Music
25 Aug 26

U2 to release cover of The Pogues’ ‘Yeah, Yeah, Yeah, Yeah, Yeah’ this Friday

U2. Credit: Paolo Pellegrin

The song comes as the next single from the upcoming MacGowan tribute album, 20th Century Paddy – The Songs of Shane MacGowan.

U2 have announced that they will release a cover of The Pogues’ 1988 single ‘Yeah, Yeah, Yeah, Yeah, Yeah’ this Friday.

The song, originally written by Shane MacGowan, comes as the next single from the upcoming MacGowan tribute album, 20^th Century Paddy – The Songs of Shane MacGowan, out November 13.

The project, put together by MacGowan's wife Victoria Mary Clarke, brings together a wide range of Irish and international artists to reinterpret songs from MacGowan’s catalogue and celebrate his legacy. Half of the artist royalties from the album will be donated to the Dublin Simon Community, which aims to provide lifesaving housing and healthcare for those experiencing homelessness.

"It's like people putting flowers on his grave," Clarke said. "It's people paying tribute in a way that they can. Being musicians, the nicest thing they can do is to play his stuff."

Kingfishr, Bob Geldof, David Keenan, Jimmy Artache and Tom Creagh are among the most recent artists confirmed to feature on the record.

Other artists already confirmed include Hozier, Jessie Buckley, The Libertines, Bruce Springsteen and more.

‘Yeah, Yeah, Yeah, Yeah, Yeah’ was The Pogues’ first single to chart in the US, reaching No. 17 on the Modern Rock Charts.

The Pogues are preparing for their winter Greatest Hits tour across Europe, the UK and Ireland, which includes three Irish dates – Dublin’s 3Arena on December 9, Belfast's Telegraph Building on December 10 and Killarney's Gleneagle Arena on December 12.

Meanwhile, U2’s new album is on the way, expected to drop later this year. They released the lead single ‘Street of Dreams’ last month.

U2 also recently shared a collaboration with Martin Garrix titled ‘Fireflies’ and continue to top charts, making the list of most-streamed albums of the ‘80s and the biggest albums of all time on the Official UK Charts.

Hot Press recently announced the publication of Becoming U2, which tells, for the first time, the wider story of the band’s debut gig. It is available for pre-order here.