Nick Cave shares heartbreaking tribute to his late friends The Pogues frontman Shane MacGowan and Sinead O’Connor
Nick Cave has shared a heartbreaking blog post reflecting on the recent losses of iconic artists Shane MacGowan and Sinéad O'Connor.
The Australian singer, 66, called The Pogues frontman a “true friend and the greatest songwriter of his generation” after his death was announced on Thursday.
Cave's poignant words extend to an online essay describing memories of an important event – Shane MacGowan's 60th birthday performance in 2017, where he also shared the stage with Sinead, who passed away five months ago.
Recalling the moment, Nick confessed that he felt “agitated and nervous” about performing alongside greats like Bono, Carl Barat and Bobby Gillespie.
However, it was O'Connor who offered comfort amid the fear.
Nick Cave, 66, (pictured) has shared a heartbreaking blog post reflecting on the recent losses of iconic artists Shane MacGowan and Sinéad O'Connor
Cave wrote: 'Sinéad looked up and caught my eye, smiled, walked over and hugged me. I don't know exactly why, but I was terribly moved by her gesture.'
Despite being led on stage to perform with Shane Summer in Siam, Cave was struck not only by MacGowan's musical prowess, but also by the deep love between the Dirty Old Town singer and his wife, Victoria Mary Clarke.
Cave described the crowd's outpouring of love for Shane as “extraordinary” and unlike anything he had experienced before.
The Australian singer called The Pogues frontman a “true friend and the greatest songwriter of his generation” after his death was announced on Thursday. (Nick pictured on stage with MacGowan in 1991)
Cave's poignant words extend to an essay detailing memories of a significant event: Shane MacGowan's 60th birthday performance in 2017, where he also shared the stage with Sinead, who died five months ago. (Sinead pictured on stage in 2014)
In his moving words, Cave highlighted Shane's uniqueness, purity, innocence, generosity and spiritual intelligence, which endeared him to fans not only for his musical talents, but also for the essence of who he was.
Reflecting on both Shane and Sinéad, Cave concluded, “Sinéad once said of Shane, 'He's an angel.' A real angel.'' Whether this is the case, who knows? But Shane was blessed with an uncommon spirit of goodness and a deep sense of what is true, which was strangely amplified in his brokenness, his humanity.”
“We can say with certainty about him, 'He was loved on earth,' and so is Sinéad – truly loved and deeply missed, both.”
Pogues frontman Shane died 'peacefully' at 3am on Thursday with his wife Victoria Mary Clarke and family by his side.
The singer – whose prolific history of alcoholism and drug abuse was well documented – was battling viral encephalitis – a life-threatening condition that leads to swelling of the brain – and had been in and out of St Vincent's Hospital in Dublin for months.