Is Shane MacGowan Still Alive?

Is Shane MacGowan Still Alive?
Tim Bradford

A wry and extremely witty travelogue exploring all things Irish (and Oirish).'With Spike Milligan-ish humour, Bradford investigates the Irish psyche: at times he comes close to adding a new mythology of his own.’ Time Out'If you know who Shane MacGowan is, you may well love this bizarre, funny, brash, telling-it-like-it-is book. If you don't, then it will expand your cultural range' Sunday Times'An absolute must for anyone who's ever indulged even a moment of romantic yearning for all things Hibernian. Like some latter-day Kerouac, Tim Bradford drives around the Emerald Isle in search of captivating wild women, poetry, folk songs and of course, the odd pint or two. He meets Europe's spottiest hitcher and drives along Ireland's worst road; he gives a bluffer's guide to being Irish for those who aren't and provides an essential map of the land showing the distribution of conversational topics including house prices. Moving statues and condom availability. Hilarious.' Scotsman'An engagingly whimsical tour, in which Bradford seeks to discover what it means to be Irish (and indeed Oirish), where the best Guinness is found, whether Irish music is any good, and sundry related topics. This is always amusing and frequently laugh-out-loud funny: Bradford can see the serious in the inconsequential and vice versa. He comes across as the kind of guy you'd love to have a drink or three with… A book that achieves the difficult feat of being light in tone, funny and human. I await his next with pleasure.' Glasgow Herald

Is Shane MacGowan Still Alive?

TRAVELS IN IRISHRY

Tim Bradford

Copyright (#ulink_c9a1c10d-2b30-54f6-9baa-dbb1ed7cc6f2)

The author and publishers are grateful to the following for permission to reproduce material: Kinky Music and R&E Music for permission to quote from ‘Before All Hell Breaks Loose’ by Kinky Friedman and Panama Red and ‘When the Lord Closes the Door (He Opens a Little Window)’ by Kinky Friedman and Jeff Shelby; Warner/Chappell Music for permission to quote from ‘Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick’ by Ian Dury; BMG Music for ‘I Should Be So Lucky’ words and music by Mike Stock, Matt Aitken and Pete Waterman © BMG Music Publishing Ltd/Mike Stock Publishing Ltd/Sid’s Songs Ltd/All Boys Music Ltd (All rights reserved. Used by permission); Leeds United FC for permission to quote from The Leeds United Book of Football. Thanks to Pogue Music Ltd and Perfect Songs Ltd for permission to quote from ‘ A Rainy Night in Soho’ by Shane MacGowan.

Every reasonable effort has been made to contact copyright holders for all the extracts reproduced in this volume. The publishers apologise for any omissions and are happy to receive any emendations from copyright holders at the address below.

Fourth Estate

An imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers 1 London Bridge Street London SE1 9GF

www.harpercollins.co.uk (http://www.harpercollins.co.uk/)

First published in Great Britain by HarperPress 2000

Copyright © Tim Bradford 2000

Tim Bradford asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.

HarperCollinsPublishers has made every reasonable effort to ensure that any picture content and written content in this ebook has been included or removed in accordance with the contractual and technological constraints in operation at the time of publication.

Source ISBN: 9780006551683

Ebook Edition © FEBRUARY 2016 ISBN: 9780007394685

Version: 2016-01-13

Dedication (#ulink_98235462-3226-57f8-903b-7886bcf4a6af)

To the Irish people who

have changed my life

Epigraph (#ulink_61bb32f8-cd8b-5847-aadf-dd487584b603)

But Leeds taught me something else – that

work and will to win are just as vital as any

instinctive skills you may possess.

JOHNNY GILES, Leeds United Book of Football

Today I decided not to think of you

But was betrayed by a lazy pub window.

I saw a slim tree whose delicate red leaves

Rose and fell in the Thames breeze –

A mixed-up drinker, at this time of year,

I can taste Yeats in the beer.

ROBERT GAINSBOROUGH, ‘Maude Gone Fishing’

Contents

COVER (#ueed13455-fd01-5bfd-b9e1-ec1691ba52f6)

TITLE PAGE (#u2b272e98-b999-5a42-9a5e-953d1285f904)

COPYRIGHT (#u0ae6a5af-8797-5188-8d29-cb60f0a49018)

DEDICATION (#ud3fccfec-02f1-587c-8a6f-766889bbf6f9)

EPIGRAPH (#ue81c2d49-e545-5a7e-9910-07d6e98eb0d1)

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS (#uc627247d-7f1e-5dab-8041-82ed3422485f)

PREFACE (#u6dcd2eb9-8269-5d1a-aab7-3b4f3c3bc0b1)

Is Shane MacGowan Still Alive? Camden Town to Camden Lock (#uf85a2ac2-acdc-54a6-b93b-834b5c7b0db0)

Irish Myths & Legends 1: How to be Irish (#u00e9379c-992f-527e-ae4e-ed90aeb77229)

FINNEGANIA (#u450e9f00-3590-5479-824a-ee7b4b1849a1)

On a Clear Day You Can See Fulham Football Ground Hammersmith (#ub1649adb-1192-5608-b089-d2aaa3b4e567)

Irish Myths & Legends 2: Irish Food (#u759e0424-e262-5466-bc34-b17f7e04f184)

VIKING TOWN (#u4d28cf50-b13a-5c89-8d93-9892e2e257c2)

Visions of Beer and Loathing on the Road to Holyhead Hammersmith to Dublin (#uc35ba46c-7225-52cf-ba07-dc722ca1d25b)

Notes on a Cultural Tour of Dublin (#udaf13f98-ea59-5252-accd-4d9049d48f6b)