The Pogues

In 2002 Q magazine named The Pogues as one of the "50 Bands To See Before You Die". Creation Records website http://www.creation-records.com. The band, including MacGowan, re-formed for a Christmas tour in 2001 and performed 9 shows in the UK in December 2004. Official Website http://www.rideox4.net/. His autobiography, A Drink With Shane MacGowan, co-written with his journalist girlfriend appeared in 2001. Fan's Website http://www.ticket2ride.it/index2.htm. Shane MacGowan remains the sole member of the band in the spotlight, having founded The Popes (AKA Shane MacGowan and The Popes) in 1994. It was reported on the internet that he had asked the band to reform for a special concert with Radiohead a number of years ago which was, unfortunately, turned down.

Though he came with strings attached, few would argue that without MacGowan, The Pogues were a band lacking a leader and in search of creative direction. Thom Yorke, lead singer of Radiohead, was a fan of Ride before his own success. Two politely received but disappointing albums followed until 1996 when the Pogues disbanded. Smile 1992
OX_4 The Best of Ride 2001
Firing Blanks_Unreleased Ride Recordings 1988-95 2001
Live_Reading Festival 1992 2001
Waves (BBC Radio One sessions) 2003
. Without their singer, vocal duties were for a time handled by Joe Strummer, before Stacy finally took over permanently. COMPILATIONS. With his departure, the band was thrown into a state of flux.
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MacGowan and the band parted company in 1991. Ride (EP) (UK Chart #71) 1990
Play (EP) (UK Chart #32) 1990
Fall (EP) (UK Chart #34) 1990
Today Forever (EP) (UK Chart #14) 1991
Leave them all Behind (EP) (UK Chart #9) 1992
Twisterella (EP) (UK Chart #38) 1992
Birdman (EP) (UK Chart #38) 1994
How does it feel to feel? (EP) 1994
I don't know where it comes from (EP) 1994
Black Nite Crash (EP) 1996
Coming up For Air (EP) 2001
. Their next album Hell's Ditch, produced by The Clash's Joe Strummer, featured Stacy and Finer handling many of the vocal duties. SINGLES. The band was at the peak of its commercial success, but MacGowan was spiralling out of control (especially notable during an appearance on the US Saturday Night Live).
. They managed to get things together to record If I Should Fall from Grace with God in 1988 (with its Christmas hit duet with Kirsty MacColl "Fairytale of New York") and 1989's Peace and Love (featuring "White City" and "Down All The Days"). Nowhere (UK Chart #11) 1990
Going Blank Again (UK Chart #5) 1992
Carnival of Light (UK Chart #5) 1994
Tarantula (UK Chart #21) 1996
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Looming over the band at this period (as throughout their entire career) was the increasingly erratic behaviour of their vocalist, principal songwriter and creative visionary, Shane MacGowan. ALBUMS. The band failed to take advantage of the momentum created by the strong artistic and commercial success of their second album. They first refused to record another album (offering up the 4 track EP Poguetry in Motion instead); O'Riordan married Costello and left the band, to be replaced by bassist Darryl Hunt; and they added a multi-instrumentalist in Terry Woods, fomerly of Steeleye Span. Any thoughts of permanently re-forming the band, however, have been explicitly denied by Bell.
. Their version of Eric Bogle's "The Band Played Waltzing Matilda" featured on the album and has become more popular than the original. The fact that the band appears to be releasing new material and even being interviewed together seems to indicate that the tension between Gardener and Bell, which was one of the main causes of the band's demise, has been mended. While the first album had focused mostly on traditional songs, Shane MacGowan came into his own as a songwriter with this disc, offering up some remarkable pieces of poetic story-telling. He has enlisted the help of fellow local mates Goldrush and has been extensively touring America with them in early 2003 and early 2004.

