I can't remember where I first heard this album but once I had it I couldn't stop playing it, swiftly transferring it to a cassette to play in my car. I remember being stuck in traffic under the railway line that runs parallel to Flinders street blasting this out. I had just dropped off a girlfriend in the city and was itching to turn the volume up.
I became a feverish promoter for the band telling everyone I knew how great this album was. Even teachers where I worked in Footscray west. Especially those with modest Celtic ties. The whole album is great from start to finish. No fillers. And produced by Elvis Costello! After producing The Specials debut he comes up with another classic album. From The Sick Bed of Cúchulainn to "and the band played Waltzing Matilda" just great songs.
I managed to pick up the T-shirt while I was in the UK. Mick Barclay who was playing the drums with Paul Kelly begged me to let him wear it onstage at the Club in Smith Street Collingwood one night. He promised to give it back the next day. I never saw it again. It did travel the world with the Coloured Girls but he lost it somewhere in the USA.
He replaced it with a green Pogues T-shirt (not nearly as good) tickets to Festival Hall to see the band then invited me along to drinks afterwards at the Razor Club where I got to meet Shane MacGowan. Shane, however, was completely wasted so unlike my meeting with Joe Strummer this was over after 5 seconds.
I don't think The Pogues ever came close to making an album this good ever again. Plenty of great songs but no truly great albums. Well not like this one.
No comments:
Post a Comment