© Andrew Catlin
Awards The Ivors Inspiration Award
The Ivors Inspiration Award It’s one thing to inspire the artists that follow you onto the world stage. Shane MacGowan has done plenty of that; you can trace the lineage of his brilliantly bleary-eyed songwriting everywhere from the Dropkick Murphys’ punk rock blasts to The Libertines’ gutter-dwelling, stargazing romance. But MacGowan – a unique musical force in all sorts of ways – is unusual in that his poetic work also influenced his peers, and even some iconic stars whose careers preceded his. Not for nothing did Joe Strummer once call him “one of the best writers of the century”. Nor Elvis Costello, who produced The Pogues’ 1985 classic Rum, Sodomy & The Lash or Tom Waits, who once declared: “Shane has the gift. I believe him. He knows how to tell a story.” And, thankfully, MacGowan has been more than happy to tell those stories and share that gift over the years. Ever since MacGowan emerged from the punk scene (his band The Nipple Erectors were a stalwart support act during punk’s first wave), the raw reality of his work has been obvious to anyone who heard it, whether the songs date from his time with The Pogues or his solo career. This, after all, is the man who brought bittersweet authenticity into the cheesy world of the Christmas song, with the most-cherished festive single of all time, Fairytale Of New York. A man who can do wild-eyed party songs (Fiesta, Sally MacLennane) or sad-eyed, wistful ballads (A Rainy Night In Soho, A Pair Of Brown Eyes) with equal effectiveness. And a man who deserves to be hailed for much more than his well-documented love of a drink. Today’s well-deserved Ivor should help with that. But all you really need to be inspired by Shane MacGowan is access to his incredible catalogue. Just ask Tom Waits.
The 2018 Ivor Novello Awards 51
