Shane MacGowan has died.

Shane MacGowan has died

Shane MacGowan has died

The Pogues frontman - who is best known for his festive single 'Fairytale of New York' - has passed away at the age of 65 following a string of health issues, his wife Victoria Mary Clarke has announced.

She said: "Shane will always be the light that I hold before me and the measure of my dreams and the love of my life".

The sad news comes just a week after he was discharged from hospital after spending months in intensive care.

Victoria posted a picture of a smiling Shane on X, and wrote in the caption: "Shane got out of the hospital! We are deeply and eternally grateful to all of the doctors and nurses and staff at St Vincent’s it’s the best ! And special thanks to Tom Creagh and Brian Corscadden for your help @ShaneMacGowan @poguesofficial (sic)"

The 'Dirty Old Town' hitmaker was diagnosed with viral encephalitis - a deadly infection that can cause brain damage and life-threatening complications - last year, and had been receiving care at St Vincent's Hospital in Dublin, Ireland.

Shane - who had used a wheelchair since 2015 after fracturing his pelvis in a fall and later damaging his knees - first formed his own punk band, The Nipple Erectors, later the Nips, and made a demo produced by Paul Weller.

He and bandmade John Hasler left the group in the early 1980s to form Pogue Mahone with members of the Millwall Chainsaws and later changed their name to the Pogues, receiving rave reviews for their debut album, 1984's 'Red Roses for Me'.

Shane was fired from the band in 1991, a year after their fifth album 'Hell's Ditch' was released, after failing to turn up for concerts during a tour of Japan.

He went on to form Shane MacGowan and the Popes before joining a full Pogues reunion in 2001, with the band staying together until 2014.

His last album was with The Popes, 'The Crock of Gold', in 1997 but sine 2015 he had been working on another album with the Irish band Cronin.

Copies of his art book, 'The Eternal Buzz and the Crock of Gold', were sold for £1,000 each to help raise funds for his care.

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