Haunted
(1986 Demo, previously unreleased) (c)
[S. MacGowan]
Produced by The Pogues, Engineered by Nick Robbins
Love Theme from Sid And Nancy
(1986, outtake from the Sid And Nancy soundtrack recordings, unused and previously unreleased) (c)
[J. Finer]
Produced by The Pogues, Engineered by Nick Robbins
Junk Theme
(1986, from the soundtrack album of Sid And Nancy) (c)
[J. Finer]
Produced by David Jordan
Glued Up And Speeding
(1986, from the sountrack of the movie Sid And Nancy, previously unreleased) (c)
[P. Stacy]
Produced by The Pogues, Engineered by Nick Robbins
Paris
(1986, from the soundtrack of the movie Sid And Nancy, previously unreleased) (c)
[J. Finer]
Produced by The Pogues, Engineered by Nick Robbins
A Needle For Paddy Garcia
(1986, from the soundtrack of the movie Sid And Nancy, previously unreleased) (c)
[J. Finer]
Produced by The Pogues, Engineered by Nick Robbins
JB 57
(1986, outtake from the Sid And Nancy soundtrack recordings, unused and previously unreleased) (c)
[J. Finer]
Produced by The Pogues, Engineered by Nick Robbins
Bowery Snax / Spiked
(1986, from the soundtrack of the movie Sid And Nancy, previously unreleased) (c)
[J. Finer] / [J. Finer/P. Chevron]
Produced by The Pogues, Engineered by Nick Robbins
Hot Dogs With Everything
(1986, from the soundtrack of the movie Sid And Nancy and previously on 12" of Haunted) (c)
[S. MacGowan]
Produced by David Jordan
Rince Del Emplacada
(c. 1987, previously unreleased) (d)
[S. MacGowan]
Produced by The Pogues
The Rake At The Gates Of Hell
(BBC Janice Long Show, October 10, 1986, previously unreleased) (d)
[S. MacGowan]
Turkish Song Of The Damned
(BBC Janice Long Show, October 10, 1986, previously unreleased) (d)
[S. MacGowan / J. Finer]
If I Should Fall From Grace With God
(BBC Janice Long Show, October 10, 1986, previously unreleased) (d)
[S. MacGowan]
Battle March
(1987 Demo, previously unreleased) (d)
[T. Woods]
Produced by The Pogues
Lullaby Of London
(1987 Demo, previously unreleased) (d)
[S. MacGowan]
Produced by The Pogues
Shanne Bradley
(1987 Demo, previously unreleased) (d)
[S. MacGowan]
Produced by The Pogues
Streets Of Sorrow
(1987 Demo, previously unreleased) (d)
[T. Woods]
Produced by The Pogues
Thousands Are Sailing (Extract)
(1987, backing track with guide vocal, from the If I Should Fall From Grace With God sessions, previously unreleased) (d)
[P. Chevron]
Produced by Steve Lillywhite, Engineered by Chris Dickie, Roy Spong, Nick Lacey
The Balinalee
(1987, outtake from the If I Should Fall From Grace With God recording sessions, previously unreleased) (d)
[S. MacGowan]
Produced by Steve Lillywhite, Engineered by Chris Dickie, Roy Spong, Nick Lacey
Nicaragua Libré
(1987, outtake from the If I Should Fall From Grace With God recording sessions, previously unreleased) (d)
[Lyrics: P. Stacy / Music: Trad. arr Stacy / Chevron]
Produced by Steve Lillywhite, Engineered by Chris Dickie, Roy Spong, Nick Lacey
Japan
(1988, live in Tokyo, previously unreleased) (d)
[P. Sanders]
Produced by Paul Scully
***************
DISC FOUR (77:38)
Sally Maclennane
(live at Barrowlands, Glasgow, 17/19 December, 1987) (d)
[S. MacGowan]
Produced by Steve Lillywhite
A Pair Of Brown Eyes
(live at Barrowlands, Glasgow, 17/19 December, 1987) (d)
[S. MacGowan]
Produced by Steve Lillywhite
Kitty
(live at Barrowlands, Glasgow, 17/19 December, 1987) (d)
[Trad arr MacGowan, Fearnley, Hunt, Woods, Ranken, Stacy, Chevron, Finer]
Produced by Steve Lillywhite
Maggie May
(live at Barrowlands, Glasgow, 17/19 December, 1987) (d)
[R. Stewart / M. Quittenton]
Produced by Steve Lillywhite
Dirty Old Town
(live at Barrowlands, Glasgow, 17/19 December, 1987) (d)
[E. MacColl]
Produced by Steve Lillywhite
The Sickbed of Cuchulainn
(live at Barrowlands, Glasgow, 17/19 December, 1987) (d)
[S. MacGowan]
Produced by Steve Lillywhite
Fiesta
(1988, 7" single remix) (d)
[S. MacGowan / J. Finer]
Produced by Steve Lillywhite, Engineered by Chris Dickie, Roy Spong, Nick Lacey
If I Should Fall From Grace With God
(1988, 12" single remix) (d)
[S. MacGowan]
Produced by Steve Lillywhite, Engineered by Chris Dickie, Roy Spong, Nick Lacey
Johnny Come Lately
(1988, from the album Copperhead Road) (d)
Steve Earle
[S. Earle]
Produced by Tony Brown
Boat Train
(1987 Demo, previously unreleased) (d)
[S. MacGowan]
Produced by The Pogues
Night Train To Lorca
(1987 Demo, previously unreleased) (d)
[J. Finer]
Produced by The Pogues
The Mistlethrush
(1988, outtake from the Peace And Love album recording sessions, previously unreleased) (d)
[A. Ranken / P. Chevron]
Produced by Steve Lillywhite, Engineered by Chris Dickie, assisted by Nick Lacey
Got A Lot Of Livin' To Do
(1990, from the NME multi-artist charity compilation, The Last Temptation Of Elvis) (d)
[A. Schroeder / B. Weisman]
Produced by David Jordan
Victoria
(1989, previously unreleased) (d)
[S. MacGowan]
Produced by The Pogues and David Jordan
Murder [Version 1]
(1989, previously unreleased) (d)
[A. Ranken]
Produced by The Pogues, David Jordan and Philip Chevron
Lust For Vomit
(1989, previously unreleased) (d)
[S. MacGowan]
Produced by The Pogues and David Jordan
The Wake Of The Medusa
(1989 Demo, previously unreleased) (d)
[J. Finer]
Produced by The Pogues and David Jordan
The Black Dogs Ditch
(1990, outtake from the Hell's Ditch album recording sessions, previously unreleased) (d)
[T. Woods]
Produced by Joe Strummer, Engineered by Paul Cobbold
Aisling
(1990, outtake from the Hell's Ditch album recording sessions, previously unreleased) (d)
[S. MacGowan]
Produced by Joe Strummer, Engineered by Paul Cobbold
Murder [Version 2]
(1990, outtake from the Hell's Ditch album recording sessions, previously unreleased) (d)
[A. Ranken]
Produced by Joe Strummer, Engineered by Paul Cobbold
Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah
(1989, 12" single remix) (d)
[S. MacGowan]
Produced by Steve Lillywhite, Engineered by Chris Dickie, assisted by Nick Lacey
Maidrín Rua
(1990, outtake from the Hell's Ditch album recording sessions, previously unreleased in full) (d)
[Trad arr Woods, Chevron, Finer, Fearnley, Ranken, Stacy, Hunt, MacGowan]
Produced by Joe Strummer, Engineered by Paul Cobbold
Johnny Come Lately
(live 1989, previously unreleased) (d)
[S. Earle]
Produced by Paul Scully
***************
DISC FIVE (73:03)
Johnny Was
(17/11/1989 soundcheck, Gothenburg, Sweden, previously unreleased)
Sexy Bongo
[A. Ranken / P. Chevron / D. Hunt / J. Finer / J. Fearnley]
Produced by Paul Scully
Miss Otis Regrets/Just One Of Those Things
(from the Red Hot And Blue multi-artist album, 1990) (d)
The Pogues and Kirsty MacColl
[C. Porter]
Produced by Steve Lillywhite
All The Tears That I Cried
(from the CD single My Affair, 1991) (d)
Kirsty MacColl
[K. MacColl / M. E. Nevin]
Produced by Steve Lillywhite
The One And Only
(from the album Electric Landlady, 1991) (d)
Kirsty MacColl
[K. MacColl / M. E. Nevin]
Produced by Steve Lillywhite
Afro-Cuban Be-Bop (Single version)
(from the movie I Hired A Contract Killer, released as a 7" single by Villealfa Film Productions record label, 1990) (d)
Joe Strummer and the Astro-Physicians
[J. Strummer]
Produced by Joe Strummer
Turkish Song Of The Damned
(live at the Forum, London, 12 December 1991) (e)
The Pogues featuring Joe Strummer
[S. MacGowan / J. Finer]
Produced by The Pogues and Paul Scully, Mixed by Chris Dickie and Paul Scully
London Calling
(live at the Forum, London, 12 December 1991) (e)
The Pogues featuring Joe Strummer
[J. Strummer / M. Jones]
Produced by The Pogues and Paul Scully, Mixed by Chris Dickie and Paul Scully
I Fought The Law
(live at the Forum, London, 12 December 1991) (e)
The Pogues featuring Joe Strummer
[S. Curtis]
Produced by The Pogues and Paul Scully, Mixed by Chris Dickie and Paul Scully
The Girl From The Wadi-Hammamat
(1992 Demo, previously unreleased) (f)
[A. Ranken / J. Finer]
Produced by The Pogues
Moving To Moldova
(1992 Demo, previously unreleased) (f)
[J. Fearnley / T. Woods]
Produced by The Pogues
Call My Name
(outtake from Pogue Mahone album, 1995, previously unreleased) (g)
[D. Hunt]
Produced by Steve Brown
The Sun And The Moon
(1994 Demo, previously unreleased) (g)
[P. Stacy / J. Clarke]
Produced by The Pogues
Living In A World Without Her
(1994 Demo, previously unreleased) (g)
[D. Hunt / J. McNally]
Produced by The Pogues
Who Said Romance Is Dead?
