Is Shane MacGowan Still Alive?
TRAVELS IN IRISHRY
Tim Bradford
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
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
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Source ISBN: 9780006551683
Ebook Edition © FEBRUARY 2016 ISBN: 9780007394685 Version: 2016-01-13
To the Irish people who
have changed my life
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
Is Shane MacGowan Still Alive? Camden Town to Camden Lock
Irish Myths & Legends 1: How to be Irish
On a Clear Day You Can See Fulham Football Ground Hammersmith
Irish Myths & Legends 2: Irish Food
Visions of Beer and Loathing on the Road to Holyhead Hammersmith to Dublin
Notes on a Cultural Tour of Dublin
The Informal Urchin-gurrier Choir of Hill 16 Croke Park
Dublin, Fair City of Vikings, Buskers and Soaring House Prices Twenty-four quietish hours
Irish Myths & Legends 3: Leprechaun
Hungover Adventures with the Sea-Urchin-Moustachioed Guard Kildare
A Cup of Tea, A Slice of Cake, I Love You Adare, County Limerick
Looking for an All-Encompassing Theory of the Universe in a Hurling