Bob Dylan's cover of The Pogues' classic "A Rainy Night in Soho" has won the approval of those closest to Shane MacGowan, who died in November 2023.
Dylan took to the piano for the well-received cover to close out his gig at the Talking Stick Resort Amphitheatre in Phoenix, Arizona, on Tuesday, May 13.
The performance was during the opening night of Willie Nelson’s Outlaw Music Festival Tour, of which Dylan is co-headlining.
It was the first time the iconic American rocker performed the song, which was originally written by MacGowan, live.
Dylan's cover of "A Rainy Night in Soho" has won the approval of Shane's sister Siobhan MacGowan and his widow Victoria Mary Clark.
"When I was a kid I listened to the constant sound of @bobdylan playing in Shane’s room," Siobhan said on social media on Wednesday, May 14.
"This would mean the world to him," she added.
When I was a kid I listened to the constant sound of @bobdylan playing in Shane’s room. This would mean the world to him ❤️
Bob Dylan performs The Pogues' 'A Rainy Night in Soho' live in Phoenix | Hotpress https://t.co/brOHYhawtn
— Siobhan MacGowan (@EtainsDream) May 14, 2025
Echoing Siobhan's sentiments, Victoria Mary Clark said her husband "spent hours and hours and hours listening to Dylan and watching footage of him and he was very grateful for the mutual respect."
So beautiful 🤩 @ShaneMacGowan spent hours and hours and hours listening to Dylan and watching footage of him and he was very grateful for the mutual respect ❤️ https://t.co/hsvj0sGUvY
— @victoriamary (@Victoriamary) May 14, 2025
Dylan and MacGowan's relationship goes way back - the US crooner invited The Pogues to open for him during his North American tour in autumn 1989.
However, MacGowan, still in the throes of his heavy party lifestyle, collapsed at London's Heathrow Airport when the band was about to fly to California. The rest of the band went on without him, and Rolling Stone reported afterward that since MacGowan’s recovery took 10 days, he missed all the Dylan shows.
Still, the "mutual respect" endured.
Dylan last played in Dublin in November 2022, and MacGowan was a special gust for the concert at at the 3Arena.
Hot Press noted on Wednesday that during the gig, Dylan only addressed the crowd once - to send a greeting to "one of our favorite artists," MacGowan.
"We hope he makes another record soon," Dylan said, adding: "'Fairytale Of New York' is close to all of our hearts and we listen to it every Christmas..."
The day after the gig, MacGowan joined Dylan and his entourage at the InterContinental in Dublin.
MacGowan's long-time friend and manager Joey Cashman told the Irish Sun at the time: "Bob was very keen to meet up with Shane when he was in Dublin and his people were on a fair bit trying to set it up.
"There's a lot of respect there and Dylan was the one who booked the Pogues to open for him back in the day, even though Shane didn't actually make it!
"I have a theory that Dylan didn't realise Shane never made it out to the States because the band were so good without him.
"That tour was crazy and I became good friends with Dylan's son Jesse along the way.
"Dylan had his people get in contact and Shane was reluctant because he wasn't feeling well but then he decided he wanted to go, he couldn't miss out on the chance.
"We went to the hotel and let reception know that Shane had arrived. Bob was downstairs within ten minutes.
"So we had a meal in his hotel on Sunday. It turned into a late one."
More recently, the Bob Dylan Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma, hosted the "They Gave The Walls A Talking" exhibition, which was on loan from EPIC: The Irish Emigration Museum in Dublin, in spring 2024.
Dedicated to the legacy of The Pogues and MacGowan, it was the first time the center hosted an exhibit dedicated to someone other than Dylan.
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