Shane MacGowan was seen enjoying a drink as he and his wife Victoria Mary Clarke joined guests to celebrate his book launch in Dublin on Tuesday evening.
The Irish singer, 64, sat in a wheelchair as he arrived at the event and enjoyed what seemed to be a glass of wine. He has been wheelchair-bound since fracturing his pelvis in 2015.
His journalist wife and long-term partner Victoria, 56, was seen smiling as she wrapped her arms around his shoulders as they looked through his new book.
Fun times: Shane MacGowan was seen enjoying a drink as he and his wife Victoria Mary Clarke (both pictured with Louis Walsh and Patrick Bergin) joined guests to celebrate his book launch in Dublin on Tuesday evening
Shane, who has suffered physically from years of drinking and drug abuse, cut a smart figure in black trousers and a T-shirt, which he paired with a dark blazer and scarf.
The Pogues star shielded his eyes with a pair of dark sunglasses and sported a wide brimmed black hat to complete his laidback ensemble.
Shane celebrated the launch of his limited edition book with his wife, sister Siobhan, 59, and the likes of Patrick Bergin, Louis Walsh, Peter Coonan and Diarmuid Gavin.
Victoria, who claimed in 2016 that Shane was sober for the ‘first time in several years’, looked stylish in a black ensemble embellished with gold detailing.
Book launch: Shane was seen enjoying a drink as he celebrated the launch of his book The Eternal Buzz and the Crock of Gold in Dublin, just weeks after his art exhibition
The book, The Eternal Buzz and the Crock of Gold, features Shane’s illustrations, self-portraits, school essays and unpublished handwritten lyrics.
The 502-page, limited edition monograph also includes a critical essay written by The Sunday Times’ art critic, Waldemar Januszczak, along with contributions by Miss Clarke, actor Johnny Depp and MacGowan himself.
Johnny Depp said of Shane’s work: ‘Shane’s visions will speak for themselves. Sometimes they will invoke wonder, sometimes they might appear decidedly threatening, but, regardless of medium, his work will always be full of poetry.’
His artworks have been immortalised in print after he launched an exhibition of his work at the Andipa Gallery in Knightsbridge last month.
Celebrating: Shane, who has suffered physically from years of drinking and drug abuse, cut a smart figure in black trousers and a T-shirt, which he paired with a blazer and scarf
Family: The Pogues star, who was joined by his sister Siobhan (both pictured), shielded his eyes with a pair of dark sunglasses and sported a wide brimmed black hat to complete his laidback ensemble
At the exhibition, he partied with Kate Moss and told fans to ‘bring lots of money’ as his works were set to sell for up to £32,000.
He puffed on a vape and sipped on a glass of bubbly, although it is not known if the drink was alcoholic or not, as supermodel Kate posed next to him.
He shielded his eyes behind a pair of dark sunglasses as he sat in his wheelchair as fashion icon Kate and his wife Victoria Mary Clarke, 56, stood behind him.
Kate wore a black mini dress and played with her hair while resting her leg on the arm of the singer’s wheelchair, while chatting to journalist Victoria.
Arrival: The Irish singer, 64, sat in a wheelchair as he arrived at the event and enjoyed what seemed to be a glass of wine. He has been wheelchair-bound since fracturing his pelvis in 2015
New project: The book, The Eternal Buzz and the Crock of Gold, features Shane’s illustrations, self-portraits, school essays and unpublished handwritten lyrics
The trio were joined by a number of other stars, including singer Bob Geldof who cut a casual figure in a blue and black jacket and a brown hat.
Geldof was joined by fashion designer Pam Hogg who showcased her quirky sense of style for the evening.
Before heading out for the evening, Shane was filmed for an Instagram video by his long-term partner Miss Clarke, with the star opening the clip by singing a line from the 1969 song Come And Get It by Badfinger.
He warbled: ‘Here it is come and get it, but you’d better hurry because it’s going fast,’ adding that the track would be played on the launch night of the exhibition.
Exciting: The 502-page, limited edition monograph also includes a critical essay written by The Sunday Times’ art critic, Waldemar Januszczak, along with contributions by Miss Clarke, actor Johnny Depp and MacGowan himself
Greeting: At the book launch, Shane was seen chatting to friends and greeting people as he sat and enjoyed a beverage at the table, while looking over his new book
He went on to express his gratitude for his wife for helping him with the art display, before telling his social media followers to ‘bring some money, lots of money’.
He added of his art pieces: ‘They won’t get cheaper,’ before Miss Clarke joked: ‘They’ll be like Picasso before you know it.’
Johnny is a close friend of Shane and his wife, with the actor having produced the 2020 film Crock of Gold, which looks back the musician’s eventful life – from his childhood in Ireland with big dreams of pursuing a career in music, to becoming an icon.
The gallery said in a statement: ‘Andipa is delighted to present The Eternal Buzz and the Crock of Gold, an exhibition by the acclaimed singer-songwriter Shane MacGowan.
Meal: Shane was seen enjoying a bite to eat at the Dublin restaurant as he socialised with celebrity names including Diarmuid Gavin
Guests: Shane celebrated the launch of his limited edition book with his wife, sister Siobhan, 59, and the likes of Louis Walsh and Patrick Bergin
‘His work, which has been described by the art critic, Waldemar Januszczak, as possessing a “demented, wild, fascinating, scabrous kind of energy”, will be represented by twenty small-scale drawings mostly dating from the 1980s.’
