Celebrity
Shane MacGowan, Lead Singer Of The Pogues And A Laureate Of Booze And Beauty, Dies At Age 65
LONDON, England – Shane MacGowan, The Pogues’ boisterous, rabble-rousing singer and lead composer who combined traditional Irish music with the intensity and spirit of punk, died Thursday, according to his family. He was 65.
MacGowan’s songwriting and persona established him as an iconic figure in contemporary Irish culture, and some of his compositions have become classics, most notably the bittersweet Christmas ballad “Fairytale of New York,” of which Irish President Michael D. Higgins stated that it “will be listened to every Christmas for the next century or more.”
“It is with deepest sorrow and heaviest of hearts that we announce the passing of our most beautiful, darling, and dearly beloved Shane MacGowan,” his wife Victoria Clarke, sister Siobhan, and father Maurice said in a statement.
According to the statement, the musician died peacefully with his family by his side.
After being diagnosed with viral encephalitis in late 2022, the musician was hospitalized in Dublin for several months. He was released last week, just in time for his forthcoming birthday on Christmas Day.
The Pogues fused Irish folk and rock ‘n’ roll into a unique, irresistible blend, though MacGowan became known for his slurred performances as much as his passionate compositions.
Shane MacGowan, Lead Singer Of The Pogues And A Laureate Of Booze And Beauty, Dies At Age 65
His lyrics mixed scabrous and romantic elements, ranging from carousing anthems to pictures of life in the gutter to sweet love songs. “Fairytale of New York,” The Pogues’ most famous song, is a tale about down-on-their-luck immigrant lovers that begins with the rather unfestive words: “It was Christmas Eve, babe, in the drunk tank.” The duet between MacGowan’s scratchy voice and the silky tones of the late Kirsty MacColl is by far the most popular Pogues song in Ireland and the United Kingdom.
Nick Cave, a singer-songwriter, described Shane MacGowan as “a true friend and the greatest songwriter of his generation.”
The Irish president, Michael D. Higgins, stated that “his songs capture within them, as Shane would put it, the measure of our dreams.”
“His words have connected Irish people all over the globe to their culture and history, encompassing so many human emotions in the most poetic of ways,” added Higgins.
According to Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar, MacGowan’s compositions “beautifully captured the Irish experience, especially the experience of being Irish abroad.”
According to Sinn Fein President Mary Lou McDonald, “nobody told the Irish story like Shane — stories of emigration, heartache, dislocation, redemption, love, and joy.”
MacGowan was born on Christmas Day 1957 in England to Irish parents and spent his childhood in rural Ireland before returning to London. Ireland remained the everlasting focus of his imagination and longing. He grew up listening to Irish music from family and neighbors and rock, Motown, reggae, and jazz.
He was expelled from London’s renowned Westminster School and spent time in a psychiatric facility following a breakdown in his teens.
MacGowan welcomed the punk scene that erupted in the United Kingdom in the mid-1970s. He played in a band called the Nipple Erectors as Shane O’Hooligan before forming The Pogues with musicians including Jem Finer and Spider Stacey.
Shane MacGowan, Lead Singer Of The Pogues And A Laureate Of Booze And Beauty, Dies At Age 65
The Pogues blended punk’s ferocious energy with traditional Irish tunes and instruments such as banjo, tin whistle, and accordion.
“It never occurred to me that you could play Irish music to a rock audience,” MacGowan said in his 2001 biography “A Drink with Shane MacGowan,” co-written with Clarke. “And then it clicked. Start an Irish band in London that plays Irish music with a rock and roll beat. The original plan was to simply blast out classic songs, but then I started writing.”
“Red Roses for Me,” the band’s first album, was released in 1984 and contained boisterous interpretations of Irish folk tunes among originals such as “Boys from County Hell,” “Dark Streets of London,” and “Streams of Whisky.”
The band gained a loyal following and accolades from music journalists and fellow performers ranging from Bono to Bob Dylan while performing in pubs and clubs throughout London and beyond.
The songs on the following two albums, “Rum, Sodomy and the Lash” (1985) and “If I Should Fall from Grace with God” (1988), by MacGowan, ranged from raucous rousers like the latter album’s title track to ballads like “A Pair of Brown Eyes” and “The Broad Majestic Shannon.”
The band also published an EP in 1986 called “Poguetry in Motion,” which included two of MacGowan’s best tunes, “A Rainy Night in Soho” and “The Body of an American.” The latter was featured frequently in the early-2000s TV show “The Wire,” when it was performed at the funerals of Baltimore police officers.
“I wanted to make pure music that could be from any time, to make time irrelevant, to make generations and decades irrelevant,” he wrote in his autobiographical book.
The Pogues momentarily ruled the world, with sold-out tours and appearances on American television, but the band’s output and appearances became more unpredictable, owing in part to MacGowan’s troubles with drink and narcotics. He was fired by the other band members in 1991 after a spate of no-shows, notably while The Pogues were opening for Dylan. Before disbanding, the band momentarily replaced MacGowan with Clash frontman Joe Strummer.