(1994 Demo, previously unreleased) (g)
[J. Finer]
Produced by The Pogues
Sound Of The City Night
(1994 Demo, previously unreleased) (g)
[J. Finer]
Produced by The Pogues
Four O'Clock In The Morning
(1994 Demo, previously unreleased) (g)
[A. Ranken]
Produced by The Pogues
The Star Of The County Down
(live at Brixton Academy, London, 21 or 22 December, 2001, previously unreleased) (d)
[Trad arr Ranken, Stacy, Woods, Hunt, Chevron, Fearnley, Finer, MacGowan]
Produced by Nick Robbins and Rob Kyloch
White City
(live at Brixton Academy, London, 21 or 22 December, 2001, previously unreleased) (d)
[S. MacGowan]
Produced by Nick Robbins and Rob Kyloch
Medley: The Recruiting Sergeant / The Rocky Road To Dublin / The Galway Races
(live at Brixton Academy, London, 21 or 22 December, 2001, previously unreleased) (d)
[Trad. arr Fearnley, Woods, Finer, Hunt, Chevron, Stacy, MacGowan, Ranken]
Produced by Nick Robbins and Rob Kyloch
The Parting Glass/Lord Santry's Fairest Daughter
(live at Brixton Academy, London, 21 or 22 December, 2001, previously unreleased) (d)
[Trad arr MacGowan, Finer, Fearnley, Stacy, Chevron, Ranken, Hunt, Woods]
Produced by Nick Robbins and Rob Kyloch
***************
The Pogues
(a) Shane MacGowan, Spider Stacy, Jem Finer, James Fearnley, Andrew Ranken, Cait O'Riordan
(b) Shane MacGowan, Spider Stacy, Jem Finer, James Fearnley, Andrew Ranken, Cait O'Riordan, Philip Chevron
(c) Shane MacGowan, Spider Stacy, Jem Finer, James Fearnley, Andrew Ranken, Cait O'Riordan, Philip Chevron, Terry Woods
(d) Shane MacGowan, Spider Stacy, Jem Finer, James Fearnley, Andrew Ranken, Philip Chevron, Terry Woods, Darryl Hunt.
(e) Joe Strummer, Spider Stacy, Jem Finer, James Fearnley, Andrew Ranken, Philip Chevron, Terry Woods, Darryl Hunt.
(f) Spider Stacy, Jem Finer, James Fearnley, Andrew Ranken, Philip Chevron, Terry Woods, Darryl Hunt
(g) Spider Stacy, Jem Finer, Andrew Ranken, Darryl Hunt, James McNally, David Coulter, Jamie Clarke
Line up lists indicate what the constitution of the band was at the time of recording, and does not necessarily suggest that all members were present on that particular recording.
***************
ABOUT THE ALBUM
By Official Website
Compiled by The Pogues with track by track annotations from Phil Chevron, there are a bountiful 109 tracks from 1983 demos (pre-dating their first recordings for Stiff Records) through to live recordings from 2001 when The Pogues re-convened for a series of memorable live shows for the first time since they disbanded in 1996.
Just Look Them Straight In The Eye is an absolute treasure trove of unreleased recordings for all Pogues fans, spanning their entire career and featuring rehearsal recordings, b-sides, out-takes, rare mixes, BBC sessions plus recordings with Steve Earle, Joe Strummer and, of course, Kirsty MacColl.
Alongside these are unreleased soundtrack recordings from Sid and Nancy, Garbo and Straight To Hell, alternate versions of Pogues' classics like "Fairy Tale Of New York" and "Rainy Night In Soho" and a generous selection of live recordings. These include full-throttle live recordings from Barrowlands, Glasgow in 1987 and The Pogues featuring Joe Strummer from the Forum in London, December 1991 where they perform Clash favourites "London Calling" and "I Fought The Law". The box set rounds off with live tracks from The Pogues' triumphant reunion shows at Brixton running up to Christmas 2001.
Including original songs never before released and covers such as the Lovin' Spoonful's "Do You Believe In Magic", Barry McGuire's "Eve of Destruction", The Faces' "Maggie May" plus more traditional fare like Ewan MacColl's "Hot Ashphalt" and "North Sea Holes", this collection presents a true alternative picture of The Pogues' irrepressible career, an extraordinarily rich addendum to their already available recorded works.
Philip Chevron has generously provided these liner notes for those buying the box set through a virtual medium (e.g. MP3) rather than the physical box set:
Philip Chevron emerges from beneath a pile of old tapes and diaries to piece together the Pogues’ hidden legacy.
So what’s all this then? A bunch of dodgy Pogues tracks that did not merit release at the time they were made? Well, that is inevitably true of some of them, though there’s always the hope that time and an apparently finite body of work will have added some lustre or curiosity value to even those hapless orphans. But it doesn’t tell the whole story. Suppose you record a couple of tracks like Ewan MacColl’s “North Sea Holes” and “Hot Asphalt” [Disc One] as demos for an intended Pogues album which never gets made? You never do record the intended “master” version of such songs because the shape of the album you do go on to make has shifted considerably. What does that make your “demos”?
Well, I suppose it renders them no longer demos but Lost Masters, as they appear nowhere else in the Pogues’ catalogue. And we found the Pogues archive, when we finally got around to scrutinising it, turned out to be full of just such items. Before, between and even during the making of our seven studio albums, there was this constant restlessness to try out new things, redevelop older ideas, and generally just try to figure out if there were any round holes which cried out to be plugged with square pegs. Some tracks were more successful, or at least more rewarding, than others. Some found themselves in the position of being helpful to the band’s development without ever seeking exposure on their own account (or in any event, not at the time they were made). Some were, simply, just fun things to do.
There are some tracks on this set about which none of us remembers very much. Nobody is quite sure, for example, why we set up a mixing desk and a Revox at our rehearsal room in North London and recorded a new song by Shane, “The Donegal Express” and another Ewan MacColl classic “The Travelling People” [both Disc One], but we’re glad we did, as the results have a sort of earthy authenticity we are widely supposed to have outgrown by 1990. A 10" bootleg single of these tracks surely qualifies as the rarest Pogues record ever. We don’t know how many acetate copies were made up, complete with special labels, but I have managed to establish that there is one copy in Germany and another in Japan, and I know this because it is the near-pristine Japanese copy we borrowed to dub from for this collection - it is so obscure that we did not even have a tape ourselves, nor have we been able to discover how it reached the hands of the bootleggers in the first place. Also into this category come such curios as “Maggie May” [Disc One], “The Aria”, “Rince Del Emplacada” [both Disc Two], and “Lust For Vomit” [Disc Four]. “Johnny Was” [Disc Five] comes from a brief episode in which Andrew, Darryl, Jem, James and myself formed our own support band - “Sexy Bongo” - for just one show in Sweden. We wrote all the material at the soundcheck and performed it that evening, never to be repeated. Our long-serving soundman Paul Scully cannot recall why he taped some of the soundcheck. Blackmail, possibly. The majority of the crowd, incidentally, had no idea who we were.
Some of our songs seemed to follow us around without ever quite finding a home. I think we all felt that “NW 3” was one of Shane’s strongest pieces of work and we kept trying to include it in albums but, for reasons that are likely to remain unclear, it was not to be. The version on here [Disc One] is the first recording we have of it, from October 1987, but certainly not the last. By the time we got to working on our fifth album, the Joe Strummer-produced Hell’s Ditch, we even finished a strong new backing track of it for that record, but it never got completed. When Shane came down to Rockfield Studios in Wales, he allocated his time there to other ideas - including the remarkable medley of Culture’s “I’m Alone in the Wilderness” with his own “Pinned Down” [Disc One]. It is perhaps a mark of how fraught with debate the track-listing on that album became (some of the saga is detailed by Carol Clerk in her biography of the band) that when, at the album’s end, I left Rockfield with Joe, a passenger in his old Morris Minor, I was so certain that “Pinned Down / Wilderness” would make the final cut that it never occurred to me it might even need an advocate.
“..............the house just wants to rock”.
Also from the Hell’s Ditch sessions come “Eve Of Destruction”, “The Last Of McGee” [Disc One], “The Black Dogs Ditch”, the unedited “MaidrÃn Rua” and the second version of “Murder”, as well as an early version of “Aisling”, later developed by Christy Moore [all Disc Four]. But we cannot represent these sessions fully without mention of the Astro-Physicians. Because Joe Strummer had accepted the job as Producer of the album at the last minute, he found himself having to squeeze a couple of other prior commitments into his time at Rockfield. Among these were the two pieces of music he had promised Aki Kaurismäki for his pitch-black comedy thriller I Hired A Contract Killer. The main song, “Burning Lights” is performed by Joe in the movie but “Afro-Cuban Be-Bop”, which is heard over the closing credits, features the Astro-Physicians, an ad hoc band formed especially for the project and containing only the Pogues. It is heard here in two versions, the original movie mix as featured on the flip side of the rare “Burning Lights” single [Disc Five] and a fuller mix, which Simon Willey made later at Lucinda Strummer’s request. [Disc One].
