Shane Patrick Lysaght MacGowan (born 25 December 1957) is an Irish singer, songwriter, and musician. He is best known as the lead singer and songwriter of Celtic punk band the Pogues. He was also a member of the Nipple Erectors and Shane MacGowan and the Popes, as well as producing his own solo material and collaborating with artists such as Kirsty MacColl, Joe Strummer, Nick Cave, Steve Earle, Sinéad O'Connor, and Ronnie Drew.
MacGowan was born on 25 December 1957 in Pembury, Kent, the son of Irish immigrants. His father was from Dublin and his mother was from Tipperary. His mother, Therese, worked as a typist at a convent and had previously been a singer, traditional Irish dancer, and model. His father, Maurice, came from a middle-class background and worked in the offices of department store C&A; he was, in his own words, a "local roustabout". MacGowan's younger sister, Siobhan MacGowan, became a journalist, writer, and songwriter. He spent childhood holidays in County Tipperary, though never resided in Ireland.
MacGowan lived in many parts of southeast England such as Brighton, London, and London's home counties, and attended an English public school. In 1971, he graduated with a literature scholarship from Holmewood House preparatory school in Langton Green, Kent, and was subsequently accepted into Westminster School. He was found in possession of drugs and expelled in his second year. He was first publicly noted in 1976 at a concert by London punk rock band The Clash, where his earlobe was damaged by future Mo-dettes bassist Jane Crockford. A photographer took a picture of him covered in blood, which made the local papers with the headline "Cannibalism at Clash Gig". Shortly after this, he later joined punk band The Nipple Erectors (later known as 'The Nips'), which featured Shanne Bradley.

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