The Pogues are a band of mixed Irish and English background, playing traditional Irish music with influences from the punk rock movement, formed in 1982 and fronted by Shane MacGowan.

The Pogues were founded in King's Cross, a district of North London, in 1982 as Pogue Mahone—pogue mahone being the Anglicisation of the Irish póg mo thóin, meaning "kiss my arse".

They reached international prominence in the 1980s and early 1990s, until McGowan left the band in 1991 due to drinking problems. They continued with first Joe Strummer, then Spider Stacy on vocals before breaking up in 1996. The band began performing together again in 2001, though they have yet to record new music.

Their politically-tinged music was influenced by The Clash, yet used traditional Irish instruments such as the tin whistle, banjo, cittern, mandolin, accordion, and more. In the later incarnations of the band, after the departure of Shane MacGowan, rock instruments such as the electric guitar would become more prominent. The first of The Pogues' albums, Red Roses for Me, borrows much from the punk tradition of MacGowan's previous band The Nipple Erectors (later dubbed The Nips).

www.pogues.com