But the story rightly begins back in the early 1980s, when the then 6-piece Pogues set down the first recordings of what they sounded like, with the usual calling in of favours, the help of friends and some borrowed recording equipment. What is exciting about hearing the 1983 demos of “Repeal Of The Licensing Laws”, “Dark Streets of London”, “Greenland Whale Fisheries” and “Streams of Whiskey” [all Disc Two] again 25 years later - apart from the fact that, as I write, all four numbers are still in the Pogues’ show in 2008 - is how strikingly they call to mind those heady and unpredictable early shows at the Bull and Gate, the Sir George Robey, the Pindar of Wakefield, Dingwalls, the 100 Club and other London venues where the first Pogues fans gathered to celebrate and toast the health of the almost kinetic force of this band, already the leading lights in an alternative London post-punk scene which, as its almost skiffle-like ethic did not provide the soundtrack the world-weary music paper hacks demanded in this early Thatcher era, received scant media coverage.
By 1984, the demos are starting to sound just a little tidier and, with producer/manager Stan Brennan in tow, the Pogues are cutting the tracks which will persuade Stiff Records to give them a record deal. From this session come “The Rocky Road To Dublin” [Disc One], “Sea Shanty”, “Transmetropolitan”, “Kitty” and “Connemara, Let’s Go” [all Disc Two]. By now, too, The Pogues had embarked upon their sporadic live sessions for BBC Radio, a treasure trove from which we have selected “Danny Boy” [Disc One], “The Auld Triangle”, “Poor Paddy On The Railway”, “Boys From The County Hell”, “Billy’s Bones”, “The Old Main Drag”, “Sally Maclennane” [Disc Two] and “The Rake At The Gates Of Hell”, “Turkish Song Of The Damned” and “If I Should Fall From Grace With God” [Disc Three], all recorded at the BBC’s Maida Vale studios between June 1984 and October 1986.
The Stan Brennan-produced Red Roses For Me and the Elvis Costello-helmed Rum, Sodomy and the Lash arrived in 1984 and 1985 (neither album providing any outtakes of any kind) and signaled a period of extensive and exhausting touring, around Britain, then in quick succession to Germany, Scandinavia and the rest of Europe and also, by early 1986, the USA and Canada. By the start of 1987, we had come towards the end of a long period in which our recording opportunities were restricted mainly to soundtrack contributions to the Alex Cox movies Sid and Nancy [Disc Three] and Straight To Hell [see the CD Straight To Hell Returns, Big Beat Records CDWIKD 239] and some song demos - “Driving Through The City” - for Grace Jones, along with “Something Wild” and the instrumental “The Town That Never Sleeps”, both rejected for Jonathan Demme’s Something Wild [all Disc Two]. But although our joint single with the Dubliners, “The Irish Rover” was our first Top Ten hit in the UK, the long deliberations which would see our Stiff Records contract effectively bought out by Warner Music had not yet come to an end. Stiff was a flag of convenience at that point. But we also had to be circumspect about what and where we recorded, as there was always the risk that the tapes could be held hostage by one or other of competing legal factions. Before the Dubliners single, MCA released a single from Sid And Nancy, “Haunted” [Disc One] and a Stiff single from the Straight To Hell soundtrack, “The Good, The Bad and the Ugly” [Disc Three], though it was not actually in the movie, was scheduled and cancelled.
And so it was that, in early 1987, we snuck into EMI Studios at Abbey Road in London to record what was being billed as The Terry Woods Solo Album but was in fact demos for the next Pogues album. It was perhaps the worst kept secret in the London music biz at the time, but we kinda dug the subterfuge anyway. The Abbey Road tapes, because of the mythology which surrounds them, are widely supposed to be some sort of Pogues holy grail but actually, they yielded up surprisingly few goodies for this box set. In the main, they are are just not-as-good versions of the recordings we would, within three months, and with Steve Lillywhite in the Producer’s chair, begin to make in RAK Studios just down the road, for what would become If I Should Fall From Grace With God. In all but a couple of cases, Shane is still working out the lyrics, so the guide vocals are, in consequence, quite messy. But we have rescued “The Kerry Polka” [Disc One], a version of which later became part of “South Australia”, and early drafts of “Battle March”, “Streets Of Sorrow”, “Shanne Bradley” and an experimental “Lullaby Of London” [Disc Three], as well as a section of the final demo of “Fairytale Of New York”.
“’twas a wild Christmas Eve...on the West Coast of Clare”
If “NW3” made periodic returns to the recording studio without resolution, “Fairytale Of New York” [Disc Two] had a somewhat happier journey. We worked on earlier versions, with producer Elvis Costello, around the time of, and soon after, our work together on the Poguetry In Motion sessions. Poguetry, an exceptionally strong E.P. by any standards, would also render up the outtake “Do You Believe In Magic?” [Disc One] and the alternative “oboe” mix of “Rainy Night In Soho” [Disc Two], which was replaced on the E.P. by the better-known “flugelhorn” mix everywhere except North America. (The “Rainy Night” saga did not, in itself, conclude there. In 1991, Steve Lillywhite provided a new version combining fresh recording with elements of the earlier two). The Poguetry sessions had been, in the main, happy and successful, but small fissures were beginning to emerge in Shane’s relationship with Elvis. So It’s hard to tell, in the first two demo extracts (Costello plays piano on the first demo and bass on the second) how far the project could reasonably have progressed with that combination of talents. What is clear, however, is that the piece itself still needed work before it would become the most beloved Christmas song of all time. By the time we hear the third demo extract from Abbey Road in 1987, most of the elements seem largely intact, except the as-yet unscheduled Kirsty MacColl factor. By now, just months before the song is recorded in earnest, you sense a fresh confidence in the work that cannot just be caused by the fact that we have kicked it up a tone, from C to D.
The Fall From Grace album did have a couple of outtakes, in the form of “The Ballinalee” and “Nicaragua Libré” and also from those sessions, you get to hear some of “Thousands Are Sailing” with the composer’s original guide vocal, from which Shane learned, or at least adapted, the song [all Disc Three]. “The Mistlethrush” [Disc Four] is from the cutting room floor of album number four, Peace And Love, though long-rumoured lengthy acid-jazz workouts from those sessions do not actually exist. “Call My Name” [Disc Five] is the only outtake from 1995’s Pogue Mahone that has not already surfaced. Also of some interest, we hope, are demos preceding the Peace And Love album - in the form of “Boat Train” and “Night Train To Lorca”, and the Hell’s Ditch album - “Victoria”, “Murder” and “The Wake Of The Medusa” [all Disc Four]. The Waiting For Herb album is represented by demos of “My Baby’s Gone” [Disc One] and “The Girl From The Wadi-Hammamat” and an instrumental, “Moving To Moldova”, a version of which later, with lyrics, became the epic “Drunken Boat” [both Disc Five]. The demos for the final Pogue Mahone album are almost a chapter in themselves, but are marked here by “The Sun And The Moon”, “Living In A World Without Her”, “Who Said Romance Was Dead?”, “Sound Of The City Night”, “Four O’Clock In The Morning” [all Disc Five] and “When The Ship Comes In” [Disc One].
“He was a miserable skinflint, an affliction and a sore”
But in addition to all these curios, we have also found room for some previously released items which resisted, for one reason or another, inclusion on the remastered and expanded versions of our albums which we released in 2004 (UK), 2005 (Japan) and 2006 (USA). The “radio-friendly” version of “Boys From The County Hell” [Disc One] did nothing to propel that particular single into the Top 40, but it did set down the first marker in a long-running squabble between the Pogues and the British broadcasting establishment about lyrical propriety. This reached its nadir in December 2007 when, after 20 years of generous airplay which had helped the single “Fairytale Of New York” into the Top 40 on five separate occasions (all but one of them in the Top 5), the BBC suddenly developed qualms about the words “scumbag” and “faggot”. It was a preposterous and short-lived ban, and one which, we were delighted to discover, caused even more music fans to buy or download the track, but here’s where the whole sorry saga began - a squeamish, though perhaps slightly more substantial objection to the words “he was a miserable bollocks and a bitch’s bastard’s whore”. By the time the band recorded a version of the song for the David Jensen radio show in 1984 [Disc Two], Shane had begun to substitute just a generally disapproving yelp for the offending Anglo-Saxon words. It’s a tough job keeping up with the prevailing morality, not least when you’re in the vanguard of those who don’t like where the goalposts are. Special singles edits or, indeed, extensions, were made for several of our singles and of these numerous items, we have included the single mix of “Fiesta”, the 12" extensions of “If I Should Fall From Grace With God” and “Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah” [all Disc Four], not forgetting the “dub” version of “Young Ned Of The Hill” [Disc One]. This seemed like a good moment to gather up “Garbo”, from the Australian film of the same name [Disc One]. Also present are the tracks we recorded for two charity projects, “Got A Lot Of Livin’ To Do” [Disc Four] and, with Kirsty MacColl, “Miss Otis Regrets / Just One Of Those Things” [Disc Five]. La Kirsty also booked us as her band on a session which resulted in “All The Tears That I Cried” and “The One And Only” [both Disc Five]. Two years earlier, Steve Earle had done the same for “Johnny Come Lately” [Disc Four].
