Frank Ryan bought you whiskey in a brothel in Madrid

A belated post about The Pogues gig at Brixton Academy the other week, in the company of Mr Cook and Mr Ward. The three of us last went to a Pogues gig together on St Patrick's Day 1988 - pause here for deep breath and morose reflection on the passage of time etc...



Last year, Graham and I saw the band at Nottingham Arena. Despite having a good night out and enjoying the gig, the venue is terrible, and we decided to skip it this year in favour of the vastly more atmospheric Brixton Academy. Meeting Jim in the Trinity Arms for a lengthy warm up of pints of London Pride, we made our slightly unsteady way to the venue.

There's an inevitable anxiety when waiting for the Pogues to come onstage; will MacGowan be capable? Apparently the Nottingham gig was ropey, largely because of our man being 'excessively refreshed'. Tonight, he was on terrific form (insert the word 'relatively', if of cynical bent), and kept up the pace admirably. Phil Chevron was missed, but MacGowan sang a creditable version of Thousands Are Sailing (albeit with lyric sheet in hand), which is always a highlight of Pogues shows.

Graham made his customary excursion 'down the front', and despite losing a shoe in the ensuing melee, was relieved to have it handed back to him by a considerate fellow reveller.

Twenty years on from that first gig MacGowan is now 50, and although showing an increasingly portly decay, it would be unwise to bet against him being back next year.