The album cover featured The Raft of the Medusa. Mark Gardener is also now pursuing a solo career and has an album on track for 2005. Phil Chevron (guitar) joined the group soon after, then with the aid of punk and new wave forefather Elvis Costello they recorded the follow up, Rum Sodomy & the Lash, in 1985 (The album title is a reply attributed to Winston Churchill and others in describing the Royal Navy.). In 2003 they released Waves, a series of recordings the band made for the BBC. Shortening their name to "The Pogues" due to lack of radio play for the curse in their name, they released their first album Red Roses for Me in 1985. In late 2002, Ride released a 3CD box set which is made up of OX_4 The Best of Ride, Firing Blanks (Unreleased tracks) and Live_Reading Festival 1992. The band rapidly developed a reputation, started releasing some indie work, and ended up opening for The Clash on tour in 1984. The interest this limited release CD caused the band to consider future releases.

During this time they added Jeremy 'Jem' Finer (guitar, banjo), Cait O'Riordan (bass) and Andrew Ranken (drums). The recording of this song, plus two short sound checks, were released in 2002 as Coming up for Air. Shane MacGowan (vocals), Jim Fearnley (accordion) and Spider Stacy (tin whistle) were the original members of the Pogues, in the days when they busked on the streets of London. 2001+ Channel Four and beyond
On 16 October 2001, all four members of Ride agreed to be filmed by Channel 4. The footage was used for a documentary on Sonic Youth, and featured both Bell's and Gardener's unique use of feedback and distortion during a thirty minute jam. In the later incarnations of the band, after the departure of Shane MacGowan, electronic instruments such as the electric guitar would become more prevalent. Queralt appears to have retired from professional music. Their politically-tinged music was reminiscent of The Clash, with whom they played (Joe Strummer produced one of their albums), and utilised traditional Irish instruments such as the tin whistle, banjo mandolin, accordion, and more. Gardener has also toured as a solo artist, while Colbert has also been playing for a Bob Dylan tribute band called "The Zimmermen".

The Pogues were founded in London in 1982 as Pogue Mahone — "pogue mahone" being the Anglicization of the Irish póg mo thóin, meaning "kiss my arse." The band specialised in Celtic folk with a side order of punk attitude and featured a largely Irish-born cast. Mark Gardener and Laurence Colbert formed "The Animalhouse". They had a strong following, providing music which remains largely unique to this day. 1997-2001 Post break-up years
After the split, Andy Bell formed a new band called "Hurricane #1" but this project was permanently dissolved when he was asked to play Bass for Oasis. The Pogues were a popular Irish folk/punk band of the 1980s.
. The Rest Of The Best. It appears that they had just been too young and too stubborn and had no real idea of where the band was heading when they changed their style.

The Best of The Pogues. Since the break-up, both Bell and Gardner have been able to be more reflective on the reasons why the group disintegrated, with Bell especially admitting his own part in the process. Pogue Mahone. Critics and fans alike had panned the album, and it was no surprise to them to learn that the band had split before the record had even been released. Waiting For Herb. Against all common sense from the record company, the album was released and remained on sale for one week before being withdrawn. Hell's Ditch. Castle on the Hill, written by Bell, was a lament for the band's situation and contains references to Gardner's self imposed exile from the group.

Peace and Love. Bell penned most of the songs while Gardner provided only one - the tension within the band leading to an inability to write meaningful musical pieces. Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah. By the time Tarantula appeared, the band was beginning to self destruct. Poguetry in Motion. Other musical changes, such as the use of a Cathedral boy's choir for one song and Hammond organs for a number of others, were not as innovative or creative as had been hoped. If I Should Fall From Grace with God. The track listing of Carnival of Light gives an indication of the tension that was mounting between the two guitarists, with the first half of the album being songs written by Gardner and the last half of the album being songs written by Bell - one or both had refused to let their songs be interspersed with pieces written by the other.