There could not, perhaps, be a Pogues Box Set that did not make room for some live recordings, so we have included all six live recordings made at Glasgow in December 1987, which were found dotted around b sides and CD singles for a time [Disc Four]. What a mad week that was at Barrowlands as “Fairytale” climbed tantalisingly to almost the top of the Christmas Top 40! You will also find three selections from the memorable period when Joe Strummer was our lead singer [Disc Five]. Our collection ends with the four selections which, for reasons of space, were omitted from the 2001 live disc on The Pogues: The Ultimate Collection. [Disc Five]. But also, sprinkled around the five discs, are some slightly unusual live recordings not heard before, including a version of Pharaoah Sanders’ “Japan” which we only ever played in that country [Disc Three] and our own live version of Steve Earle’s “Johnny Come Lately”, sung by Spider [Disc Four].
Well, that’s it. There’s no more. Well, there is actually, but even The Pogues reserve the right to keep private some of our less than glorious moments!
***************
BIOGRAPHY/AMG
By Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Red Roses for Me
By demonstrating that the spirit of punk could live in traditional Irish folk music, the Pogues were one of the most radical bands of the mid-'80s. Led by Shane MacGowan, whose slurred, incomprehensible voice often disguised the sheer poetry of his songs, the Pogues were undeniably political -- not only were many of their songs explicitly in favor of working-class liberalism, but the wild, careening sound of their punk-injected folk was implicitly radical. While the band was clearly radical, they also had a wickedly warped sense of humor, which was abundantly clear on their biggest hit, the fractured Christmas carol "Fairy Tale of New York." The group's first three albums -- Red Roses for Me, Rum Sodomy & the Lash, If I Should Fall from Grace with God -- were widely praised in both Britain and America, and by 1988 they had earned substantial cult followings in both countries. Yet MacGowan's darkly romantic, wasted lifestyle, which was so key to their spirit and success, ultimately proved to be their downfall. By the end of the decade, he had fallen deep into alcoholism and drug addiction, forcing the band to fire him if they wanted to survive. The Pogues carried on without him in the early '90s, playing to a slowly shrinking audience before finally disbanding in 1996.
MacGowan, an Irish punk inspired by the Clash, formed the Pogues in 1982 after playing with the London-based punk band the Nipple Erectors, a group that was later called the Nips. MacGowan met Spider Stacy in a London tube station, where Stacy was playing a tin whistle. The two began working together, drafting former Nip Jim Fearnley to play guitar. Naming themselves Pogue Mahone -- a Gaelic term meaning "kiss my ass" -- the trio began playing traditional Irish tunes in London pubs and streets, eventually adding Jem Finer (banjo, guitar), Andrew David Ranken (drums), and Cait O'Riordan (bass) to make it a full band. As the group developed into a sextet, they added MacGowan's original songs to their repertoire, and began earning a reputation as a wild, drunken, and exciting live act. Shortening their name to the Pogues, the group released an independent single, "Dark Streets of London," in early 1984 and supported the Clash on their summer tour. By the fall, they had signed with Stiff Records and had released their acclaimed debut Red Roses for Me. The album was a critical hit, establishing the Pogues as one of the most vital, and certainly one of the most political, bands in Britain. Early in 1985, they added guitarist Philip Chevron and recorded Rum Sodomy & the Lash with producer Elvis Costello. The album was an underground success and was widely praised, especially for MacGowan's songwriting -- not only in the U.K., but also in the U.S., where they were becoming college radio staples. Instead of following Rum Sodomy & the Lash with a new album, the Pogues took nearly a full-year hiatus from recording, releasing the Poguetry in Motion EP in 1986 and appearing in Alex Cox's film Straight to Hell in 1987. By 1988, O'Riordan had left the band to marry Costello, and she was replaced by Darryl Hunt; banjoist Terry Woods was also added to the band. Early in 1988, they signed to Island Records and released the Steve Lillywhite-produced If I Should Fall from Grace with God later that year. The album became the group's biggest hit, generating the number two U.K. single "Fairytale of New York," which featured vocalist Kirsty MacColl.
Peace and Love
Although the Pogues were peaking in popularity, MacGowan's relentless drug and alcohol abuse was beginning to cripple the band. Although neither the 1989 hit single "Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah" or Peace & Love (also 1989) were noticeably affected by his excesses, MacGowan missed the Pogues' prestigious opening dates in 1988 for Bob Dylan and stalked the stage like a madman during a pivotal Saturday Night Live performance. By 1990's Hell's Ditch, Spider Stacy and Jem Finer began singing the bulk of the Pogues' material. Despite positive reviews, Hell's Ditch was a flop, and the group wasn't able to support the record because of MacGowan's behavior. Consequently, he was asked to leave the band in 1991; three years later, he returned with a new band, the Popes. For subsequent tours, the Clash's Joe Strummer filled in as lead vocalist, but by the time the band recorded their comeback, Waiting for Herb, in 1993, Stacy had become the permanent vocalist. Waiting for Herb was kindly reviewed, yet was also ignored, as was 1995's Pogue Mahone. The following year, the Pogues announced they were disbanding after 14 years in the business. They stayed dormant for the rest of the '90s while MacGowan's work with the Popes slowly came to an end and other members sought their own creative avenues. In 2001, the group made amends with MacGowan and reunited for a short British tour. This goodwill carried through the next decade as the group continued to play short international tours and make one-off appearances eventually releasing a box set of rarities (Just Look Them Straight in the Eye and Say....POGUE MAHONE!!) in 2008 and a live album (The Pogues in Paris: 30th Anniversary Concert) in 2012. Just prior to the release of their career-spanning 30 Years box set in 2013, the group's longtime guitarist Philip Chevron passed away from esophageal cancer. Chevron was the author of one of the Pogues' most revered songs, "Thousands Are Sailing," and had become a sort of unofficial spokesperson for the band in its later period.
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''JUST LOOK THEM STRAIGHT IN THE EYE AND SAY... POGUE MAHONE!!: THE POGUES BOX SET, DISC ONE''
2008
349:11
DISC ONE (65:23)
The Kerry Polka
(1987, previously unreleased) (d)
[Trad arr Woods, Fearnley, Chevron, Finer, MacGowan, Stacy, Hunt, Ranken]
Produced by The Pogues
The Rocky Road To Dublin
(1984, previously unreleased) (a)
[Trad arr Fearnley, Finer, MacGowan, Stacy, O'Riordan, Ranken]
Produced by Stan Brennan, Engineered by Richard Preston
Boys From The County Hell
(1984, "Radio-friendly" version of Stiff single) (a)
[S. MacGowan]
Produced by Stan Brennan, Engineered by Craig Thompson and Nick Robbins
NW3
(1987, previously unreleased) (d)
[S. MacGowan]
Produced by The Pogues
The Donegal Express/The Hen and the Cock are in Carrickmacross
(d)
(c.1991, rehearsal recording, previously unreleased)
[S. MacGowan] / [Trad arr Finer, MacGowan, Hunt, Woods, Fearnley, Chevron, Stacy, Ranken]
Produced by The Pogues and David Jordan
Do You Believe In Magic?
(1985, outtake from Poguetry In Motion EP sessions, rough mix, previously unreleased) (c)
[Sebastian / Yanovsky]
Produced by Elvis Costello
Hot Asphalt
(1992, previously unreleased) (f)
[E. MacColl]
Produced by The Pogues
Danny Boy
(BBC John Peel Show, December 4, 1984, previously unreleased) (a)
[F. Wetherley / arr. MacGowan, Finer, Fearnley, Stacy, Ranken, O'Riordan]
Maggie May
(1987, previously unreleased) (d)
[R. Stewart / M. Quittenton]
Produced by The Pogues
Haunted
(1986, from the movie and sountrack album Sid And Nancy, also released as a 7" and 12" single) (c)
[S. MacGowan]
Produced by Craig Leon, assisted by Cassell Webb
The Travelling People
(c.1991, rehearsal recording, previously unreleased) (d)
[E. MacColl]
Produced by The Pogues and David Jordan
Eve Of Destruction
(1990, outtake from the Hell's Ditch album sessions, previously unreleased) (d)
[P. F. Sloan]
Produced by Joe Strummer, Engineered by Paul Cobbold
My Baby's Gone
(1992 Demo, previously unreleased) (f)
[A. Ranken / J. Finer]
Produced by The Pogues
North Sea Holes
(1992, previously unreleased) (f)
[E. MacColl]
Produced by The Pogues
