If I Should Fall From Grace With God

The Poguetry In Motion EP had already telegraphed Shane MacGowan’s Pogues’ songwriting skills (exemplified by ‘The Body Of An American’, destined to play a crucial role in The Wire, and ‘Rainy Night In Soho’). But the band were playing like demons too, augmented by new recruits Phil Chevron and Terry Woods. If I Should Fall From Grace With God, produced by Steve Lillywhite, was a tour de force, from the cajun-inflected title tune (Joe Strummer’s all-time favourite song) to Chevron’s emigration anthem ‘Thousands Are Sailing’; from the mariachi madness of ‘Fiesta’ to the melancholic beauty of ‘Lullaby of London’ and ‘The Broad Majestic Shannon’; from the proto-Pirates of the Caribbean horrorshow of ‘Turkish Song of the Damned’ to the bristling agit-prop of ‘The Birmingham Six’. And, of course, ‘Fairytale of New York’...

No 13 in 2009, as voted for by over 200 Irish musicians. Up from No 15 in 2004.