The Pogues concert at Barrowland in Glasgow, UK
Sun, 17 Mar 1991

I have never in my life been so anxious about attending a gig. Seeing The Pogues in my favourite venue on St Patrick’s Day would normally be a match made in heaven, but on this occasion there was a caveat. The ‘Old Firm’ as they were called then - Celtic & Rangers - had been drawn together in the Scottish Cup and they were playing earlier that day at Celtic Park. My mate - Brian - and I had tickets for both, but our team Celtic were going through a sticky patch at that time. A defeat in the Glasgow Derby on St Patrick’s day would have led to the gig being a wake. As it transpired the game will go down in history as one of the greatest ever Old Firm games as Celtic overturned the odds to record a memorable victory with four red cards issued on the day. The atmosphere when we eventually reached the Barras was electric. I have never been at a gig where so many of the audience were there so early and the party was in full swing an hour before the Pogues hit the stage. Shane McGowan was stone cold sober and revelled in the atmosphere; Spider had clearly over-indulged, but the gig was an absolute triumph. Chuck in appearances by both the recently released Gerry Conlon and Paul Hill of the Guildford Four on stage and you have the concert goers version of having all your ducks in a row. At times it felt like simultaneously the roof would come off and the floor give way, but had that happened such was the heaving mass of humanity on display I suspect we would have remained suspended in mid air, floating on the cloud of our collective elation. Today we mourn the loss of the ringmaster on that occasion - Shane McGowan - but there will be smiles to match the tears of mourning and gratitude for a life fully lived. 🙏