Nick Cave, Johnny Depp, Bobby Gillespie to play gig celebrating Shane MacGowan’s 60th

The 60th birthday of Shane MacGowan will be celebrated in style at the National Concert Hall in Dublin next month, reports The Irish Times.

Fittingly for a frontman whose band is widely remembered for having, let’s get it right, the best  festive song of all time, MacGowan’s birthday falls on Christmas Day, and a star-studded line-up including Nick Cave, Johnny Depp, Bobby Gillespie, Carl Barat and his Pogues bandmates Cáit O’Riordan, Spider Stacy, Jem Finer and Terry Woods will be performing at the venue on January 15th.

‘That voice can drip romance in an entirely authentic way on any seemingly dark, desperate situation, his lyrics can regale stories and paint pictures of a life less ordinary led by the most captivating of pub raconteurs whom we’d all love to share a bar with’, is how Live4ever described the genius of Shane MacGowan in our feature on The Pogues:

“It happens, of course, at this time every year: people start talking about The Pogues,” it begins.

“Around December 1st it’s back again; that measured lament of a piano riff. That grawling, inimitable vocal. That smoky, black and white video. That greatest festive song of all time. ‘It was Christmas Eve babe…’.”