Pogues frontman and songwriter Shane MacGowan has died at the age of 65.
His death was announced by his wife Victoria Mary Clarke and by The Pogues this morning.
The Pogues statement said he died peacefully at 3am this morning with his wife and family at his side.
MacGowan had suffered health issues in recent years and was only recently released from hospital after reportedly spending time in intensive care.
Born on Christmas Day in 1957 MacGowan will always be remembered for co-writing one of the most popular Christmas songs in history, Fairytale of New York.
Born in the UK to a mother from Tipperary and a father from Dublin, MacGowan joined the band that would become The Pogues in 1982.
Throughout the 1980s and early '90s they had hits with songs like 'Dirty Old Town' and 'The Irish Rover' as well as two of MacGowan’s own compositions, 'A Pair of Brown Eyes' and 'A Rainy Night in Soho'.
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Announcing the death, Victoria Mary Clarke said she feels “blessed beyond words to have met him and to have loved him and to have been so endlessly and unconditionally loved by him”.
“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,” she said.
“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.”
MacGowan and Victoria were married at a ceremony in Copenhagen in 2018 – 34 years after they first met in London in 1984.
MacGowan is survived by Victoria, his sister Siobhan, his father Maurice, his family and “a large circle of friends”.
