The Pogues Vinyl Records – Rum Sodomy & the Lash, If I Should Fall From Grace & Essential Albums on Vinyl

The Pogues are the band that dragged Irish folk music into the punk era. Formed in King's Cross in 1982 around the singular figure of Shane MacGowan — a London-Irish songwriter with a poetic gift and a self-destructive streak — the original line-up combined accordion, banjo, tin whistle and traditional Irish reels with the energy and attitude of The Clash. The result was something genuinely new.

Their finest run — Red Roses for Me (1984), Rum Sodomy & the Lash (1985, produced by Elvis Costello) and If I Should Fall From Grace With God (1988) — produced some of the most beloved British and Irish songs of the decade: Sally MacLennane, A Pair of Brown Eyes, Dirty Old Town, Fairytale of New York (with Kirsty MacColl), Streams of Whiskey and a hundred more. MacGowan died on 30 November 2023, aged 65. The catalogue endures as some of the most deeply loved music in either Irish or British rock. The Pogues on vinyl is essential listening — Costello's Rum Sodomy production is sharper than anything else in their catalogue, and the WEA / Stiff originals are wonderful.

Best The Pogues Albums on Vinyl

Rum Sodomy & the Lash (1985)
Their masterpiece, produced by Elvis Costello. The Sick Bed of Cúchulainn, A Pair of Brown Eyes, Dirty Old Town, The Old Main Drag, And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda — a record that compressed centuries of Irish folk tradition into 38 punk-energy minutes. Essential.

If I Should Fall From Grace With God (1988)
The follow-up, produced by Steve Lillywhite. Fairytale of New York (with Kirsty MacColl, recorded in 1987 — still the most-played Christmas song in the UK), Streams of Whiskey, Bottle of Smoke, Thousands Are Sailing. A more polished, more international record than its predecessor.

Red Roses for Me (1984)
The debut, on Stiff Records. Streams of Whiskey, Boys from the County Hell, Sea Shanty, the title track — recorded fast and loose, full of the manic energy that made the early Pogues live shows legendary.

Peace and Love (1989)
The fourth album. White City, Misty Morning Albert Bridge, Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah, Cotton Fields — denser than its predecessors, with MacGowan's writing increasingly fragmented but still extraordinary.

The Best of The Pogues (1991)
The compilation that introduced most people to the band. Every essential single, beautifully sequenced, and the easiest entry point if you're new to the catalogue.

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Browse The Pogues by genre:

Folk, Country & AmericanaRock