Shane MacGowan is set to release a new art book called The Eternal Buzz and the Crock of Gold.
The former Pogues frontman shared news of the limited-edition art folio release, which will be limited to 1000 copies and will hit shelves in April 2022.
MacGowan will feature art including sketches, paintings, self-portraits and character studies in the book as well as archival photographs and handwritten lyrics and stories from his childhood and career.
“I was always into drawing and painting, and I used to do all sorts of things, hurlers, IRA men, teenage punks hanging around in cafes, you name it…” MacGowan explained in a statement.
“When I was about 11 or 12 I got heavily into studying history of art and looking at old paintings and modern paintings, I knew a lot about art. It’s one of the only O Levels I got, was in art.
“I did the album cover for The Pope’s album ‘Crock of Gold’ and I designed the Pogues first album cover, ‘Red Roses For Me’. And I more or less designed the second album ‘If I Should Fall From Grace With God’.”
He added: “In terms of my materials, I like pastels but I don’t really think about it. I’ll paint or draw on anything, with anything. I like more or less everyone from Fra Angelico and Giotto to the latest, like Caravaggio was the last of the Renaissance, before it went into Expressionism.
“I love Cezanne, Gauguin, Monet, Manet. I love the Irish impressionists, Lavery, Jack B Yeats, Brendan Fitzpatrick. The 20th century impressionists who painted the period of Ireland fighting for its freedom. I like Max Ernst, the surrealists, Dali, Chagall… God there’s millions of them.”
Pre-orders for The Eternal Buzz and the Crock of Gold are now open – click here for more information.