Garbo (aka In And Out)
(1990, from the movie and soundtrack release of Garbo) (d)
[S. MacGowan / J. Finer]
Produced by Jem Finer
The Last Of McGee
(1990, outtake from the Hell's Ditch album sessions, previously unreleased) (d)
[J. Finer]
Produced by Joe Strummer, Engineered by Paul Cobbold
Afro-Cuban Be-Bop
(Alt. Mix) (from the movie I Hired A Contract Killer, 1990, made during the Hell's Ditch sessions, this version previously unreleased) (d)
Joe Strummer and the Astro-Physicians
[J. Strummer]
Produced by Joe Strummer, Remixed by Simon Willey
Young Ned Of The Hill (Dub Version)
(1989, from the CD single Misty Morning Albert Bridge) (d)
[T. Woods / R. Kavana]
Produced by Steve Lillywhite, Engineered by Chris Dickee, assisted by Nick Lacey
Pinned Down / I'm Alone In The Wilderness
(1990, outtake from the Hell's Ditch album sessions, previously unreleased) (d)
[S. MacGowan] / [J. Hill]
Produced by Joe Strummer, Engineered by Paul Cobbold
When The Ship Comes In
(1994 Demo, previously unreleased) (g)
[B. Dylan]
Produced by The Pogues
Waxies Dargle
(1985, Live in Sweden, previously unreleased) (b)
[Trad arr Fearnley, Chevron, Finer, MacGowan, Stacy, Ranken, O'Riordan]
Produced by Paul Scully
***************
DISC TWO (68:19)
Repeal Of The Licensing Laws
(1983 Demo, previously unreleased) (a)
[P. Stacy]
Produced by The Pogues, Recorded by Justin Ward, Remixed (2007) by Nick Robbins and Rob Kyloch
Dark Streets Of London
(1983 Demo, previously unreleased) (a)
[S. MacGowan]
Produced by The Pogues, Recorded by Justin Ward, Remixed (2007) by Nick Robbins and Rob Kyloch
Greenland Whale Fisheries
(1983 Demo, previously unreleased) (a)
[Trad arr MacGowan, Ranken, Finer, Fearnley, Stacy, O'Riordan]
Produced by The Pogues, Recorded by Justin Ward, Remixed (2007) by Nick Robbins and Rob Kyloch
Streams of Whiskey
(1983 Demo, previously released on Poguevision DVD/VHS) (a)
[S. MacGowan]
Produced by The Pogues, Recorded by Justin Ward, Remixed (2007) by Nick Robbins and Rob Kyloch
The Auld Triangle
(BBC John Peel Show, April 10, 1984, previously unreleased) (a)
[B. Behan]
Poor Paddy On The Railway
(BBC David "Kid" Jensen Show, June 21, 1984, previously unreleased) (a)
[Trad arr MacGowan, Ranken, Finer, Fearnley, Stacy, O'Riordan]
Sea Shanty
(1984 Demo, previously unreleased) (a)
[S. MacGowan]
Produced by Stan Brennan, Engineered by Richard Preston
Transmetropolitan
(1984 Demo, previously unreleased) (a)
[S. MacGowan]
Produced by Stan Brennan, Engineered by Richard Preston
Kitty
(1984 Demo, previously unreleased) (a)
[Trad arr MacGowan, Ranken, Finer, Fearnley, Stacy, O'Riordan]
Produced by Stan Brennan, Engineered by Richard Preston
Boys From The County Hell
(BBC David "Kid" Jensen Show, June 21, 1984, previously unreleased) (a)
[S. MacGowan]
Connemara, Let's Go! (aka Down In The Ground Where The Dead Men Go)
(1984 Demo, previously unreleased) (a)
[S. MacGowan]
Produced by Stan Brennan, Engineered by Richard Preston
Billy's Bones
(BBC Janice Long Show, July 3, 1985, previously unreleased) (b)
[S. MacGowan]
The Old Main Drag
(BBC Janice Long Show, July 3, 1985, previously unreleased) (b)
[S. MacGowan]
Sally Maclennane
(BBC John Peel Show, December 4, 1984, previously unreleased) (a)
[S. MacGowan]
The Town That Never Sleeps
(c. 1986, previously unreleased) (c)
[J. Finer]
Produced by The Pogues and Nick Robbins
Something Wild
(c. 1986, previously unreleased) (c)
[S. MacGowan]
Produced by The Pogues and Nick Robbins
Driving Through The City
(c. 1986, previously unreleased) (c)
[S. MacGowan]
Produced by The Pogues and Nick Robbins
Rainy Night In Soho
("Oboe version", released on the North American editions of the Poguetry In Motion EP, MCA Records, February 1986) (c)
[S. MacGowan]
Produced by Elvis Costello, Mixed by Elvis Costello, Philip Chevron and Nick Robbins
Fairytale Of New York
(extract from 1st Demo, c. 1986, previously unreleased) (c)
[S. MacGowan / J. Finer]
Produced by Elvis Costello and The Pogues, Engineered by Nick Robbins
Fairytale Of New York
(extract from 2nd Demo, c. 1986, previously unreleased) (c)
[S. MacGowan / J. Finer]
Produced by Elvis Costello and The Pogues, Engineered by Nick Robbins
Fairytale Of New York
(extract from 3rd Demo, 1987, previously unreleased) (d)
[S. MacGowan / J. Finer]
Produced by The Pogues
Navigator
(live, Sweden 1985, previously unreleased) (b)
[P. Gaston]
Produced by Paul Scully
***************
DISC THREE (64:48)
The Aria
(c. 1864, previously unreleased) (d)
[J. Finer]
Produced by Jem Finer
The Good, The Bad and the Ugly
(1987, from the original soundtrack LP of the movie Straight To Hell) (c)
[E. Morricone]
Produced by David Jordan
Haunted
(1986 Demo, previously unreleased) (c)
[S. MacGowan]
Produced by The Pogues, Engineered by Nick Robbins
Love Theme from Sid And Nancy
(1986, outtake from the Sid And Nancy soundtrack recordings, unused and previously unreleased) (c)
[J. Finer]
Produced by The Pogues, Engineered by Nick Robbins
Junk Theme
(1986, from the soundtrack album of Sid And Nancy) (c)
[J. Finer]
Produced by David Jordan
Glued Up And Speeding
(1986, from the sountrack of the movie Sid And Nancy, previously unreleased) (c)
[P. Stacy]
Produced by The Pogues, Engineered by Nick Robbins
Paris
(1986, from the soundtrack of the movie Sid And Nancy, previously unreleased) (c)
[J. Finer]
Produced by The Pogues, Engineered by Nick Robbins
A Needle For Paddy Garcia
(1986, from the soundtrack of the movie Sid And Nancy, previously unreleased) (c)
[J. Finer]
Produced by The Pogues, Engineered by Nick Robbins
JB 57
(1986, outtake from the Sid And Nancy soundtrack recordings, unused and previously unreleased) (c)
[J. Finer]
Produced by The Pogues, Engineered by Nick Robbins
Bowery Snax / Spiked
(1986, from the soundtrack of the movie Sid And Nancy, previously unreleased) (c)
[J. Finer] / [J. Finer/P. Chevron]
Produced by The Pogues, Engineered by Nick Robbins
Hot Dogs With Everything
(1986, from the soundtrack of the movie Sid And Nancy and previously on 12" of Haunted) (c)
[S. MacGowan]
Produced by David Jordan
Rince Del Emplacada
(c. 1987, previously unreleased) (d)
[S. MacGowan]
Produced by The Pogues
The Rake At The Gates Of Hell
(BBC Janice Long Show, October 10, 1986, previously unreleased) (d)
[S. MacGowan]
Turkish Song Of The Damned
(BBC Janice Long Show, October 10, 1986, previously unreleased) (d)
[S. MacGowan / J. Finer]
If I Should Fall From Grace With God
(BBC Janice Long Show, October 10, 1986, previously unreleased) (d)
[S. MacGowan]
Battle March
(1987 Demo, previously unreleased) (d)
[T. Woods]
Produced by The Pogues
Lullaby Of London
(1987 Demo, previously unreleased) (d)
[S. MacGowan]
Produced by The Pogues
Shanne Bradley
(1987 Demo, previously unreleased) (d)
[S. MacGowan]
Produced by The Pogues
Streets Of Sorrow
(1987 Demo, previously unreleased) (d)
[T. Woods]
Produced by The Pogues
Thousands Are Sailing (Extract)
(1987, backing track with guide vocal, from the If I Should Fall From Grace With God sessions, previously unreleased) (d)
[P. Chevron]
Produced by Steve Lillywhite, Engineered by Chris Dickie, Roy Spong, Nick Lacey
The Balinalee
(1987, outtake from the If I Should Fall From Grace With God recording sessions, previously unreleased) (d)
[S. MacGowan]
Produced by Steve Lillywhite, Engineered by Chris Dickie, Roy Spong, Nick Lacey
Nicaragua Libré
(1987, outtake from the If I Should Fall From Grace With God recording sessions, previously unreleased) (d)
[Lyrics: P. Stacy / Music: Trad. arr Stacy / Chevron]
Produced by Steve Lillywhite, Engineered by Chris Dickie, Roy Spong, Nick Lacey
Japan
(1988, live in Tokyo, previously unreleased) (d)
[P. Sanders]
Produced by Paul Scully
***************
DISC FOUR (77:38)
Sally Maclennane
(live at Barrowlands, Glasgow, 17/19 December, 1987) (d)
[S. MacGowan]
Produced by Steve Lillywhite
A Pair Of Brown Eyes
(live at Barrowlands, Glasgow, 17/19 December, 1987) (d)
[S. MacGowan]
Produced by Steve Lillywhite
Kitty
(live at Barrowlands, Glasgow, 17/19 December, 1987) (d)
[Trad arr MacGowan, Fearnley, Hunt, Woods, Ranken, Stacy, Chevron, Finer]
Produced by Steve Lillywhite
Maggie May
(live at Barrowlands, Glasgow, 17/19 December, 1987) (d)
[R. Stewart / M. Quittenton]
Produced by Steve Lillywhite
Dirty Old Town
(live at Barrowlands, Glasgow, 17/19 December, 1987) (d)
[E. MacColl]
Produced by Steve Lillywhite
The Sickbed of Cuchulainn
(live at Barrowlands, Glasgow, 17/19 December, 1987) (d)
[S. MacGowan]
Produced by Steve Lillywhite
Fiesta
(1988, 7" single remix) (d)
[S. MacGowan / J. Finer]
Produced by Steve Lillywhite, Engineered by Chris Dickie, Roy Spong, Nick Lacey
If I Should Fall From Grace With God
(1988, 12" single remix) (d)
[S. MacGowan]
Produced by Steve Lillywhite, Engineered by Chris Dickie, Roy Spong, Nick Lacey
Johnny Come Lately
(1988, from the album Copperhead Road) (d)
Steve Earle
[S. Earle]
Produced by Tony Brown
Boat Train
