Bruce Springsteen has paid tribute to the late Shane MacGowan with a rousing cover of a Pogues classic while performing in Ireland – watch fan-shot footage of the performance below.
On Sunday night (May 12), Springsteen performed at the Nowlan Park in Kilkenny, Ireland. To kick off the show in a special way, Springsteen and The E Street Band began their setlist with a cover of The Pogues’ ‘A Rainy Night In Soho’.
Watch fan-shot footage of ‘A Rainy Night In Soho’ below.
@springsteen OPENING UP KILKENNY WITH @poguesofficial RAINY NIGHT IN SOHO!! @springsteen #SpringsteenTour2024 #Springsteen #estreetband pic.twitter.com/3vfabQ4WGa
— Spring-Nuts (@SpringNuts_) May 12, 2024
While ‘A Rainy Night In Soho’ was the first song to be performed during the concert, it wasn’t the first song that Springsteen played on Sunday. Springsteen surprised fans who had showed up early with an acoustic rendition of ‘This Hard Land’ hours before the start of the concert.
When @springsteen surprises the early birds with an acoustic rendition of 'This Hard Land' #Springsteen #SpringsteenKilkenny pic.twitter.com/AQxfa2uIM3
— Ticketmaster Ireland (@TicketmasterIre) May 12, 2024
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Springsteen’s tribute to MacGowan is his latest public showing of respect for the late Pogues frontman. In May last year, Springsteen surprised an ailing MacGowan with a visit before performing in Dublin.
Springsteen wrote of MacGowan late last year following the latter’s death: “Shane was one of my all-time favorite writers,” he continued. “The passion and deep intensity of his music and lyrics is unmatched by all but the very best in the rock and roll canon.”
He also shared memories of his last time seeing the acclaimed singer in Dublin. “I was fortunate to spend a little time with Shane and his lovely wife Victoria the last time we were in Dublin,” he wrote. “He was very ill, but still beautifully present in his heart and spirit. His music is timeless and eternal. I don’t know about the rest of us, but they’ll be singing Shane’s songs 100 years from now.”
The Irish musician and iconic frontman of The Pogues died “peacefully” in hospital from pneumonia on November 30. He was 65 years old. His funeral took place in Nenagh, County Tipperary on December 8.
Fans lined the streets of Dublin for MacGowan’s funeral in December, which took place in Nenagh, County Tipperary, Ireland, and was attended by Nick Cave, Glen Hansard and Irish President Michael D. Higgins.
Shane MacGowan’s wife, Victoria Mary Clarke, revealed that she is in grief counselling following her husband’s death,