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Missed flights, pub crawls, and no sleep – No1 hitmaker on working with ‘genius’ Shane MacGowan

Scottish songwriter John McLaughlin wrote for the biggest boybands of the early noughties before he became pals with the Pogues legend.

The late Shane MacGowan performing at Finsbury Park, north London. Image: PA.
The late Shane MacGowan performing at Finsbury Park, north London. Image: PA.

“Writing with Shane MacGowan is… an experience.”

Songwriter John McLaughlin is chuckling as he says this.

The hitmaker was the pen behind noughties No1s such as Busted’s ‘What I Go To School For’, Westlife’s ‘Queen of My Heart’, and folksy earworm ‘I Wish I Was A Punk Rocker’ by Sandi Thom.

He’s been a mentor on BBC’s Fame Academy, worked with music mogul Simon Cowell, toured with Rod Stewart and even rocked the stage as part of the Bay City Rollers.

But rather than pop hits, John’s first love was folk music – particularly Irish melodies.

Songwriter John McLaughlin is good friends with Rod Stewart. Image: Supplied.

And he counts writing with his friend and late Pogues legend MacGowan as some of the most special highlights of his career.

Shane was ‘like Keyser Söze’

“Shane loves Scotland, bless him. But when you get him over to do a bit of writing, he’s always going to be a minimum of two to three days late,” John says fondly.

“Then you go to the airport to pick him up, and ultimately he’s missing two or three flights.

“Eventually he turns up. You get to the hotel and it’s straight to the bar – pub crawl, pub crawl, pub crawl!

“And talk, talk talk. He’s like Keyser Söze, he just takes everything in. You’re up drinking all night.

John McLaughlin is paying tribute to his late friend and Pogues legend Shane MacGowan. Image: Supplied.

“Then in the morning – after no sleep, and I’m begging for sleep at this point – he gets the guitar and we start battering away.

“And everything we’ve been speaking about will turn into a song.”

Though the late Pogues legend died in 2023, John rarely talks about MacGowan in the past tense – especially when recalling the “absolute joy” of making music together.

Maybe that’s because for John, Shane very much lives on in his current project.

How did ‘personal salute’ turn into sensation?

For The Love of Shane MacGowan started off on stage at the 2024 Edinburgh Fringe.

What was supposed to be a one-off run at the Voodoo Rooms became a sensation, with multiple extras performances added after the show sold out at lightning speed.

“It started out as just a personal salute to my good pal and an absolute genius,” says John, who performs Shane’s songs on stage from both his Pogues and Popes days, as well as telling stories from the Irish bard’s life.

“But the response has been amazing and it’s taken on a life of its own.”

Since then, with the blessing of Shane’s widow Victoria Mary Clarke, John and his band – Johnny Mac and the Faithful – have taken the 90-minute show on the road, playing all over the UK, Europe and even Canada.

John McLaughlin will take to the stage with Johnny Mac and The Faithful in For The Love of Shane MacGowan. Image: Bazza Mills.

Now John’s excited to be bringing the show to Dundee’s Beat Generator – which he dubs “the King Tut’s of Dundee“.

“I’m very lucky,” smiles John, who is still getting used to his on-stage success after spending more than 35 years of his music career behind the scenes.

“I love singing the songs; my voice has a weirdly similar tone to Shane’s, quite gruff, and our band are heavily influenced by The Pogues.

“Plus I’ve got loads of photos and video. And I get to tell some of the stories of our time together,” he adds.

“Which are pretty funny, because when you’re with Shane MacGowan, the craziest things happen!”

Football memories of ‘beautiful soul’ Shane

John first met avid Celtic fan Shane when he was determined to make football tune ‘Best Day of Our Lives’ a No1 hit.

“I thought, I’ll get a bunch of famous people involved,” says John. “We got Noel Gallagher, Rod Stewart, Billy Connolly – and I was determined to get Shane MacGowan.

“He heard the song and loved it. And we got on so well, we started writing songs together.”

John McLaughlin is ‘honoured’ to pay tribute to Shane MacGowan.  Image: Supplied.

John describes Shane as a “beautiful soul”. He recalls how affected the Dirty Old Town singer was when he walked out on to Celtic Park during a league-winning week for the team, and the fans erupted.

“Shane talked about it forever. I think it shocked him,” says John.

“He missed his cue, obviously, because he was drunk. But he was still amazing.”

For The Love of Shane MacGowan is at Beat Generator, Dundee, on April 18. 

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