Here Comes Everybody - Softcover

James Fearnley

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0571253962 ISBN 13: 9780571253968

Publisher: Faber & Faber, 2012

Synopsis

It's October, 1984: Wham!, Culture Club and Status Quo dominate the top ten when The Pogues barrel out from the backstreets of Kings Cross, a furious, pioneering mix of punk energy, traditional melodies and the powerfully poetic song-writing of Shane MacGowan. Reviled by traditionalists for their frequently fast, often riotous interpretations of Irish folk songs, The Pogues rose from the sweaty chaos of backroom gigs in Camden pubs to World tours with the likes of Elvis Costello, U2 and Bob Dylan, and had huge commercial success with everyone's favourite Christmas song, "Fairytale of New York". Yet, the exuberance of their live performances coupled with relentless touring spiralled into years of hard drinking and excess which eventually took their toll - most famously on Shane but also on the rest of the band - causing them to part ways seven years later. Here, their story is told with beauty, lyricism and great candour by James Fearnley, founding member and accordion player. He brings to life the youthful friendships, the bust-ups, the amazing gigs, the terrible gigs, the fantastic highs and dramatic lows in a hugely compelling, humorous, moving and honest account of life in one of our most treasured and original bands.

About this title

About the Author

James Fearnley was born in 1954 in Worsley, Manchester. He played guitar in various bands including the Nips with Shane MacGowan, before becoming the accordion player in the Pogues. James continues to tour with the band and lives in Los Angeles.

Review

“If you think all rock-music memoirs are a mixture of PR fluff, second-hand observations and strategically selected memories, then Here Comes Everybody: The Story of the Pogues is the book to make you change your mind. . . . That Fearnley hasn’t been quarantined for writing such a warts-and-all tale says much about the band and the bond formed across 30 fractious years. A band of brothers to the very end, then, and with a fine, salty memoir to raise a glass to.”  —Irish Times

“This is an old story, older than the ’80s even: the epic adventures of Anglo-Saxon troubadours led ’round the world by a growling Celtic demigod famous for good songs and bad judgment.” —Sarah Vowell, author of Assassination Vacation

“The portrait of Shane is so vivid and disturbing, the capturing of the various scenes they moved through so affectionate and sad, and the writing so good. James Fearnley describes the experience of being onstage extremely well—the second-by-secondness of it, the way a person actually experiences it, the furious concentration required. He has made a work of art to set beside the band’s records. Beautiful.” —John Jeremiah Sullivan, author of Pulphead

“Fearnley’s book fits perfectly with the Pogues: for all their earthiness, they were a band concerned with myths, from the Irish legends MacGowan’s lyrics relocated to the back streets and pubs of north London to the persistent rock’n’roll fable of the damned, beautiful loser. [...] In the process, MacGowan became a mythic figure himself: a myth, despite the unsparing detail that Fearnley ends up burnishing.”  —Guardian

“Fearnley’s descriptions of Shane MacGowan, the front man of the Irish folk-rock band the Pogues, suppurate with pure deliciousness. . . . In his own way, MacGowan is the ideal protagonist—talented, inspired, and halitotic, but flawed. . . . Read it, and exhale.”  —Sunday Times

“Fearnley paints life on the road as a Brueghel painting, with the band submerged in the feral madness of their increasing detachment from normal life. But there is a joyous romanticism to their semi-impoverished wildness. MacGowan is perpetually clawing his face and masticating on super-strength Rennies, a bottle of wine attached to his lips.”  —Telegraph

"Fearnley makes readers feel every mile...For fans of the band, it’s a detail-rich, expressive remembrance." —Kirkus

"Fans of the Pogues... will be moved by this brutally honest account of a still much beloved band." —Publishers Weekly

“For Pogues fans (and folk-punk fans generally) and rock memoir aficionados; a fine example of the genre.” —Library Journal

“A must for Pogues fans everywhere.” —Booklist

About this edition

• Publisher: Faber & Faber
• Publication date: 2012
• ISBN 10: 0571253962
• ISBN 13: 9780571253968
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 400