The Pogues have revealed the guest vocalists for their 2025 ‘Rum Sodomy & The Lash’ UK tour.
The band will be heading on a UK tour in May, making stops in cities including Leeds, Glasgow, Newcastle, Birmingham and Manchester. Last Friday (January 31) they announced the guest vocalists who will join them for their 2025 ‘Rum Sodomy & The Lash’ tour, marking the 40th anniversary of their 1985 album of the same name.
The tour will feature original members James Fearnley, Jem Finer and Spider Stacy along with guest musicians Holly Mullineaux (bass), Jordan O’Leary (banjo), Fiachra Meek (pipes/whistles – Alfi), John Dermody (drums – Lankum) plus brass section Pete Fraser, Daniel Hayes and Ian Williamson.
The roster of vocalists includes Nadine Shah, Iona Zajac, John Francis Flynn, Lisa O’Neill and Lankum‘s Daragh Lynch.
The band are set to play their 1985 LP ‘Rum Sodomy & the Lash’ in its entirety along with B-sides, extended version tracks and a special selection of their most beloved material. ‘Rum Sodomy & the Lash’ features the fan-favourite tracks ‘Rainy Night in Soho’, ‘A Pair of Brown Eyes’ and ‘Dirty Old Town’. Visit here for any remaining The Pogues tour tickets.
The Pogues 2025 UK and Ireland headlining tour dates are:
MAY 2025
1 – Leeds, O2 Academy
2 – Birmingham, O2 Academy
3 – London, O2 Academy Brixton
6 – Glasgow, Barrowland
7 – Manchester, O2 Apollo
8 – Newcastle, O2 City Hall
In November 2024, The Pogues spoke to NME about their 2025, playing without Shane MacGowan, and how Fontaines D.C. helped pave the way for the run of dates.
“The ‘Rum Sodomy & The Lash’ shows stemmed from the ‘Red Roses For Me’ anniversary shows which came from outside the band,” Stacy told NME. “Tom [Coll, drummer] from Fontaines D.C. was doing a weekend of Irish music in Hackney in May, and wanted to do something to mark 40 years of ‘Red Roses…’, and he got me involved and off we went.”
“It’s grown organically from the people who want to see and hear us rather than us foisting what we think is worth celebrating on anybody else,” added Fearnley.
When asked about the new wave of Irish bands that include Fontaines D.C., Lankum and Kneecap, Stacy responded: “Fontaines are a fantastic band, but they’re very much carrying their own torch. And Kneecap – Irish-language rappers – are without precedent. If you’re talking about bands like Lankum and The Mary Wallopers, that’s a different story because it’s more Pogues-like territory – to hear them doing what we do in their unique way is exciting. All of those bands are immense.”
The surviving members of The Pogues have been touring and have brought along special guest to join them during their shows to fill in for the late Shane MacGowan. The Irish musician and iconic frontman of The Pogues died “peacefully” in hospital from pneumonia on November 30 2023. He was 65 years old. His funeral took place in Nenagh, County Tipperary on December 8.
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