The pieces of abstract art were on sale for a variety of prices ranging from £5,000 (plus VAT) to £32,000 (plus VAT).
Shane said of his work: ‘I was always into drawing and painting, and I used to do all sorts of things, hurlers, IRA men, teenage punks hanging around in cafes, you name it.
‘When I was about 11 or 12 I got heavily into studying history of art and looking at old paintings and modern paintings, I knew a lot about art. It’s one of the only O Levels I got, was in art.’
Glitterati: His artworks have been immortalised in print after he launched an exhibition of his work at the Andipa Gallery in Knightsbridge last month, where he socialised with Kate Moss
Out on the town: At the exhibition, Shane vaped in his wheelchair alongside his wife and supermodel Kate. The star is now wheelchair-bound after breaking his pelvis in a fall in 2015
Smoky: Shane, who has suffered physically from years of binge drinking and drug abuse, puffed on his vape alongside Kate, who wore a black mini dress
Shane has suffered physically from years of binge drinking and would often perform on stage drunk.
He began drinking at the tender age of five, when his family gave him Guinness to help him sleep, and his father frequently took him to the local pub while he drank with his friends.
His wife Miss Clarke announced in 2016 that he was sober for the ‘first time in several years’ and explained how his drinking problem stemmed from years of ‘singing in bars and clubs where people go to drink and have fun’.
She claimed his spiral into alcohol addiction happened due to the introduction of hard drugs, such as heroin.
Raucous: After the event, Kate waved her hands in the air as she dances next to Miss Clarke, who held a bottle of water
The journalist said the singer became sober after a length stay in hospital when he was suffering from pneumonia and a hip injury, and MacGowan continued his sobriety journey when he returned home.
During a lengthy career, he is perhaps best known for 1987 Christmas single Fairytale Of New York, a collaboration with the late Kirsty MacColl.
Shane has been wheelchair bound, on and off since a bad fall damaged his back a few years ago. He has a well-documented history of drink and drugs and famously got his teeth fixed in 2015 after losing the final one in 2009.
Pogues singer Shane and first met his wife Victoria when she was just 16 years old and he was 24, but it would be another four years before they began dating.
Creative: Before heading out for the evening, Shane was filmed for an Instagram video by his long-term partner, with the star opening the clip by singing a line from the 1969 song Come And Get It by Badfinger
Journalist Victoria had a difficult childhood, at one point discovering the man who she thought was her father was not. The writer said she craved physical affection from men in her teens and Shane gave her a ‘sense of purpose’ when they first met.
Writing in The Guardian, she said: ‘Once we were together, I felt my own life becoming subsumed by his. This was a welcome feeling for me, as I preferred to live someone else’s life.
‘I took immediate responsibility for his moods and problems and devoted myself to solving them and to being his personal assistant as well as his lover. I worshipped him in every possible way.
‘In return, I felt that he gave me a sense of purpose, as well as a sense of being wanted. I belonged to him in a way that I had never really belonged to my family.’
Old times: During a lengthy career MacGowan is perhaps best known for 1987 Christmas single Fairytale Of New York, a collaboration with the late Kirsty MacColl, pictured together
It was a long courtship for the couple who didn’t get engaged until 2007 and were not married for another 11 years.
They tied the knot in November 2018 at Copenhagen City Hall with Johnny Depp, Shane’s longtime friend, playing the guitar during the low-key ceremony.
Speaking to the Irish Independent, Victoria said ahead of the couple’s big day: ‘Shane and I are both introverts and we decided that the only solution was to just elope together to someplace that we know nobody and nobody knows us, and keep it a secret.
‘But I have discovered something about weddings that I had not realised. People really, really want to show that they love the people that they care about.
Devoted: Shane’s partner, journalist Victoria Mary Clarke, helped the wheelchair-bound singer put the exhibition together
‘So, much as we might have liked our wedding to be a non-event, and because we have found it impossible to keep it a total secret, a few of our friends and family have elected to make it a tiny but beautiful thing.’
In an interview with The Irish Mirror ahead of her wedding, Victoria spoke about being ‘consumed’ by Shane when they met and also said she was attracted to his ‘monstrous arrogance.’
She said: ‘I was awe-struck by him. I became consumed by the thought of him. He says that he felt the same way, that we were destined to be together. But ours were not to be easy, uncomplicated lives and ours was not to be an uncomplicated love affair.
‘We grabbed hold of each other and hung on for a ride that took us on for a ride that took us through a world of glamour and fame, creativity and ecstasy, drink, drugs and crazy, wild sex and on to madness, self-destruction and despair, violence, death, betrayal, rage separation and sadness and on and on towards revelation, renewal, compassion and hope for the future.’
Relationship: Pogues singer Shane and first met his wife Victoria when she was just 16 years old and he was 24, but it would be another four years before they began dating
She previously told the site that drinking was not her love’s only problem, and she once found him with a needle in his leg, but she said ‘you can’t help who you fall in love with.’
Victoria said: ‘When he answered the door to me after having missed his flight to the United States to open for Bob Dylan, and there was blood pouring out of his mouth because he had eaten a Beach Boys record, it…
