Shane MacGowan ‘pushed the boundaries of what humans can do to their bodies’, says wife
Shane MacGowan’s widow said she had worried about his death for 35 years because he “pushed the boundaries of what humans can do to their bodies”.
The Pogues frontman, best known for the classic Christmas hit song Fairytale Of New York, died “peacefully” last week at the age of 65.
Irish journalist Victoria Mary Clarke told ITV‘s Good Morning Britain: “I loved standing on the side of the stage watching him. It wasn’t always easy, as you will know, because he pushed the boundaries and he was reckless and he was very unconventional.
Shane MacGowan and Victoria Mary Clarke in 2017
“So it was like watching a racing driver and not knowing if they were going to crash, watching him going on stage.”
MacGowan had been diagnosed with encephalitis following his latest bout of ill-health and after years of alcohol and substance abuse.
Ms Clarke, 57, continued: “I think for most of you watching, the biggest fear you probably have is that you’re going to lose a loved one.
“And it’s going to happen, you can’t really get around that, you all are going to lose a loved one.
“And I know that, for me, I spent many, many years, probably at least 35 years, worrying about losing Shane because he just pushed the boundaries so much of what humans can do to their bodies.
“So I dreaded that, and I thought that I would fall apart, I thought I would die, I thought I would not be able to speak, I thought I’d be comatose or on drugs myself or something like that.
“So I just want you all to know that it’s not as bad as you think it’s going to be. And there’s a huge amount of love that comes your way when you lose someone, that you didn’t really expect. And in my case, you know, I’ve been overwhelmed by how much love and support there is.”
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A look at Shane MacGowan’s life
When Ms Clarke was asked what MacGowan would have felt about the outpouring of support, she said: “Me and Shane, we spent most of our lives in recent years sitting at home watching The Crown.
“We didn’t really go out, so we didn’t know what was going on in the outside world very much.
“We had a very quiet life, very, very happy, and we didn’t want anything else. We just wanted to sit here together watching telly.
“But to know now that there’s all these people out there who feel so strongly about him, you lose with one hand, but you receive with the other, there’s an equal and opposite sort of reaction.”
Pic: Mark Large/ANL/Shutterstock
The song Fairytale of New York is now battling to score the coveted Christmas number one spot, a feat not achieved when it was originally released in 1987, having peaked at number two in the charts.
Ms Clarke said MacGowan “wouldn’t mind too much if Fairytale goes to number one”.
“I don’t think it was ever that important to him, because I think that he really appreciated the fact that so many people love it and it means so much to so many people, and being number one isn’t really all about being appreciated.”
Read more on this story:
A raw talent, and a forever connection with Christmas
Kiefer Sutherland anecdote about fight resurfaces
MacGowan ‘determined to live only a few days ago’
Fairytale Of New York features a duet between English singer Kirsty MacColl – who died in December 2000 – and MacGowan.
It was originally written by MacGowan with fellow Pogues founder Jem Finer.
The song has returned to the UK Christmas Top 40 every year since 2005.
MacGowan’s death was met with an outpouring of tributes, including from Bruce Springsteen, who said people would be “singing Shane’s songs 100 years from now”.
Entertainment
Gregg Wallace: Over half of allegations against MasterChef presenter substantiated, including one of unwanted physical contact
An investigation into Gregg Wallace’s “inappropriate behaviour” on MasterChef has found that more than half of the allegations against him have been substantiated, including one of “unwanted physical contact”.
MasterChef’s production company Banijay UK shared a summary of its report into historical allegations of misconduct against the 60-year-old presenter, carried out by independent law firm Lewis Silkin over seven months.
The report also said the number of sustained allegations made Wallace’s return to MasterChef “untenable”.
The investigation heard evidence from 78 witnesses, including 41 complainants.
There were 83 allegations against Wallace, and 45 of them were substantiated. All were related to MasterChef.
While the majority of the substantiated allegations related to inappropriate sexual language and humour, a smaller number of allegations of other inappropriate language and being in a state of undress were also substantiated.
One allegation of unwanted physical contact was substantiated.
Nearly all the allegations against Wallace were related to behaviour which is said to have occurred between 2005 and 2018, with just one substantiated allegation taking place post-2018.
Wallace and Anne-Marie Sterpini in 2014
Ahead of the publication of the summary, Wallace had said he had been “cleared of the most serious and sensational accusations” made against him.
Additionally, the report summary found that there were also 10 standalone allegations about other people between 2012 and 2018/2019, two of which were substantiated. Those people were not named in the summary.
The investigation found that complaints had previously been raised with the production company between 2005 and 2024.
Gregg Wallace on MasterChef. Pic: BBC/ Shine TV 2024
While the report flagged inadequate reporting procedures prior to 2016, when Endemol merged with Shine ahead of Banijay acquiring Endemol Shine in 2020, it said there were significant improvements to HR processes and training after 2016.
While the investigation said some formal action was taken by the BBC in 2017, it also noted the corporation held no information regarding concerns raised over Wallace centrally, resulting in issues being addressed as a first offence.
Sky News has tried to contact Gregg Wallace for contact today.
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