Far Out Magazine has a great new write-up about this legendary 1988 performance at the Town & Country Club in London:
The Town & Country club in London, which is now known as Kentish Town Forum, on a raucous St. Patrick's Day, was set to host one of the rowdiest nights in its long and illustrious history when The Pogues came to town with some impressive feature artists. It was a performance which, despite being a little tinged with the growing frustrations of losing Shane MacGowan to his substances, will go down as one of the band's best.
The performance was special not only because it features a Joe Strummer-led Pogues version of The Clash's 'London Calling', but because the gig also featured Kirsty MacColl giving a wonderful rendition of 'Fairytale of New York', a song which has yet again brought out the worst faction of Britain as the desperation to scream a homophobic slur trumps common sense. The performance was an experience only to be topped by the entrance of The Specials' Lynval Golding and all the fun and fury of Irish jig ska with a special Pogues cover of 'A Message To You (Rudi)'.
The Pogue also released a concert film of this memorable show (which you can also find on YouTube if you don't have a VHS player)
3 years after this performance, Joe Strummer would officially join the Pogues for a brief spell, replacing Shane MacGowan as the frontman. This lineup also eventually released a live album.
The moment Joe Strummer joined The Pogues to sing 'London Calling', 1988 [Jack Whatley / Far Out Magazine]
Image: Pwet-pwet / Wikimedia Commons (CC 2.0)
