Shane MacGowan’s band The Pogues slam The Guardian’s ‘terrible’ obituary which describes the musician as having ‘broken teeth and large ears’ following his death aged 65

The Pogues’ have slammed The Guardian newspaper’s ‘terrible’ obituary to their late frontman Shane MacGowan.

The singer had been battling viral encephalitis and was released from hospital just last week. He died in the early hours of Thursday morning at home in Dublin surrounded by his family aged 65. 

Taking to X, formerly known as Twitter, the group’s offical account shared a link to the publication’s obituary which they said was ‘full or errors’. 

The tribute described the singer as having ‘broken teeth and large ears’ before going on claim Shane gave the band a ‘reputation for drunkenness’.

Decades of addiction to drugs and alcohol began destroying Shane teeth before he received a full set of dental implants in 2015. 

The Pogues’ have slammed The Guardian newspaper’s ‘terrible’ obituary to their late frontman Shane MacGowan (pictured before his death on Thursday)

The tribute described the singer as having ‘broken teeth and large ears’ before going on claim Shane gave the band a ‘reputation for drunkenness’ (pictured in 1985)

After the band wrote ‘@guardian ⁩ Such a terrible obituary. Full of errors’ furious fans quickly branded the article ‘vile’ ‘and disrespectful’ 

After the band wrote ‘@guardian ⁩ Such a terrible obituary. Full of errors’ furious fans quickly branded the article ‘vile’ ‘and disrespectful’. 

One wrote: ‘Not really how you open up on a celebration of someone’s life’.

While a second fumed: ‘”With his broken teeth and large ears, Shane MacGowan, who has died aged 65″……who wrote the article? a bully?’.

A third said: Didn’t anyone not tell you beauty is skin deep its what’s on the inside that matters, not looks’. 

And: ‘The worst words chosen for one of the greatest…’.

While someone else added: ‘That’s shocking’. 

It comes after Shane’s wife revealed his cause of death after battling a brain condition for eight years.

He had been battling viral encephalitis and was released from hospital just last week. His wife, Victoria Mary Clarke, confirmed the cause of death as pneumonia.

The rocker performed with the iconic Irish folk band group during the height of it’s success in the late 80s and early 90s before reuniting in 2001 with their last gig together in 2014 (The Pogues pictured in 1990)

One wrote: ‘Not really how you open up on a celebration of someone’s life’

Funeral details are yet to be confirmed for the frontman, whose death was announced in a heartbreaking statement issued on The Pogues’ social media accounts on behalf of the band and his wife, sister Siobhan and father Maurice.

The death prompted an outpouring of tributes from famous faces and Pogues fans – and has rejuvenated a campaign to make the band’s best known song, Fairytale of New York, the UK Christmas number one. 

The statement read: ‘It is with the deepest sorrow and heaviest of hearts that we announce the passing of Shane MacGowan.

‘Shane died peacefully at 3am this morning (30 November 2023) with his wife Victoria and family by his side.

‘Prayers and the last rites were read which gave comfort to his family. 

Decades of addiction to drugs and alcohol began destroying Shane teeth before receiving a full set of dental implants in 2015  (pictured)

‘He is survived by his wife Victoria, his sister Siobhan and his father, Maurice, family and a large circle of friends.

‘Further details will be announced shortly but the family ask for privacy at this very sad time.’

McGowan had spent most of the last year receiving treatment for viral encephalitis – a condition that causes inflammation in the brain – at St Vincent’s Hospital in Dublin, but had been discharged just over a week before his death.

His cause of death was first reported in an obituary published by the New York Times.

Victoria later shared further tributes to her husband, whom she married in Copenhagen, Denmark in December 2018, on social media.

She shared an image of MacGowan smiling on X, formerly Twitter, and captioned it: ‘I am going to miss him so much! His smile, his eyes his laugh his sense of humour and his voice, every little part of him.’

She later revealed MacGowan had spent his final months binging on the Channel 4 Irish comedy classic Father Ted.

Shane MacGowan in hospital shortly before he was released on November 22, eight days before he died

It comes after Shane’s wife Victoria Mary Clarke revealed his cause of death after battling a brain condition for eight years (pictured together in 2017)

She brought him a portable DVD player in hospital – and said he couldn’t get enough of the Graham Linehan show about a pair of hapless priests living off of Ireland’s west coast.

Victoria, 57, told The Sun: ‘So he wouldn’t get bored we brought a little DVD player into Shane and friends have been giving him presents of classic movies on DVD.

‘But the thing he won’t stop playing is the ‘Father Ted; boxset. Shane watches that all day long and can’t stop laughing.’

In recent years, the Irish icon was confined to a wheelchair and was aided by his wife and carer at home, having been plagued by ill-health linked to his years of alcohol and substance abuse. 

He had even written in a memoir, co-authored with his wife, of memories of his uncle bringing him bottles of Guinness from the pub each night from the age of five.

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