(1987 Demo, previously unreleased) (d)
[S. MacGowan]
Produced by The Pogues
Night Train To Lorca
(1987 Demo, previously unreleased) (d)
[J. Finer]
Produced by The Pogues
The Mistlethrush
(1988, outtake from the Peace And Love album recording sessions, previously unreleased) (d)
[A. Ranken / P. Chevron]
Produced by Steve Lillywhite, Engineered by Chris Dickie, assisted by Nick Lacey
Got A Lot Of Livin' To Do
(1990, from the NME multi-artist charity compilation, The Last Temptation Of Elvis) (d)
[A. Schroeder / B. Weisman]
Produced by David Jordan
Victoria
(1989, previously unreleased) (d)
[S. MacGowan]
Produced by The Pogues and David Jordan
Murder [Version 1]
(1989, previously unreleased) (d)
[A. Ranken]
Produced by The Pogues, David Jordan and Philip Chevron
Lust For Vomit
(1989, previously unreleased) (d)
[S. MacGowan]
Produced by The Pogues and David Jordan
The Wake Of The Medusa
(1989 Demo, previously unreleased) (d)
[J. Finer]
Produced by The Pogues and David Jordan
The Black Dogs Ditch
(1990, outtake from the Hell's Ditch album recording sessions, previously unreleased) (d)
[T. Woods]
Produced by Joe Strummer, Engineered by Paul Cobbold
Aisling
(1990, outtake from the Hell's Ditch album recording sessions, previously unreleased) (d)
[S. MacGowan]
Produced by Joe Strummer, Engineered by Paul Cobbold
Murder [Version 2]
(1990, outtake from the Hell's Ditch album recording sessions, previously unreleased) (d)
[A. Ranken]
Produced by Joe Strummer, Engineered by Paul Cobbold
Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah
(1989, 12" single remix) (d)
[S. MacGowan]
Produced by Steve Lillywhite, Engineered by Chris Dickie, assisted by Nick Lacey
Maidrín Rua
(1990, outtake from the Hell's Ditch album recording sessions, previously unreleased in full) (d)
[Trad arr Woods, Chevron, Finer, Fearnley, Ranken, Stacy, Hunt, MacGowan]
Produced by Joe Strummer, Engineered by Paul Cobbold
Johnny Come Lately
(live 1989, previously unreleased) (d)
[S. Earle]
Produced by Paul Scully
***************
DISC FIVE (73:03)
Johnny Was
(17/11/1989 soundcheck, Gothenburg, Sweden, previously unreleased)
Sexy Bongo
[A. Ranken / P. Chevron / D. Hunt / J. Finer / J. Fearnley]
Produced by Paul Scully
Miss Otis Regrets/Just One Of Those Things
(from the Red Hot And Blue multi-artist album, 1990) (d)
The Pogues and Kirsty MacColl
[C. Porter]
Produced by Steve Lillywhite
All The Tears That I Cried
(from the CD single My Affair, 1991) (d)
Kirsty MacColl
[K. MacColl / M. E. Nevin]
Produced by Steve Lillywhite
The One And Only
(from the album Electric Landlady, 1991) (d)
Kirsty MacColl
[K. MacColl / M. E. Nevin]
Produced by Steve Lillywhite
Afro-Cuban Be-Bop (Single version)
(from the movie I Hired A Contract Killer, released as a 7" single by Villealfa Film Productions record label, 1990) (d)
Joe Strummer and the Astro-Physicians
[J. Strummer]
Produced by Joe Strummer
Turkish Song Of The Damned
(live at the Forum, London, 12 December 1991) (e)
The Pogues featuring Joe Strummer
[S. MacGowan / J. Finer]
Produced by The Pogues and Paul Scully, Mixed by Chris Dickie and Paul Scully
London Calling
(live at the Forum, London, 12 December 1991) (e)
The Pogues featuring Joe Strummer
[J. Strummer / M. Jones]
Produced by The Pogues and Paul Scully, Mixed by Chris Dickie and Paul Scully
I Fought The Law
(live at the Forum, London, 12 December 1991) (e)
The Pogues featuring Joe Strummer
[S. Curtis]
Produced by The Pogues and Paul Scully, Mixed by Chris Dickie and Paul Scully
The Girl From The Wadi-Hammamat
(1992 Demo, previously unreleased) (f)
[A. Ranken / J. Finer]
Produced by The Pogues
Moving To Moldova
(1992 Demo, previously unreleased) (f)
[J. Fearnley / T. Woods]
Produced by The Pogues
Call My Name
(outtake from Pogue Mahone album, 1995, previously unreleased) (g)
[D. Hunt]
Produced by Steve Brown
The Sun And The Moon
(1994 Demo, previously unreleased) (g)
[P. Stacy / J. Clarke]
Produced by The Pogues
Living In A World Without Her
(1994 Demo, previously unreleased) (g)
[D. Hunt / J. McNally]
Produced by The Pogues
Who Said Romance Is Dead?
(1994 Demo, previously unreleased) (g)
[J. Finer]
Produced by The Pogues
Sound Of The City Night
(1994 Demo, previously unreleased) (g)
[J. Finer]
Produced by The Pogues
Four O'Clock In The Morning
(1994 Demo, previously unreleased) (g)
[A. Ranken]
Produced by The Pogues
The Star Of The County Down
(live at Brixton Academy, London, 21 or 22 December, 2001, previously unreleased) (d)
[Trad arr Ranken, Stacy, Woods, Hunt, Chevron, Fearnley, Finer, MacGowan]
Produced by Nick Robbins and Rob Kyloch
White City
(live at Brixton Academy, London, 21 or 22 December, 2001, previously unreleased) (d)
[S. MacGowan]
Produced by Nick Robbins and Rob Kyloch
Medley: The Recruiting Sergeant / The Rocky Road To Dublin / The Galway Races
(live at Brixton Academy, London, 21 or 22 December, 2001, previously unreleased) (d)
[Trad. arr Fearnley, Woods, Finer, Hunt, Chevron, Stacy, MacGowan, Ranken]
Produced by Nick Robbins and Rob Kyloch
The Parting Glass/Lord Santry's Fairest Daughter
(live at Brixton Academy, London, 21 or 22 December, 2001, previously unreleased) (d)
[Trad arr MacGowan, Finer, Fearnley, Stacy, Chevron, Ranken, Hunt, Woods]
Produced by Nick Robbins and Rob Kyloch
***************
The Pogues
(a) Shane MacGowan, Spider Stacy, Jem Finer, James Fearnley, Andrew Ranken, Cait O'Riordan
(b) Shane MacGowan, Spider Stacy, Jem Finer, James Fearnley, Andrew Ranken, Cait O'Riordan, Philip Chevron
(c) Shane MacGowan, Spider Stacy, Jem Finer, James Fearnley, Andrew Ranken, Cait O'Riordan, Philip Chevron, Terry Woods
(d) Shane MacGowan, Spider Stacy, Jem Finer, James Fearnley, Andrew Ranken, Philip Chevron, Terry Woods, Darryl Hunt.
(e) Joe Strummer, Spider Stacy, Jem Finer, James Fearnley, Andrew Ranken, Philip Chevron, Terry Woods, Darryl Hunt.
(f) Spider Stacy, Jem Finer, James Fearnley, Andrew Ranken, Philip Chevron, Terry Woods, Darryl Hunt
(g) Spider Stacy, Jem Finer, Andrew Ranken, Darryl Hunt, James McNally, David Coulter, Jamie Clarke
Line up lists indicate what the constitution of the band was at the time of recording, and does not necessarily suggest that all members were present on that particular recording.
***************
ABOUT THE ALBUM
By Official Website
Compiled by The Pogues with track by track annotations from Phil Chevron, there are a bountiful 109 tracks from 1983 demos (pre-dating their first recordings for Stiff Records) through to live recordings from 2001 when The Pogues re-convened for a series of memorable live shows for the first time since they disbanded in 1996.
Just Look Them Straight In The Eye is an absolute treasure trove of unreleased recordings for all Pogues fans, spanning their entire career and featuring rehearsal recordings, b-sides, out-takes, rare mixes, BBC sessions plus recordings with Steve Earle, Joe Strummer and, of course, Kirsty MacColl.
Alongside these are unreleased soundtrack recordings from Sid and Nancy, Garbo and Straight To Hell, alternate versions of Pogues' classics like "Fairy Tale Of New York" and "Rainy Night In Soho" and a generous selection of live recordings. These include full-throttle live recordings from Barrowlands, Glasgow in 1987 and The Pogues featuring Joe Strummer from the Forum in London, December 1991 where they perform Clash favourites "London Calling" and "I Fought The Law". The box set rounds off with live tracks from The Pogues' triumphant reunion shows at Brixton running up to Christmas 2001.
Including original songs never before released and covers such as the Lovin' Spoonful's "Do You Believe In Magic", Barry McGuire's "Eve of Destruction", The Faces' "Maggie May" plus more traditional fare like Ewan MacColl's "Hot Ashphalt" and "North Sea Holes", this collection presents a true alternative picture of The Pogues' irrepressible career, an extraordinarily rich addendum to their already available recorded works.
Philip Chevron has generously provided these liner notes for those buying the box set through a virtual medium (e.g. MP3) rather than the physical box set:
Philip Chevron emerges from beneath a pile of old tapes and diaries to piece together the Pogues’ hidden legacy.
So what’s all this then? A bunch of dodgy Pogues tracks that did not merit release at the time they were made? Well, that is inevitably true of some of them, though there’s always the hope that time and an apparently finite body of work will have added some lustre or curiosity value to even those hapless orphans. But it doesn’t tell the whole story. Suppose you record a couple of tracks like Ewan MacColl’s “North Sea Holes” and “Hot Asphalt” [Disc One] as demos for an intended Pogues album which never gets made? You never do record the intended “master” version of such songs because the shape of the album you do go on to make has shifted considerably. What does that make your “demos”?
