Nick Cave has written an obituary for his close friend Shane MacGowan – which starts with him saying the late wildman didn’t “trust” being around anyone who wasn’t blind drunk.
The Australian ‘Red Right Hand’ singer, 66, became pals with The Pogues frontman after they met in 1989 at a time when Nick said he “was a fan, pure and simple”.
Writing for The Guardian in the wake of Shane’s death on 30 November aged 65 – after a string of illnesses including pneumonia – Nick said he was introduced to the ‘Fairytale of New York’ singer as part of a “summit meeting”, organised by music publication NME and also attended by the Fall frontman Mark E Smith.
He said: “Unfortunately, it was my first day out of rehab, and it probably wasn’t the greatest idea to spend the day with two people who were not known for their moderation.
“It was pure mayhem from the outset. Not the most auspicious start to a friendship, but Shane and I did become close friends soon afterwards.”
Nick said the early days of his friendship with Shane were difficult as he tried to stay away from drugs and alcohol.
He added: “I don’t think he was used to being around someone who didn’t drink. He essentially didn’t trust anyone who wasn’t completely (drunk.)
“At some point, when I eventually started drinking again, we met in a bar and he asked me what I wanted.
“I ordered a double vodka and his eyes just lit up. It was like he was a little kid and it was Christmas Day. And that was that. We spent the next years going out, (messing) around, getting wasted.”
Nick added Shane “was doing something extraordinary” with songwriting, saying: “His way of writing was steeped in the tradition of Irish balladry. It was in no way modern, whereas my songs, back then, were more of their time: darker and fractured and experimental.
“There was little compassion in them. No true understanding of the ‘ordinary’.
“I don’t think I could have written a lyric like ‘The wind goes right through you, It’s no place for the old’ (from ‘Fairytale of New York’.)
“It speaks volumes. You can feel the wind and the ice in the air but also the sense of learned empathy and deep compassion Shane had for people.”
Nick was among stars including Johnny Depp, 60, in attendance at Shane’s funeral in Nenagh, County Tipperary in the singer’s native Ireland – where he played ‘A Rainy Night in Soho’, a Pogues hit Nick first covered in 1992.
