U2 Cover the Pogues' 'Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah' for Shane MacGowan Tribute Album

U2 have premiered their cover of the Pogues' 1988 track "Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah," released as part of an upcoming tribute album honouring the late Shane MacGowan. Rolling Stone published the track in an exclusive article on 28 August 2026, and MacGowan's official social media account confirmed the release the same day.

The tribute album, titled 20th Century Paddy – The Songs of Shane MacGowan, is scheduled for release on 13 November. It features contributions from U2, Bruce Springsteen, Tom Waits, the Libertines, Dropkick Murphys and David Gray, according to Rolling Stone. Springsteen shared his own rendition of the Pogues' "A Rainy Night in Soho" from the project back in March.

U2's guitarist, the Edge, provided a statement accompanying the release of the band's cover. The Pogues once opened for U2 in concert — Lou Reed was also on the bill — a detail noted on U2's own website, giving the cover a shared-history dimension that needs no embellishment.

For U2, the tribute track lands in the middle of an unusually busy year. The band released two EPs earlier in 2026, Days of Ash and Easter Lily, and have already put out "Street of Dreams," the lead single from a forthcoming studio album due later this year. That album will be U2's first collection of new material since 2017's Songs of Experience — a gap of nearly a decade. It also marks the return of drummer Larry Mullen Jr., who sat out the band's 2023/24 residency at the Sphere in Las Vegas while recovering from back surgery.

The timing is fitting, if unplanned. U2 will commemorate the 50th anniversary of their formation on 25 September, though how they plan to mark the occasion has not been announced. Beyond the album and anniversary, the Edge has taken on an interview show on U2's SiriusXM channel, featuring conversations primarily with guitarists.

The MacGowan tribute adds another thread to that schedule. MacGowan, the Pogues' frontman and primary songwriter, died in November 2023 at the age of 65. His work drew on Irish folk, punk and pub-rock traditions, and his songs have drawn covers from artists across genres in the years since. The roster assembled for 20th Century Paddy spans rock, folk-punk and alternative acts — a range that mirrors the breadth of MacGowan's own influence rather than narrowing it.

What gives the project its weight is the list of names attached. Springsteen, Waits and U2 are artists who rarely lend themselves to other people's tribute albums; their presence here reflects the standing MacGowan held among songwriters who operate at stadium scale and in small rooms alike.

For fans, the 13 November release date is the one to circle. The U2 cover is available now.