The Pogues are a popular Anglo Irish folk rock band of the 1980s and 90s. They have a strong following, essentially inventing Celtic Punk and having a large influence on the larger Celtic Fusion scene as well.
The Pogues were founded in King's Cross, a district in north London, in 1982 as Pogue Mahone — "pogue mahone" being the Anglicisation of the Irish póg mo thóin, meaning "kiss my arse." The band specialised in Irish folk music, often playing with the energy of the punk rock scene from which several of the members had their roots.
Their politically-tinged music was reminiscent of The Clash, with whom they played ( Joe Strummer produced one of their albums and even joined the group briefly), and used traditional Irish instruments such as the tin whistle, banjo, cittern, mandolin, accordion, and more. In the later incarnations of the band, after the departure of Shane MacGowan, electronic instruments such as the electric guitar would become more prominent. The first of The Pogues' albums, Red Roses for Me borrows much from the punk tradition of MacGowan's previous band The Nipple Erectors (later dubbed The Nips).
Shane MacGowan (vocals), James Fearnley ( accordion) and Spider Stacy ( tin whistle) were the original members of the Pogues, in the days when they busked on the streets of London. Before the rest of the group formed, MacGowan and Stacy were rumored to have played impromptu performances on street corners and city buses which attracted local interest to their talent. They later added Jeremy 'Jem' Finer ( guitar, banjo), Cait O'Riordan ( bass) and Andrew Ranken ( drums). The band rapidly developed a reputation, started releasing independent work, and ended up opening for The Clash on tour in 1984. Shortening their name to "The Pogues" due to lack of radio play for the curse in their name, they released their first album Red Roses for Me that October.
