The Pogues Announce First U.K. Tour Since Passing of Frontman Shane MacGowan

Influential Celtic rock band The Pogues have announced a 2025 tour of the U.K., celebrating 40 years of their second album, Rum Sodomy & the Lash.

The tour is the group’s first since their 2014 split, and their first since the passing of vocalist and lyricist Shane MacGowan in 2023. The seven shows will take place across May 2025, with dates scheduled for Leeds, Birmingham, London, Glasgow, Manchester, and Newcastle.

According to a post on the band’s website, the tour will feature founding members Spider Stacy, James Fearnley, and Jem Finer joined by some unnamed “special guests” to celebrate the 40th anniversary of their acclaimed second album.

Released in August 1985, Rum Sodomy & the Lash was the Elvis Costello-produced follow-up to their 1984 debut, Red Roses for Me. Though featuring singles such as “A Pair of Brown Eyes” and “Dirty Old Town” and garnering critical acclaim, the record was not a commercial success.

That elusive success followed with their next album, 1988’s If I Should Fall from Grace with God, which boasted the perennial (and oft-controversial) Holiday favorite, “Fairytale of New York”. It was also the group’s highest-charting record in the U.S., reaching No. 88 on the Billboard 200 – their only album to chart within the top 100.

Though initially active from 1982 until 1996, The Pogues reformed in 2001 and remained active until 2014, though no new material arrived during this time.

The death of legendarily shambolic, magnetic frontman MacGowan in 2023 appeared to spell the end of any further chances of a reunion, though Stacy, Fearnley, and Finer were joined by bandmate Terry Woods and The Frames’ Glen Hansard at MacGowan’s funeral for a performance of “The Parting Glass”.On Dec. 17, Stacy, Fearnley, and Finer will helm a 40th anniversary celebration of Red Roses for Me in Dublin, featuring members of groups such as Fontaines DC, The Pretenders, and The Mary Wallopers.

A statement on the band’s website confirmed that longtime drummer Andrew Ranken would not be taking part in any reunion appearances due to health issues which made performing an impossibility.