Spider Stacy pays tribute to Shane MacGowan: “Heroes live forever”
Spider Stacy has paid tribute to Shane MacGowan following the passing of The Pogues frontman on November 30th, 2023, at the age of 65.
His friend and former bandmate wrote in tribute: “It’s a strange place to find myself, writing about my friend who has died, my friend without whom my life would have been utterly different. And I honestly don’t know what to write.”
The 65-year-old songwriter continued: “So much has already been said, so many beautiful, heartfelt words from people who have lost someone dear to them, a brother, a lover… someone who was besides all else such a towering figure, a genius who could shape the hopes and fears, the sad, stained glory of the human condition into such extraordinary forms, as Andrew Ranken recently wrote, ‘Those brilliant, timeless, shining songs…'”
Adding: “Maybe that’s the key. Shane, when I first got to know him, back in the dreaming turbulence of our early twenties, was always the coolest of us. He understood the essence of what made something matter, of what was real.”
As a testament to this, Stacy recalled his first tour alongside MacGowan in his Mojo statement. “Somewhere towards the end of our first tour I told Shane I thought we were the best band in the world. He scoffed. ‘Of course we fucking are’,” Stacy concluded. “Heroes live forever.”
Stacy’s is one of many touching tributes that have been made in the wake of MacGowan’s death. His close friend and professional peer, Nick Cave, with whom he collaborated on a cover of ‘What a Wonderful World’, commented to the BBC: “A true friend and the greatest songwriter of his generation. A very sad day.”
And Grain Chatten of Fontaines DC posted, “So long North Star. I will love you forever,” proof that MacGowan’s influence has transcended the generations.
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