Editor's Note: Irish musicians Shane MacGowan and Sinéad O'Connor both sadly died this year. We're resharing this piece, first published in 2022, in tribute to them.
Shane McGowan and Sinéad O'Connor discussed death and songwriting in this interview with Pat Kenny on RTÉ's "Kenny Live" that aired on April 29, 1995.
O'Connor and MacGowan were on the show to promote their newly released song "Haunted," which song was originally recorded by The Pogues for the 1986 movie "Sid and Nancy," a film about the relationship between Sid Vicious, the bassist with the band Sex Pistols, and his girlfriend Nancy Spungen.
O'Connor and MacGowan re-recorded the song in 1992 and it was later released in 1995 on the "Two If by Sea/Stolen Hearts" movie soundtrack. It made it to #30 in the charts.
During the "Kenny Live" interview, McGowan, who actually knew Vicious and Spungen, said that while "Haunted" is an emotional and sad song, "it’s happy in a way cos they’re reunited somewhere else."
Pondering her own mortality, O'Connor asked, "What are we all doing here, how does the earth hang in space and what’s going to happen to me when I die, is it going to be slow and painful."
The duo also discussed where they get inspiration, with MacGowan revealing that he finds a little magic everywhere: "I like a few drinks and like I’ve had a good few ideas for songs in pubs."
O'Connor said she wrote songs on plane journeys. She explained that her songs are personal and songwriting is how she talks to herself and tries to find herself.
You can watch Shane MacGowan and Sinead O'Connor in conversation in 1994 here:
MacGowan and O'Connor were friends for years. After O'Connor lost her son in early 2022, MacGowan reached out on social media saying "Sinéad you have always been there for me and for so many people, you have been a comfort & a soul who is not afraid to feel the pain of the suffering.
"You have always tried to heal & help. I pray that you can be comforted & find strength, healing & peace in your own sorrow & loss."
Sinead you have always been there for me and for so many people, you have been a comfort & a soul who is not afraid to feel the pain of the suffering. You have always tried to heal & help. I pray that you can be comforted & find strength, healing & peace in your own sorrow & loss pic.twitter.com/cLn8JwTbuX
— Shane MacGowan (@ShaneMacGowan) January 8, 2022
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