Music
06 Oct 26

LYRA cover of The Pogues' 'Streets of Sorrow / Birmingham Six' to be released this week

Lyra at Spiegeltent Festival. Copyright Trevor McGrath.

"Shane's spirit and songwriting are eternally exalted through this glorious collection," said Victoria Mary Clarke, MacGowan's wife.

Irish electro-pop artist LYRA's cover of The Pogues' 'Streets of Sorrow / Birmingham Six' is set to be released this Friday.

The single comes as part of the tribute album 20th Century Paddy - The Songs of Shane MacGowan, out November 13, which honours the late frontman of The Pogues, Shane MacGowan. The collection compiles 36 different artists reimagining 36 songs from MacGowan's career.

Contributions include already-released tracks such as 'A Rainy Night in Soho' sung by Bruce Springsteen, 'Yeah, Yeah, Yeah, Yeah, Yeah' sung by U2, 'The Sunnyside of the Street' sung by Kingfishr and more to come.

Half of all artist royalties will be donated to the Dublin Simon Community to support homelessness services in Dublin.

"Shane's spirit and songwriting are eternally exalted through this glorious collection, each song is uniquely and graciously interpreted by these beyond beautiful artists and his family are humbled by and thankful to each and every one of the musicians involved," said Victoria Mary Clarke, MacGowan's wife.

Last year, Cork native LYRA, born Laura McNamara, performed a rendition of Amhrán na bhFiann at Croke Park for the NFL college football game, and announced her Members Only Tour - which took place last autumn and winter.

This follows the success of her 2024 self-titled debut album which reached No. 1 on the Irish Albums Chart.

LYRA got her start in music through singing in church choirs and speech and drama classes. She self-released her debut EP W.I.L.D. (Wake Induced Lucid Dreaming) in 2016. She then gained mainstream exposure when her single 'Emerald' was featured on the television series Striking Out, followed by placements in Love Island and Grey's Anatomy.