Rum, Sodomy, and the Lash. It has been remarked by Queralt that the band had two future directions open to them, and they chose the wrong option. Red Roses For Me. Both had led the band away from their Shoegazing roots to become more contemporary, hoping to change their style with the times. It appears that the band split due to creative and personal tensions between Gardner and Bell. 1996 The Break up
1995 (1995 in music) saw the dissolution of the band while recording Tarantula, universally agreed to be their worst album.

Despite this, Carnival of Light remains a favourite for many fans. Carnival of Light was oriented towards this new sound, but sales were sluggish and the shift in musical tastes devastated much of their original audience. Their third LP, Carnival of Light, was released in 1994 (1994 in music), after shoegazing had given way to Britpop among mainstream listeners. 1994-96 Change in Musical Direction
Despite having a solid fanbase and some mainstream success, the lack of a breakthrough contributed to inter-band tension, especially between Gardner and Bell.

Ride's early influences include Sonic Youth and My Bloody Valentine, both of which influenced the style of Ride's music and the songs found on Going Blank Again. This link, between Shoegazing and Grunge_music, has never been fully explored. It needs to be pointed out, also, that the band had listened to and had been been influenced by the album Nevermind by Nirvana as they recorded their second LP. The twin rhythm guitars of Bell and Gardener, both distorted, both using Wah-wah pedals and both feeding back on each other was the highlight of the album's critical and chart success.

Opening with the anthemic 8.17 single Leave them all behind, the album showcased the band's creative work and skill in working with the Wall of Sound style that typifies Shoegazing bands. March 1992 saw the band release probably their best work, the album Going Blank Again. Ride made their first international tour to Japan, Australia and France later on that year. Sennen, the second track from this EP, became a crowd favourite.

The EP showed a band that was maturing quickly and producing material that was more subtle and complex than their releases barely 12 months previously. Demand for new material was high, and the band recorded another EP, Today Forever in March 1991. It was from this period that the band usually closed their live set with Seagull, a mass of feedback and rhythm guitar that remains one of the band's classic pieces.
. Many fans regard this as their favourite album, with songs like Vapour Trail, and Dreams Burn Down becoming classics in Shoegazing.

Nowhere was hailed as a critical success and the media dubbed Ride "The brightest hope" for 1991. The first two EPs were eventually released together as Smile years later in 1992, while the Fall EP was incorporated into their first LP, Nowhere, released in October 1990. While each EP was not a chart success, enough critical praise was received to make Ride the "darlings" of music journalists. From these EPs, the songs Chelsea Girl, Like a Daydream and Dreams Burn Down became favourites.

1989-1993 Early Creation Years
Ride released three EPs between January and September 1990, entitled Ride, Play and Fall, each with distinctive blurred artwork on the covers. After supporting The Soup Dragons in 1989 McGee from Creation Records signed a record deal with them. In February 1989 'Ride' was asked to stand in for a cancelled student union gig at Oxford Poly that brought them to the attention of Alan McGee. While still at Banbury the band produced a tape demo including the tracks 'Chelsea Girl' and 'Drive Blind'.

The first gig as Ride was for the College's Christmas Party in 1988. After considering the name 'Donkey' the band called itself 'Ride' after a piece of graphic design Gardner produced for a typography workshop. Queralt was recruited from a local record shop. There they met Colbert.

1988-1989 Starting out
Gardner and Bell had been to Cheney School in Oxford appearing in the schools musical theatre productions and in October 1988 moved went to Banbury to do Foundation Studies in Art and Design. Since 2001 the band has been semi-active and has released a number of compilation and live recordings, as well as a limited pressing EP with new material. Since then, the band members have gone on to other projects, most notably Andy Bell becoming Bass Player for Oasis. During that time they received much critical acclaim, although this was never translated into the chart and financial success that they aimed for.

The band formed in 1988 in Oxford, England, and officially broke up in 1996. Ride is a 1980s and 90s British shoegazing band, formed by Laurence Colbert (Drums), Mark Gardner (Guitar), Steve Queralt (Bass) and Andy Bell (Guitar) in 1988.