Glen Hansard's Posthumous Pogues Cover Honors Shane MacGowan

A recording of Glen Hansard covering the Pogues' 1988 classic "Bottle of Smoke" was released today as a single, three months after his death in July. The track comes from the upcoming tribute album 20th Century Paddy: The Songs of Shane MacGowan, due November 20, honoring the Pogues frontman who died in 2023.

The performance captures a specific moment. Towards the end of an October 2024 concert at The Wiltern in Los Angeles, Hansard brought Pogues accordion player James Fearnley to the stage for a few songs, including a cover the source describes as ferocious. That live recording is now the album's latest preview.

Who appears on the tribute album?

The contributor list spans generations of rock. Bruce Springsteen, U2 and Dropkick Murphys all appear alongside Hansard on 20th Century Paddy. Springsteen has already released his own cover of "A Rainy Night in Soho" from the record.

Hansard's connection to MacGowan ran deeper than most. He served as musical director for MacGowan's funeral and performed the Pogues' "A Rainy Night in SoHo" at the ceremony.

Speaking on Ireland's Late Late Show around that time, Hansard recalled MacGowan's creative demands: "[MacGowan would] say, 'find the truth in that lyric.'" He continued: "He would push you … and he had that honesty and a kind of fearlessness about the work. And I think he's told me to eff off about a hundred times. And yet I'd get a Christmas card, I'd get a birthday card, he sent me a painting."

What did Shane MacGowan's widow say?

Victoria Mary Clarke, MacGowan's widow, thanked Hansard in a statement and confirmed his central role in the project.

"I'm eternally grateful to Glen for being such an incredible friend to both myself and Shane," Clarke said, "and for being such an integral part of making this album possible. He did a magnificent version of 'Bottle of Smoke' and he infused it with all of the soul and spirit and passion that he was famous for."

Clarke added that the album would not exist without him. "I know that Shane adored Glen and admired his work and was hoping that Glen would produce an album for him," she said. "His passing is a profound loss to the music world and to humanity in general but it is some comfort to have his voice and presence and beauty on this album, which would not have been made without him."

How did Springsteen frame MacGowan's legacy?

When Springsteen released his "A Rainy Night in Soho" cover, he issued a statement placing MacGowan in a canonical lineage of American and Irish music history.

"Every once in a while, every once in a great while, an artist comes along whose voice seems to speak to history itself," Springsteen said. He then listed his precedents: "Woody Guthrie, Jimmy Rogers, Little Richard, Chuck Berry, Miles Davis, Elvis, Jerry Lee Lewis, John Coltrane, Patti Smith, James Brown, Bob Dylan, Aretha Franklin, John Lydon, Hank Williams, Sinatra."

"Geniuses all, they were both timeless and the embodiment of their moment in time," Springsteen continued. "Many, unsurprisingly, led difficult lives not easily bound by the shackles of convention. They were natural rebels unable to stifle or heed the impulses that led them to their glory and personal hardships."

The November 20 release will now serve a dual purpose: a tribute to MacGowan, who died in 2023, and a posthumous showcase for Hansard, the musical director who anchored it.