“Dark Streets of London”, The Pogues

This way: Dark Streets of London

The Pogues are an English or Anglo-Irish[a] Celtic punk band founded in King's Cross, London, in 1982, by Shane MacGowan, Spider Stacy and Jem Finer. Originally named Pogue Mahone—an anglicisation by James Joyce of the Irish phrase póg mo thóin, meaning "kiss my arse"—the band fused Irish traditional music with punk rock influences. Initially poorly received in traditional circles—folk musician Tommy Makem labelled the band "the greatest disaster ever to hit Irish music"—they were later credited with reinvigorating the genre. 

After their founding, the Pogues added more members, including James Fearnley and Cait O'Riordain, and built a reputation playing raucous live shows in London pubs and clubs. After opening for the Clash on their 1984 tour, they released their first studio album, Red Roses for Me, featuring a mix of traditional Irish songs and original compositions by MacGowan. Elvis Costello produced their second album, Rum Sodomy & the Lash (1985), and the follow-up four-track EP Poguetry in Motion (1986). The Pogues collaborated with the Dubliners on a 1987 arrangement of the traditional folk song "The Irish Rover", which reached number one in Ireland and number eight in the UK. Later that year, they released the Christmas single "Fairytale of New York", which reached number one in Ireland and number two in the UK. Written by MacGowan and Finer and recorded as a duet with Kirsty MacColl, it features on their critically acclaimed and commercially successful third studio album, If I Should Fall from Grace with God (1988). The Pogues recorded two more albums with MacGowan—Peace and Love (1989) and Hell's Ditch (1990)—before sacking him during a 1991 tour as his drug and alcohol dependency increasingly affected their live performances. 

[Spotify] Dark Streets of London