Glen Hansard Releases Live Pogues Cover Ahead of Shane MacGowan Tribute Album

Glen Hansard has released a live recording of a Pogues song as a single from a tribute album to Shane MacGowan, the band's frontman, due on 20 November.

The recording comes from an October 2024 concert at The Wiltern in Los Angeles. During the show, Hansard brought James Fearnley, the Pogues' accordion player, on stage. Together they played a cover of "Bottle of Smoke", a 1988 Pogues song. Rolling Stone reported the release.

The track is a single from 20th Century Paddy: The Songs of Shane MacGowan. A single is one song a record label releases ahead of a full album, so listeners get a first taste before the whole collection arrives. The album is a tribute, meaning other musicians record their own versions of MacGowan's songs. MacGowan died in 2023. Contributors include Bruce Springsteen, U2 and Dropkick Murphys.

Hansard's connection to MacGowan goes beyond the album. He was musical director for MacGowan's funeral, and he performed the Pogues' "A Rainy Night in SoHo" at the ceremony. Musical director is the person who plans and leads the music for an event, choosing the songs and arranging who plays them.

The release is posthumous, which means it comes after the artist's death. Records like this often take months to plan, with artists, labels and rights holders agreeing on which songs to include and who sings them. Here, the live Hansard and Fearnley recording was chosen as the first public piece of the project.

For longtime fans of the Pogues, the single offers a link back to the band's sound, with one of its original members on stage. For anyone new to the band, it is a short way in. Either way, the full album will show how the other contributors approached the same catalogue, and it is due on 20 November.