Shane MacGowan, Lead Singer Of The Pogues And A Laureate Of Booze And Beauty, Dies At Age 65
MacGowan joined a new band, Shane MacGowan and the Popes, and released two albums: “The Snake” in 1995 and “The Crock Of Gold” in 1997. Despite his well-documented drinking problems and performances that frequently included slurred lyrics and at least one stage collapse, he reconnected with The Pogues in 2001 for a series of concerts and tours.
MacGowan struggled with health issues for years and relied on a wheelchair after breaking his pelvis a decade ago. He was well-known for his damaged, decaying teeth until he received a full set of implants in 2015 from a dental specialist who referred to the treatment as “the Everest of dentistry.”
On his 60th birthday, MacGowan got a lifetime achievement award from Ireland’s president. A celebratory concert featuring Bono, Nick Cave, Sinead O’Connor, and Johnny Depp took place at Dublin’s National Concert Hall to mark the occasion.
In an Instagram post, Clarke said, “There’s no way to describe the loss that I am feeling and the longing for just one more of his smiles that lit up my world.”
“I am blessed beyond words to have met him and to have loved him and to have been so endlessly and unconditionally loved by him and to have had so many years of life and love and joy and fun and laughter and so many adventures,” she wrote in an email.
SOURCE – (AP)
Darlington said police pulled Scheffler out of the car, pushed him up against the car and immediately placed him in handcuffs.
“Scheffler was then walked over to the police car, placed in the back, in handcuffs, very stunned about what was happening, looked toward me as he was in those handcuffs and said, ‘Please help me,’” Darlington said. “He very clearly did not know what was happening in the situation. It moved very quickly, very rapidly, very aggressively.”
Scheffler was released by police and returned to the course at 9:12 a.m. Around 9:30 a.m., he arrived at the practice area to the cheers of fans; one yelled “Free Scottie!” and more followed later wearing “Free Scottie” T-shirts.
Scheffler seemed normal, relaxed, sharing a few laughs on the driving range.
“I was never angry. I was just in shock,” Scheffler said. “I was shaking the whole time. I was shaking for like an hour. It was definitely a new feeling for me.”
AP – VOR News Image
Scottie Scheffler Arrested Outside PGA Championship, Then Returns And Climbs Leaderboard
He could see from a TV in the jail that tee times were pushed back 1 hour, 20 minutes because of the traffic situation, and realized when an officer knocked on the door and said, “Let’s go,” that he had a chance to play.
He made birdie on his first hole of the day after sticking his approach shot to 3 feet.
Darlington, the ESPN reporter, said police were initially unsure who Scheffler was. He said an officer asked him to leave, and when he identified himself as being with the media, he was told, “There’s nothing you can do. He’s going to jail.”
Darlington said another police officer later approached with a notepad and asked if he knew the name of the person they put in handcuffs.
Scheffler said he never told police who he was except to say, “I’m sorry, I’m just trying to get to my tee time.”
AP – VOR News Image
Scottie Scheffler Arrested Outside PGA Championship, Then Returns And Climbs Leaderboard
Louisville police have attracted negative national attention in recent years after the fatal shooting of Breonna Taylor in 2020 and a federal investigation into its policing practices.
A Department of Justice report released last year said Louisville officers use excessive force and conduct searches based on invalid warrants. The report said Black motorists in Louisville were more likely to be searched during traffic stops, and officers used neck restraints, police dogs and Tasers against people who posed no imminent threat.
Taylor, a 26-year-old Black woman, was shot by officers who had come to her apartment with a warrant that federal officials later said was falsified.
PGA of America, which runs the PGA Championship, offered sympathies for Mills’ family and said, “As it relates to the incident involving Scottie Scheffler, we are fully cooperating as local authorities review what took place.”
AP – VOR News Image
Scottie Scheffler Arrested Outside PGA Championship, Then Returns And Climbs Leaderboard
Scheffler has won four of his last five tournaments, including his second Masters title. He has been home in Dallas the last three weeks, waiting for the birth of his first child, a son born May 8.
Scheffler is trying to become only the fifth player since 1960 to win the first two majors of the year.
SOURCE – (AP)
CANNES, France — The Cannes Film Festival began Tuesday with the announcement of Greta Gerwig’s jury and the giving of an honorary Palme d’Or to Meryl Streep, as the French Riviera spectacle started its possibly tumultuous 77th edition.
The opening night picture, “The Second Act,” a French comedy starring Lea Seydoux, Vincent Lindon, Louis Garrel, and Raphaël Quenard, will usher in a 10-day parade of stars down Cannes’ iconic red carpet. During the opening ceremony, Streep will get her honorary Palme.
AP – VOR News Image
Cannes Kicks Off With Greta Gerwig’s Jury And A Palme D’Or For Meryl Streep
In the coming days, Cannes will debut George Miller’s “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga,” Francis Ford Coppola’s self-financed “Megalopolis,” and anticipated new films from Paolo Sorrentino, Yorgos Lanthimos, Andrea Arnold, and Kevin Costner.
However, much of this year’s Cannes controversy has occurred off-screen.
