Bruce Springsteen pays tribute to Shane MacGowan in Kilkenny's Nowlan Park

13 May 2024, 13:31 | Updated: 13 May 2024, 16:09

Bruce Springsteen in 2024 and Shane MacGowan in 1997 — Bruce Springsteen paid tribute to Shane MacGowan at his Irish gig. Picture: Debbie Hickey/Getty Images, Martyn Goodacre/Getty Images

By Jenny Mensah

The Boss paid tribute to the late The Pogues singer at his date at Nowlan Park. Find out what was else on the setlist.

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Bruce Springsteen paid tribute to Shane MacGowan.

The New Jersey icon is currently on his UK & Irish dates and he chose to open his main set at Nowlan Park in Kilkenny, Ireland with a rendition of The Pogues' A Rainy Night In Soho.

The performance was dedicated to the iconic Fairytale of New York singer, who sadly died on 30th November, aged 65, just ahead of his birthday on Christmas Day.

Watch his moving performance, in a clip shared onto X by @presidenthaz:

Bruce Springsteen pays tribute to Shane MacGowan in Ireland

The New Jersey icon visited the Irish singer last year amid his health issues.

A photo shared by his widow Victoria Mary, was shared in May last year, alongside the caption: "What an amazing honour and a beautiful experience to get a visit from The Boss!!!"

She added: "Such a truly wonderful man and a total genius!"

What an amazing honour and a beautiful experience to get a visit from The Boss!!! ⁦@springsteen⁩ ⁦@ShaneMacGowan⁩ Such a truly wonderful man and a total genius! pic.twitter.com/waXwmWOHTZ
— @victoriamary (@Victoriamary) May 3, 2023

Announcing his sad passing months later, Victoria Mary wrote: "I don’t know how to say this so I am just going to say it. Shane who will always be the light that I hold before me and the measure of my dreams and the love ❤️ of my life and the most beautiful soul and beautiful angel and the sun and the moon and the start and end of everything that I hold dear has gone to be with Jesus and Mary and his beautiful mother Therese."

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A post shared by Victoria Mary Clarke Angels (@victoriamaryclarke)

She added: "I am blessed beyond words to have met him and to have loved him and to have been so endlessly and unconditionally loved by him and to have had so many years of life and love ❤️ and joy and fun and laughter and so many adventures. There’s no way to describe the loss that I am feeling and the longing for just one more of his smiles that lit up my world. Thank you thank you thank you thank you for your presence in this world you made it so very bright and you gave so much joy to so many people with your heart and soul and your music. You will live in my heart forever. Rave on in the garden all wet with rain that you loved so much ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ You meant the world to me."

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Bruce Springsteen setlist at Nowlan Park on 12th May:

This Hard Land (tour debut, first time since 2018; performed at 5:05 pm for "the early birds" in the crowd)

Main Set

A Rainy Night in Soho (The Pogues cover) (live debut)
Lonesome Day
Candy's Room
Adam Raised a Cain
Prove It All Night
Darlington County
No Surrender
Seeds
Ghosts
The Promised Land
If I Was the Priest
Spirit in the Night(Bruce jumped into the pit but could not get back out, was lifted over the barricade by security)
Hungry Heart
Nightshift(Commodores cover)
Racing in the Street
Last Man Standing(acoustic, with Barry Danielian on trumpet)
Backstreets
Because the Night(Patti Smith Group cover)
She's the One
Wrecking Ball
The Rising
Badlands
Thunder Road

Encore:

Land of Hope and Dreams (w/ snippet of " People Get Ready" by Curtis Mayfield and The Impressions)
Born to Run
Bobby Jean
Glory Days
Dancing in the Dark(followed by band introductions)
Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out
Twist and Shout(The Top Notes cover)

Encore 2: