Shane MacGowan (1,847 views)

[IhateMana]

Shane Patrick Lysaght MacGowan (25 December 1957 - 30 November 2023)
Associated Acts: The Nipple Erectors/The Nips (1976 - 1981, 2008), The Pogues (1982 - 1991, 2001 - 2014), Shane Macgowan and the Popes (1992 - 2005)
Voice Type: Irish
Vocal Range: C2 - A5

SPOILER: Click to show

{Vocal Summary}Bazza from down the pub but worse, yet infinitely better. You can get kicked out of a bar for just imagining his voice.
Written by @username.

Significant High Notes

A5 ("Bottle of Smoke", "Fiesta", "If I Should Fall from Grace with God", "Repeal of the Licensing Laws")
G♯5 ("Down in the Ground Where the Deadmen Go", "Greenland Whale Fisheries")
G5 ("The Gentleman Soldier", "The Sick Bed of Cúchulainn")
F5 ("Billy's Bones", "The Sick Bed of Cúchulainn")
E5 ("Fiesta")
D5 ("The Gentleman Soldier")
G4 ("Dark Streets of London", "Down in the Ground Where the Deadmen Go", "Fiesta", "Poor Paddy", "Waxie's Dargle")
F♯4 ("Muirshin Durkin")
F4 ("Billy's Bones", "Dark Streets of London", "The Irish Rover", "The Sick Bed of Cúchulainn")
E4 ("The Auld Triangle", "Bottle of Smoke", "Boys from the County Hell", "The Broad Majestic Shannon", "Dirty Old Town", "Down in the Ground Where the Deadmen Go", "The Irish Rover", "Kitty", "Medley: The Recruiting Sergeant/The Rocky Road to Dublin/The Galway Races", "The Old Main Drag", "Poor Paddy", "Sea Shanty", "Streams of Whiskey", "Thousands Are Sailing", "Transmetropolitan", "Waxie's Dargle", "Whisky You're the Devil")
D4 ("The Broad Majestic Shannon", "Fairytale of New York", "Fiesta", "The Gentleman Soldier", "Greenland Whale Fisheries", "The Leaving of Liverpool", "Navigator", "A Pair of Brown Eyes", "Poor Paddy", "Sally MacLennane", "Sit Down by the Fire", "Streams of Whiskey", "Whisky You're the Devil", "The Wild Rover")


Significant Low Notes

C3 ("Billy's Bones", "Bottle of Smoke", "Dark Streets of London", "Kitty", "The Leaving of Liverpool", "Lullaby of London", "Sea Shanty", "Transmetropolitan", "What a Wonderful World")
B2 ("Boys from the County Hell", "Haunted")
A2 ("And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda", "The Broad Majestic Shannon", "Fairytale of New York", "If I Should Fall from Grace with God", "Mountain Dew", "The Old Main Drag", "Sally MacLennane", "Sit Down by the Fire", "Streets of Sorrow/Birmingham Six", "Streams of Whiskey", "Thousands Are Sailing", "Turkish Song of the Damned", "Whisky You're the Devil")
G2 ("The Irish Rover", "Lullaby of London", "The Sick Bed of Cúchulainn")
F♯2 ("Fairytale of New York", "If I Should Fall from Grace with God")
C2 ("Wanderin' Star")

.......................................................
Blue marks falsetto or whistle notes.
Underlines mark notes that are obscured in the song mix.
Italics mark non-melodic notes.
Boldface marks notes that are considered to be particularly notable examples of this person's vocal capabilities.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Questionable Notes}

B5 ("Waxie's Dargle" lmfao)
A5 ("Sea Shanty" [3])
G♯5 ("The Wild Cats of Kilkenny" [6])
G5 ("Whisky You're the Devil" [5])
F♯5 ("Streams of Whiskey" [1])

.......................................................
[1] marks yelps and short trills in high range or anacrusis and short dips in low range.
[2] marks notes of questionable identity that cannot be confirmed to be the singer in question.
[3] marks non-melodic notes that don't have a significant enough pitch to warrant inclusion.
[4] marks notes that possess uncertain pitch or have been pitch-shifted.
[5] marks notes that do not fit the previous criteria but are not of a substantial enough quality to warrant counting towards the singer's range.
[6] cat

SPOILER: Click to show

{Discography}
The Pogues

Red Roses for Me: A2 - G♯5
Rum, Sodomy & The Lash: G2 - G♯5
If I Should Fall from Grace with God: F♯2 - A5
Peace and Love:
Hell's Ditch:

Shane MacGowan and the Popes

(1994) The Snake:
(1997) The Crock of Gold:

[Osmosis]

Great timing. Was thinking of checking if this guy had a thread and lo and behold here one is.

[clem]

Wasn't expecting that big a range!
Didn't know he was born on Christmas Day either, which is fitting for the singer of one of the essential holiday jams. Nice thread

He has D4s, and a B2 in "The Ballad of Ronnie Drew". The line-up on that track was one of a kind.

[iknownothing]

I know the thread is not done yet, but I think he hits C2 a few times in Wanderin' Star, some of which are really nice (others are very sharp).

[IhateMana]

well that's a hell of a response for a WIP thread y'all, certainly motivation enough to finish it

[Macca]

RIP
www.theguardian.com/music/2023/nov/30/shane-macgowan-pogues-singer-dies

[clem]

Dropping in to say R.I.P.
The Fairytale of New York is going to hit different this year