Tributes have been paid to The Pogues singer Shane MacGowan(Image: Getty Images)

The Pogues star and Fairytale of New York singer Shane MacGowan dies aged 65

Tributes have been pouring in for Shane MacGowan, best known for singing Fairytale of New York, after his death was announced on Thursday

by · ChronicleLive

The Pogues frontman Shane MacGowan has died at the age of 65, his wife Victoria Mary Clarke has announced.

She wrote in an Instagram post: "I don't know how to say this so I am just going to say it. Shane who will always be the light that I hold before me and the measure of my dreams and the love of my life and the most beautiful soul and beautiful angel and the sun and the moon and the start and end of everything that I hold dear has gone to be with Jesus and Mary and his beautiful mother Therese.

"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. 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.

"Thank you thank you thank you thank you for your presence in this world you made it so very bright and you gave so much joy to so many people with your heart and soul and your music. You will live in my heart forever. Rave on in the garden all wet with rain that you loved so much. You meant the world to me."

Shane, who spent recent years in and out of hospital with various health issues, was known for singing festive hit Fairytale of New York. He made a great impact on the world of arts and entertainment thanks to his work with his band and collaborations with artists such as Kirsty MacColl, Joe Strummer, Nick Cave, Steve Earle, Johnny Depp, Sinéad O'Connor and Ronnie Drew.

The Pogues legend was born in Kent to Feis Ceoil singer Therese, and Maurice on Christmas Day 1957 and lived in many parts of southeast England throughout his childhood. The late singer drew upon his Irish heritage when he founded The Pogues in 1982, with many of the band's songs influenced by Irish nationalism, Irish history and London life in general, reports The Mirror.

Between 1982 and 1991, MacGowan and The Pogues enjoyed incredible success with several album releases and co-wrote Fairytale of New York, which he performed with Kirsty MacColl. Although the song never hit the Christmas number 1 spot, it has continued to be a staple festive song for many years and remains a much-loved festive tune to this day.

In his personal life, Shane found love with Irish journalist Victoria Mary Clarke, with the pair tying the knot in Copenhagen in November 2018 after a decades-long relationship and subsequent 11-year engagement. Over recent years, Victoria kept Shane’s fans updated on his health battles. The singer had been receiving care in St Vincent's Hospital in Dublin for an infection but was discharged last week ahead of his upcoming birthday on Christmas Day.

Join our WhatsApp communities

ChronicleLive is now on WhatsApp and we want you to join our communities.

We have a number of communities to join, so you can choose which one you want to be part of and we'll send you the latest news direct to your phone. You could even join them all!

To join you need to have WhatsApp on your device. All you need to do is choose which community you want to join, click on the link and press 'join community'.

No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the ChronicleLive team.

We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners.

If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose 'exit group'.

If you’re curious, you can read our privacy notice.

Join the ChronicleLive Breaking News and Top Stories community

Join our Christmas and New Year in the North East community

Join our I'm A Celebrity community for all the latest updates from the jungle

Join the Things to do in Newcastle and the North East community

Join our Northumberland community

Join our Great North Run community

Join our NUFC community

Join our SAFC community