Pogues' Fearnley and Shane MacGowan are like 'old couple'

Despite everything, Pogue bandmates are "like a family"

There has been so much written about Shane MacGowan’s partying lifestyle that Pogues bandmate James Fearnley’s description of his relationship with the legendary singer is disarming in its sweetness.

“We’re like an old couple,” he says "There is this resilience now that will never go away in our relationship.”

Fearnley has by MacGowan’s side longer than anyone else.  He was in the Nips, a punk band that MacGowan started before the Pogues.
“He is as keen as he ever was,” Fearnley says.  Based on the enthusiasm in his voice, it would appear that time heals all wounds.  

“Shane and myself have an acceptance now,” he says. “We came offstage at a festival in Spain recently and I gave his knee a pat. He reached out and we held hands. It’s completely ordinary and such a nice gesture. I do worry about him because I love him and I have known him for a very long time.”

Fearnley recalls the days with the Nips with fondness. He laughs when I ask if drummer Jon Moss ever tried to recruit him away from MacGowan in the band to be part of Culture Club, the group Moss formed with Boy George.

“I remember when Jon brought a tape of the band he was forming,” Fearnley recalls. “The tape player in my apartment was broke, so we went down to his car and popped it into the dashboard.

“The car is rocking from us listening to the music, and based on what we now know of Jon’s sexuality (he and Boy George were once an item), I am sure it would look suspect. They had a guitarist that they thought would leave the band, and then they went onto other fame and fortune.

“I have no regrets. I did okay for myself. There is fun wondering what the parallel universe would look like if I did join the band, but I don’t think too much about it.”

Fearnley also doesn’t think much about the wide influence that the Pogues have had on Irish culture.

“I kinda knew that, but not in a conscious sort of way,” he replies. “I never thought about it in those terms. It is completely and utterly gratifying to see a second generation coming to the shows. The older you get the more wisdom you get about it.

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Nster.com