Share and Follow
Bruce Springsteen has paid tribute to the late Shane MacGowan just hours after his tearful wife Victoria revealed she was rooting for his classic Fairytale of New York hit to become Christmas number one. The 74-year-old released an emotional statement on his website describing The Pogues frontman as one of his favourite musical talents “of all time”.
The star, who visited Shane in hospital during his final months struggling with the brain condition encephalitis and a painful bout of shingles that had spread to his eye, wrote: “Over here on E Street, we are heartbroken over the death of Shane MacGowan.” He continued: “The passion and deep intensity of his music and lyrics is unmatched by all but the very best in the rock & roll canon.
“I was fortunate to spend a little time with Shane and his lovely wife Victoria the last time we were in Dublin. He was very ill, but still beautifully present in his heart and spirit. His music is timeless and eternal.”
He then adamantly declared: “I don’t know about the rest of us, but they’ll be singing Shane’s songs 100 years from now.” Earlier in the year, Shane’s wife Victoria had shared a photo on Instagram of Bruce visiting them.
“What an amazing honour and a beautiful experience to get a visit from The Boss!!! Such a truly wonderful man and a total genius!” She gushed. When his health later worsened, he attended Shane’s bedside in the hospital too, a move that Victoria described on social media as “really exciting and monumentally inspiring”.
Bruce isn’t the only showbiz star to pay tribute to Shane, and he was also honoured by Nick Cave.
Nick spoke of how he’d sung The Pogues’ song Summer In Siam together with Shane as he marked his 60th birthday five years ago.
He’d been confined to a wheelchair at that time, due to a previous fall when a complex dance move he was trying out shattered his pelvis.
However, that didn’t eclipse what Nick has since described as his “pure unbridled genius” in the musical field.
“Shane was not revered just for his manifold talents but also loved for himself alone,” he wrote on social media.
“A beautiful and damaged man, who embodied a kind of purity and innocence and generosity and spiritual intelligence unlike any other.”
Bandmate Spider Stacy also joined the tributes, attaching a black and white vintage photo of the star performing in his younger years and exclaiming: “O Captain! My Captain! Our fearful trip is done.”
Meanwhile, a message was even delivered from Downing Street on behalf of Rishi Sunak, revealing that the reportedly saddened British PM felt “Christmas would not be Christmas without Fairytale Of New York”.
Victoria is now hoping that her late husband, whom she has known since she was just 16, will be given a memorable send-off via the festive charts.
She revealed today that she is “very much in favour” of fans clubbing together to get his hit track to number one.
Share and Follow
Source: NewsFinale