French actor Judith Godrèche accused two film directors of rape and sexual assault when she was a teenager earlier this year, and the French film industry has been grappling with probably its defining #MeToo moment since. Godrèche’s short film “Moi Aussi” will premiere on Wednesday.
When asked about #MeToo’s expansion in France, Gerwig told reporters in Cannes on Tuesday that it is progressing.
“I think people in the community of movies telling us stories and trying to change things for the better is only good,” Gerwig stated. “I’ve witnessed significant shift in the American cinema scene, and I believe it’s critical that we continue to broaden that conversation. So I believe it’s only advancing things in the right direction. Keep the lines of communication open.”
Gerwig, fresh off the success of “Barbie,” is president of the jury that will decide Cannes’ top prize, the Palme d’Or. Thierry Fremaux commended her on Monday as “the ideal director” for Cannes, citing her ability to work in both arthouse and studio films and her passion for movie history. And, “We very much liked ‘Barbie.'”
Gerwig is joined on the jury by Lily Gladstone, star of “Killers of the Flower Moon,” French actor Eva Green, Spanish filmmaker J.A. Bayona, French actor Omar Sy, Lebanese actor and director Nadine Labaki, Japanese filmmaker Hirokazu Kore-eda, Turkish screenwriter Ebru Ceylan, and Italian actor Pierfrancesco Favino.
AP – VOR News Image
Cannes Kicks Off With Greta Gerwig’s Jury And A Palme D’Or For Meryl Streep
The jurors were asked how the numerous real-world concerns outside the festival would influence their decision-making. One film in competition, Ali Abbasi’s “The Apprentice,” portrays Sebastian Stan as a youthful Donald Trump. And Labaki was asked if she was thinking about the war in Gaza.
“I truly believe that one of the tools to really change something in the situation we all live in right now, which is a situation I think is not that great, is really through art and through cinema,” Labaki stated. “It may propose a more tolerant way of seeing things and seeing each other as human beings.”
“This is why I decided that I could be here without feeling guilty as a human being,” stated Favino. “Because if we look for beauty, then we might look for peace.”
Other fears are circulating this year’s Cannes. Festival workers, frustrated with short-term contracts that make them ineligible for unemployment benefits between events, have threatened to strike.
On Monday, Iranian filmmaker Mohammed Rasoulof, whose film “The Seed of the Sacred Fig” will be shown in competition at Cannes next week, said that he had escaped Iran after being sentenced to eight years in prison and flogging. The film is described as a scathing depiction of the Iranian regime.
AP – VOR News Image
Cannes Kicks Off With Greta Gerwig’s Jury And A Palme D’Or For Meryl Streep
As Cannes continues, many will be fixated on the celebs who walk the festival’s iconic red carpet. Emma Stone, Anya Taylor-Joy, Demi Moore, Selena Gomez, Nicolas Cage, and Barry Keoghan will be among the cast. George Lucas will be presented with an honorary Palme d’Or during the closing ceremony on May 25.
Regardless, the 77th Cannes Film Festival will have many expectations to meet. Last year’s festival, which was universally praised for its impressive roster, yielded three Oscar best picture nominees: “Anatomy of a Fall,” “The Zone of Interest,” and “Killers of the Flower Moon.” To help reignite last year’s spirit, Messi, the canine hero of “Anatomy of a Fall,” has returned to Cannes for a series of quick French TV advertisements.
A successful Cannes will help France maintain the global spotlight throughout the summer. The French Open, Tour de France, and Summer Olympics in Paris will all take place after the festival. On May 21, the Olympic flame will be carried to the Palais des Festivals, the festival’s focal point.
SOURCE – (AP)
NEW YORK — Actor Steve Buscemi is well after being hit in the face by a man on a New York City street, his publicist confirmed Sunday.
The 66-year-old star of “Fargo” and “Boardwalk Empire” was beaten late Wednesday morning in Manhattan and transported to a local hospital for bruises, swelling, and bleeding in his left eye.
Deadline – VOR News Image
Actor Steve Buscemi Is OK After Being Punched In The Face In New York City
“Steve Buscemi was assaulted in Mid-Town Manhattan, another victim of a random act of violence in the city,” according to a statement from his publicist on Sunday. “He is ok and appreciates everyone’s well wishes.”
The New York Post was first to report the assault.
salon – VOR News Image
Actor Steve Buscemi Is OK After Being Punched In The Face In New York City
The New York Police Department issued a nameless statement regarding the assault on Wednesday. Steve’s representative confirmed Sunday that the anonymous assault victim in the police report was the actor.
According to the police department, no arrests have been made, and the investigation is ongoing.
The Guardian – VOR News Image
Actor Steve Buscemi Is OK After Being Punched In The Face In New York City
Michael Stuhlbarg, Buscemi’s “Boardwalk Empire” co-star, was hit in the back of the neck by a rock while walking in Manhattan’s Central Park on March 31. Stuhlbarg chased his attacker, who was apprehended outside the park.
SOURCE – (AP)
Scottie Scheffler Arrested Outside PGA Championship, Then Returns And Climbs Leaderboard
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