A Perth author’s account of how music managed to cut through the dementia his father was succumbing to has “moved and humbled” his musical hero.
Pogues frontman Shane MacGowan was given early sight of the chapter in Calum Bruce’s new book which recounts how father and son were emotionally united while listening to the singer’s work.
In the moving account Calum tells how his father, William Bruce, despite dementia robbing him of much of his memory, could respond to the music of The Pogues.
“He’d tilt his head back and he would cry the most emotional tears I’ve ever seen,” writes Calum, 50, in his book about his twin passions, Hibs and The Pogues.
“Watching him gave me a feeling that broke down any barriers that may have before been between us.
“Dad’s dementia was not going to be powerful enough to hold back his pure enjoyment of Shane’s song.”
Shane MacGowan’s response to the bonding of father and song through his music was particularly gratifying to the author.
MacGowan’s partner emailed the author personally to say that he had read the book and had been “moved and humbled” by its contents.
“His recognition of the whole scenario, and his wonderful reaction, was like the best bit of emotional, personal business, to be tied up, ever,” said Calum, a former Perth Academy pupil who has now seen The Pogues in their various guises 123 times.
His other lifelong interest, the trials and tribulations of following a football team through thick and thin, is also an integral part of the book.
“The book is more about people rather than about the history of Hibs or The Pogues,” insists Calum, who worked for many years as a chef.
“It is based mostly on humour, mostly at my expense.”
He also sees it as a tribute to his father and has won the support of another fellow football supporting Pogues lover.
“The Hibs and The Pogues. What more could you want,” said Trainspotting author Irvine Welsh.
Schooldays, relationships and gambling are all also examined in the book, Hibs and The Pogues.