Well, I suppose it renders them no longer demos but Lost Masters, as they appear nowhere else in the Pogues’ catalogue. And we found the Pogues archive, when we finally got around to scrutinising it, turned out to be full of just such items. Before, between and even during the making of our seven studio albums, there was this constant restlessness to try out new things, redevelop older ideas, and generally just try to figure out if there were any round holes which cried out to be plugged with square pegs. Some tracks were more successful, or at least more rewarding, than others. Some found themselves in the position of being helpful to the band’s development without ever seeking exposure on their own account (or in any event, not at the time they were made). Some were, simply, just fun things to do.
There are some tracks on this set about which none of us remembers very much. Nobody is quite sure, for example, why we set up a mixing desk and a Revox at our rehearsal room in North London and recorded a new song by Shane, “The Donegal Express” and another Ewan MacColl classic “The Travelling People” [both Disc One], but we’re glad we did, as the results have a sort of earthy authenticity we are widely supposed to have outgrown by 1990. A 10" bootleg single of these tracks surely qualifies as the rarest Pogues record ever. We don’t know how many acetate copies were made up, complete with special labels, but I have managed to establish that there is one copy in Germany and another in Japan, and I know this because it is the near-pristine Japanese copy we borrowed to dub from for this collection - it is so obscure that we did not even have a tape ourselves, nor have we been able to discover how it reached the hands of the bootleggers in the first place. Also into this category come such curios as “Maggie May” [Disc One], “The Aria”, “Rince Del Emplacada” [both Disc Two], and “Lust For Vomit” [Disc Four]. “Johnny Was” [Disc Five] comes from a brief episode in which Andrew, Darryl, Jem, James and myself formed our own support band - “Sexy Bongo” - for just one show in Sweden. We wrote all the material at the soundcheck and performed it that evening, never to be repeated. Our long-serving soundman Paul Scully cannot recall why he taped some of the soundcheck. Blackmail, possibly. The majority of the crowd, incidentally, had no idea who we were.
Some of our songs seemed to follow us around without ever quite finding a home. I think we all felt that “NW 3” was one of Shane’s strongest pieces of work and we kept trying to include it in albums but, for reasons that are likely to remain unclear, it was not to be. The version on here [Disc One] is the first recording we have of it, from October 1987, but certainly not the last. By the time we got to working on our fifth album, the Joe Strummer-produced Hell’s Ditch, we even finished a strong new backing track of it for that record, but it never got completed. When Shane came down to Rockfield Studios in Wales, he allocated his time there to other ideas - including the remarkable medley of Culture’s “I’m Alone in the Wilderness” with his own “Pinned Down” [Disc One]. It is perhaps a mark of how fraught with debate the track-listing on that album became (some of the saga is detailed by Carol Clerk in her biography of the band) that when, at the album’s end, I left Rockfield with Joe, a passenger in his old Morris Minor, I was so certain that “Pinned Down / Wilderness” would make the final cut that it never occurred to me it might even need an advocate.
“..............the house just wants to rock”.
Also from the Hell’s Ditch sessions come “Eve Of Destruction”, “The Last Of McGee” [Disc One], “The Black Dogs Ditch”, the unedited “MaidrÃn Rua” and the second version of “Murder”, as well as an early version of “Aisling”, later developed by Christy Moore [all Disc Four]. But we cannot represent these sessions fully without mention of the Astro-Physicians. Because Joe Strummer had accepted the job as Producer of the album at the last minute, he found himself having to squeeze a couple of other prior commitments into his time at Rockfield. Among these were the two pieces of music he had promised Aki Kaurismäki for his pitch-black comedy thriller I Hired A Contract Killer. The main song, “Burning Lights” is performed by Joe in the movie but “Afro-Cuban Be-Bop”, which is heard over the closing credits, features the Astro-Physicians, an ad hoc band formed especially for the project and containing only the Pogues. It is heard here in two versions, the original movie mix as featured on the flip side of the rare “Burning Lights” single [Disc Five] and a fuller mix, which Simon Willey made later at Lucinda Strummer’s request. [Disc One].
But the story rightly begins back in the early 1980s, when the then 6-piece Pogues set down the first recordings of what they sounded like, with the usual calling in of favours, the help of friends and some borrowed recording equipment. What is exciting about hearing the 1983 demos of “Repeal Of The Licensing Laws”, “Dark Streets of London”, “Greenland Whale Fisheries” and “Streams of Whiskey” [all Disc Two] again 25 years later - apart from the fact that, as I write, all four numbers are still in the Pogues’ show in 2008 - is how strikingly they call to mind those heady and unpredictable early shows at the Bull and Gate, the Sir George Robey, the Pindar of Wakefield, Dingwalls, the 100 Club and other London venues where the first Pogues fans gathered to celebrate and toast the health of the almost kinetic force of this band, already the leading lights in an alternative London post-punk scene which, as its almost skiffle-like ethic did not provide the soundtrack the world-weary music paper hacks demanded in this early Thatcher era, received scant media coverage.
By 1984, the demos are starting to sound just a little tidier and, with producer/manager Stan Brennan in tow, the Pogues are cutting the tracks which will persuade Stiff Records to give them a record deal. From this session come “The Rocky Road To Dublin” [Disc One], “Sea Shanty”, “Transmetropolitan”, “Kitty” and “Connemara, Let’s Go” [all Disc Two]. By now, too, The Pogues had embarked upon their sporadic live sessions for BBC Radio, a treasure trove from which we have selected “Danny Boy” [Disc One], “The Auld Triangle”, “Poor Paddy On The Railway”, “Boys From The County Hell”, “Billy’s Bones”, “The Old Main Drag”, “Sally Maclennane” [Disc Two] and “The Rake At The Gates Of Hell”, “Turkish Song Of The Damned” and “If I Should Fall From Grace With God” [Disc Three], all recorded at the BBC’s Maida Vale studios between June 1984 and October 1986.
The Stan Brennan-produced Red Roses For Me and the Elvis Costello-helmed Rum, Sodomy and the Lash arrived in 1984 and 1985 (neither album providing any outtakes of any kind) and signaled a period of extensive and exhausting touring, around Britain, then in quick succession to Germany, Scandinavia and the rest of Europe and also, by early 1986, the USA and Canada. By the start of 1987, we had come towards the end of a long period in which our recording opportunities were restricted mainly to soundtrack contributions to the Alex Cox movies Sid and Nancy [Disc Three] and Straight To Hell [see the CD Straight To Hell Returns, Big Beat Records CDWIKD 239] and some song demos - “Driving Through The City” - for Grace Jones, along with “Something Wild” and the instrumental “The Town That Never Sleeps”, both rejected for Jonathan Demme’s Something Wild [all Disc Two]. But although our joint single with the Dubliners, “The Irish Rover” was our first Top Ten hit in the UK, the long deliberations which would see our Stiff Records contract effectively bought out by Warner Music had not yet come to an end. Stiff was a flag of convenience at that point. But we also had to be circumspect about what and where we recorded, as there was always the risk that the tapes could be held hostage by one or other of competing legal factions. Before the Dubliners single, MCA released a single from Sid And Nancy, “Haunted” [Disc One] and a Stiff single from the Straight To Hell soundtrack, “The Good, The Bad and the Ugly” [Disc Three], though it was not actually in the movie, was scheduled and cancelled.
And so it was that, in early 1987, we snuck into EMI Studios at Abbey Road in London to record what was being billed as The Terry Woods Solo Album but was in fact demos for the next Pogues album. It was perhaps the worst kept secret in the London music biz at the time, but we kinda dug the subterfuge anyway. The Abbey Road tapes, because of the mythology which surrounds them, are widely supposed to be some sort of Pogues holy grail but actually, they yielded up surprisingly few goodies for this box set. In the main, they are are just not-as-good versions of the recordings we would, within three months, and with Steve Lillywhite in the Producer’s chair, begin to make in RAK Studios just down the road, for what would become If I Should Fall From Grace With God. In all but a couple of cases, Shane is still working out the lyrics, so the guide vocals are, in consequence, quite messy. But we have rescued “The Kerry Polka” [Disc One], a version of which later became part of “South Australia”, and early drafts of “Battle March”, “Streets Of Sorrow”, “Shanne Bradley” and an experimental “Lullaby Of London” [Disc Three], as well as a section of the final demo of “Fairytale Of New York”.
“’twas a wild Christmas Eve...on the West Coast of Clare”
If “NW3” made periodic returns to the recording studio without resolution, “Fairytale Of New York” [Disc Two] had a somewhat happier journey. We worked on earlier versions, with producer Elvis Costello, around the time of, and soon after, our work together on the Poguetry In Motion sessions. Poguetry, an exceptionally strong E.P. by any standards, would also render up the outtake “Do You Believe In Magic?” [Disc One] and the alternative “oboe” mix of “Rainy Night In Soho” [Disc Two], which was replaced on the E.P. by the better-known “flugelhorn” mix everywhere except North America. (The “Rainy Night” saga did not, in itself, conclude there. In 1991, Steve Lillywhite provided a new version combining fresh recording with elements of the earlier two). The Poguetry sessions had been, in the main, happy and successful, but small fissures were beginning to emerge in Shane’s relationship with Elvis. So It’s hard to tell, in the first two demo extracts (Costello plays piano on the first demo and bass on the second) how far the project could reasonably have progressed with that combination of talents. What is clear, however, is that the piece itself still needed work before it would become the most beloved Christmas song of all time. By the time we hear the third demo extract from Abbey Road in 1987, most of the elements seem largely intact, except the as-yet unscheduled Kirsty MacColl factor. By now, just months before the song is recorded in earnest, you sense a fresh confidence in the work that cannot just be caused by the fact that we have kicked it up a tone, from C to D.
