Shane MacGowan is the face and name most often associated with The Pogues. Unraveling Shane's psyche would require a book-length study but the crux of his identity lies somewhere in that conflict between English experience and Irish heritage. The abbreviated story of his life starts with his birth in England, but he was raised in Ireland, and moved back to England some years later. He won a scholarship to the renowned Westminster School, where he was possibly enrolled alongside Thomas Dolby and other notable people. MacGowan was involved with drugs and publicized hooliganery before being in a band, the first of which was The Nipple Erectors in 1977. [more inside]
posted by filthy light thief on Sep 13, 2009 - 87 comments

1983 Ilsington Squatter Punk Documentary
posted by KoobieKitten on Jun 25, 2009 - 15 comments

Dan Treacy and his band Television Personalities have had a long and storied history. Here's a nice little documentary (part one, two, three, four) on 'em. [more inside]
posted by Item on May 20, 2008 - 10 comments

Filmmaker Julien Temple chronicles the life of Joe Strummer in his new film titled The Future Is Unwritten.
posted by Sailormom on May 25, 2007 - 22 comments

Arthur Kane used to play in a band
While working in a Mormon genealogy library, Arthur asked a member of his congregation if he could get a ride to the pawn shop to get his guitars out of hock. Apparently, the former president of his band's fan club, someone named "Morrissey" had called and wanted Arthur to play a reunion concert with his old band. His friend made a documentary about it.
posted by mecran01 on Oct 28, 2005 - 29 comments