The Very Best of the Pogues

The Very Best of the Pogues lands on 7 December 2026 at O2 City Hall Newcastle, Newcastle upon Tyne. Built around the songbook that Shane MacGowan, Spider Stacy, Jem Finer and leurs compagnons forged in 80s London, the show channels that blend of Irish traditional tunes and punk bite that made the band a landmark of Celtic rock. Tin whistle, banjo and accordion lock with guitar and drums to carry stories of late nights, lost loves and stubborn joy.

The set circles their key albums: the raw spark of Red Roses for Me, the sea-sprayed drama of Rum, Sodomy & the Lash, and the wide-open folk rock of If I Should Fall from Grace with God, with nods to Peace and Love and Hell’s Ditch. Chorus-ready anthems like Streams of Whiskey, Sally MacLennane and The Sick Bed of Cúchulainn rub shoulders with the bruised tenderness of A Pair of Brown Eyes and The Broad Majestic Shannon. Dirty Old Town rings out like a streetlamp confession, while Fairytale of New York brings that winter sting. A live salute to reels, ragged poetry and the London-Irish pulse that keeps these songs very much alive.