The Fall From Grace album did have a couple of outtakes, in the form of “The Ballinalee” and “Nicaragua Libré” and also from those sessions, you get to hear some of “Thousands Are Sailing” with the composer’s original guide vocal, from which Shane learned, or at least adapted, the song [all Disc Three]. “The Mistlethrush” [Disc Four] is from the cutting room floor of album number four, Peace And Love, though long-rumoured lengthy acid-jazz workouts from those sessions do not actually exist. “Call My Name” [Disc Five] is the only outtake from 1995’s Pogue Mahone that has not already surfaced. Also of some interest, we hope, are demos preceding the Peace And Love album - in the form of “Boat Train” and “Night Train To Lorca”, and the Hell’s Ditch album - “Victoria”, “Murder” and “The Wake Of The Medusa” [all Disc Four]. The Waiting For Herb album is represented by demos of “My Baby’s Gone” [Disc One] and “The Girl From The Wadi-Hammamat” and an instrumental, “Moving To Moldova”, a version of which later, with lyrics, became the epic “Drunken Boat” [both Disc Five]. The demos for the final Pogue Mahone album are almost a chapter in themselves, but are marked here by “The Sun And The Moon”, “Living In A World Without Her”, “Who Said Romance Was Dead?”, “Sound Of The City Night”, “Four O’Clock In The Morning” [all Disc Five] and “When The Ship Comes In” [Disc One].
“He was a miserable skinflint, an affliction and a sore”
But in addition to all these curios, we have also found room for some previously released items which resisted, for one reason or another, inclusion on the remastered and expanded versions of our albums which we released in 2004 (UK), 2005 (Japan) and 2006 (USA). The “radio-friendly” version of “Boys From The County Hell” [Disc One] did nothing to propel that particular single into the Top 40, but it did set down the first marker in a long-running squabble between the Pogues and the British broadcasting establishment about lyrical propriety. This reached its nadir in December 2007 when, after 20 years of generous airplay which had helped the single “Fairytale Of New York” into the Top 40 on five separate occasions (all but one of them in the Top 5), the BBC suddenly developed qualms about the words “scumbag” and “faggot”. It was a preposterous and short-lived ban, and one which, we were delighted to discover, caused even more music fans to buy or download the track, but here’s where the whole sorry saga began - a squeamish, though perhaps slightly more substantial objection to the words “he was a miserable bollocks and a bitch’s bastard’s whore”. By the time the band recorded a version of the song for the David Jensen radio show in 1984 [Disc Two], Shane had begun to substitute just a generally disapproving yelp for the offending Anglo-Saxon words. It’s a tough job keeping up with the prevailing morality, not least when you’re in the vanguard of those who don’t like where the goalposts are. Special singles edits or, indeed, extensions, were made for several of our singles and of these numerous items, we have included the single mix of “Fiesta”, the 12" extensions of “If I Should Fall From Grace With God” and “Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah” [all Disc Four], not forgetting the “dub” version of “Young Ned Of The Hill” [Disc One]. This seemed like a good moment to gather up “Garbo”, from the Australian film of the same name [Disc One]. Also present are the tracks we recorded for two charity projects, “Got A Lot Of Livin’ To Do” [Disc Four] and, with Kirsty MacColl, “Miss Otis Regrets / Just One Of Those Things” [Disc Five]. La Kirsty also booked us as her band on a session which resulted in “All The Tears That I Cried” and “The One And Only” [both Disc Five]. Two years earlier, Steve Earle had done the same for “Johnny Come Lately” [Disc Four].
There could not, perhaps, be a Pogues Box Set that did not make room for some live recordings, so we have included all six live recordings made at Glasgow in December 1987, which were found dotted around b sides and CD singles for a time [Disc Four]. What a mad week that was at Barrowlands as “Fairytale” climbed tantalisingly to almost the top of the Christmas Top 40! You will also find three selections from the memorable period when Joe Strummer was our lead singer [Disc Five]. Our collection ends with the four selections which, for reasons of space, were omitted from the 2001 live disc on The Pogues: The Ultimate Collection. [Disc Five]. But also, sprinkled around the five discs, are some slightly unusual live recordings not heard before, including a version of Pharaoah Sanders’ “Japan” which we only ever played in that country [Disc Three] and our own live version of Steve Earle’s “Johnny Come Lately”, sung by Spider [Disc Four].
Well, that’s it. There’s no more. Well, there is actually, but even The Pogues reserve the right to keep private some of our less than glorious moments!
***************
BIOGRAPHY/AMG
By Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Red Roses for Me
By demonstrating that the spirit of punk could live in traditional Irish folk music, the Pogues were one of the most radical bands of the mid-'80s. Led by Shane MacGowan, whose slurred, incomprehensible voice often disguised the sheer poetry of his songs, the Pogues were undeniably political -- not only were many of their songs explicitly in favor of working-class liberalism, but the wild, careening sound of their punk-injected folk was implicitly radical. While the band was clearly radical, they also had a wickedly warped sense of humor, which was abundantly clear on their biggest hit, the fractured Christmas carol "Fairy Tale of New York." The group's first three albums -- Red Roses for Me, Rum Sodomy & the Lash, If I Should Fall from Grace with God -- were widely praised in both Britain and America, and by 1988 they had earned substantial cult followings in both countries. Yet MacGowan's darkly romantic, wasted lifestyle, which was so key to their spirit and success, ultimately proved to be their downfall. By the end of the decade, he had fallen deep into alcoholism and drug addiction, forcing the band to fire him if they wanted to survive. The Pogues carried on without him in the early '90s, playing to a slowly shrinking audience before finally disbanding in 1996.
MacGowan, an Irish punk inspired by the Clash, formed the Pogues in 1982 after playing with the London-based punk band the Nipple Erectors, a group that was later called the Nips. MacGowan met Spider Stacy in a London tube station, where Stacy was playing a tin whistle. The two began working together, drafting former Nip Jim Fearnley to play guitar. Naming themselves Pogue Mahone -- a Gaelic term meaning "kiss my ass" -- the trio began playing traditional Irish tunes in London pubs and streets, eventually adding Jem Finer (banjo, guitar), Andrew David Ranken (drums), and Cait O'Riordan (bass) to make it a full band. As the group developed into a sextet, they added MacGowan's original songs to their repertoire, and began earning a reputation as a wild, drunken, and exciting live act. Shortening their name to the Pogues, the group released an independent single, "Dark Streets of London," in early 1984 and supported the Clash on their summer tour. By the fall, they had signed with Stiff Records and had released their acclaimed debut Red Roses for Me. The album was a critical hit, establishing the Pogues as one of the most vital, and certainly one of the most political, bands in Britain. Early in 1985, they added guitarist Philip Chevron and recorded Rum Sodomy & the Lash with producer Elvis Costello. The album was an underground success and was widely praised, especially for MacGowan's songwriting -- not only in the U.K., but also in the U.S., where they were becoming college radio staples. Instead of following Rum Sodomy & the Lash with a new album, the Pogues took nearly a full-year hiatus from recording, releasing the Poguetry in Motion EP in 1986 and appearing in Alex Cox's film Straight to Hell in 1987. By 1988, O'Riordan had left the band to marry Costello, and she was replaced by Darryl Hunt; banjoist Terry Woods was also added to the band. Early in 1988, they signed to Island Records and released the Steve Lillywhite-produced If I Should Fall from Grace with God later that year. The album became the group's biggest hit, generating the number two U.K. single "Fairytale of New York," which featured vocalist Kirsty MacColl.
Peace and Love
Although the Pogues were peaking in popularity, MacGowan's relentless drug and alcohol abuse was beginning to cripple the band. Although neither the 1989 hit single "Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah" or Peace & Love (also 1989) were noticeably affected by his excesses, MacGowan missed the Pogues' prestigious opening dates in 1988 for Bob Dylan and stalked the stage like a madman during a pivotal Saturday Night Live performance. By 1990's Hell's Ditch, Spider Stacy and Jem Finer began singing the bulk of the Pogues' material. Despite positive reviews, Hell's Ditch was a flop, and the group wasn't able to support the record because of MacGowan's behavior. Consequently, he was asked to leave the band in 1991; three years later, he returned with a new band, the Popes. For subsequent tours, the Clash's Joe Strummer filled in as lead vocalist, but by the time the band recorded their comeback, Waiting for Herb, in 1993, Stacy had become the permanent vocalist. Waiting for Herb was kindly reviewed, yet was also ignored, as was 1995's Pogue Mahone. The following year, the Pogues announced they were disbanding after 14 years in the business. They stayed dormant for the rest of the '90s while MacGowan's work with the Popes slowly came to an end and other members sought their own creative avenues. In 2001, the group made amends with MacGowan and reunited for a short British tour. This goodwill carried through the next decade as the group continued to play short international tours and make one-off appearances eventually releasing a box set of rarities (Just Look Them Straight in the Eye and Say....POGUE MAHONE!!) in 2008 and a live album (The Pogues in Paris: 30th Anniversary Concert) in 2012. Just prior to the release of their career-spanning 30 Years box set in 2013, the group's longtime guitarist Philip Chevron passed away from esophageal cancer. Chevron was the author of one of the Pogues' most revered songs, "Thousands Are Sailing," and had become a sort of unofficial spokesperson for the band in its later period.
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