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| Hell's Ditch | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 6 November 1990 | |||
| Studio | Rockfield (Rockfield, Wales) | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 41:24 | |||
| Label | Island | |||
| Producer | Joe Strummer | |||
| The Pogues chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Hell's Ditch | ||||
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| Review scores | |
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| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [3] |
Hell's Ditch is the fifth studio album by The Pogues, released in November 1990, and the last to feature frontman Shane MacGowan as a member.
Hell's Ditch continued the group's slow departure from Irish music, giving more emphasis to rock and straight folk rock, and forsaking their earlier staples of traditional compositions almost entirely. MacGowan parted with the band after the release of the album, owing to the decline of his reliability as a performer, which was caused by his abuse of alcohol and drugs.
Several of the songs on the album have Asian themes, in sound or in content, including "Summer in Siam", "The House of Gods" and "Sayonara". The song "Lorca's Novena" draws on MacGowan's affinity for Spain (particularly Almería, which he had discovered years earlier when filming Straight to Hell ), and the Spanish poet Federico García Lorca. It tells of the poet's murder by Francisco Franco's Nationalist supporters in the Spanish Civil War, and how his body, never having been recovered, was said to have walked away. "The Wake of the Medusa" is a first-person narrative inspired by Théodore Géricault's painting "The Raft of the Medusa", which had appeared on the cover of the band's second album, Rum, Sodomy, and the Lash . The title track is based largely on the life and writings of French author and playwright Jean Genet, in particular The Miracle of the Rose and Our Lady of the Flowers , [4] with its description of squalid prison life.
The album was produced by the Clash's Joe Strummer, who later served as a temporary replacement for MacGowan when the band went on tour. The cover art for the album was designed by Joshua Cheuse, who also designed the cover for the Clash on Broadway box set as well as album covers for Strummer and Big Audio Dynamite. [5] [6]
Credits are adapted from the album liner notes, except where noted. [7]
The Pogues
Additional musicians
Technical
| Chart (1990–1991) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Albums (ARIA) [10] | 82 |
| New Zealand Albums (RMNZ) [11] | 41 |
| Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan) [12] | 17 |
| Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade) [13] | 33 |
| UK Albums (OCC) [14] | 12 |
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom (BPI) [15] | Silver | 60,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. | ||
The Hell's Ditch demos (commonly known as the Falconer demos, after the studio in which they were tracked) were recorded prior to this album. "Murder Ska" and "Redemption Song" are both unreleased tracks featuring Spider Stacy on lead vocals. "Victoria" and "Lust for Vomit" are both instrumental versions of songs that later appeared on Shane MacGowan and the Popes' 1994 debut album The Snake , the latter retitled "A Mexican Funeral in Paris". "NW3" and "Murder Ska" were played live as early as 1988 but never properly recorded. A studio version of "NW3" was recorded for inclusion on Hell's Ditch, but MacGowan was unable to deliver a satisfactory vocal performance, leaving the track as an unfinished instrumental. Thus, "NW3" is an early version of "Mother Mo Chroi", which was released on MacGowan's second solo effort, 1997's The Crock of Gold . "NW3" or "Mother Mo Chroi" appears to be very similar in sound and structure to The Pogues' original song "Rake At The Gates of Hell" (released on the 1987 Straight To Hell soundtrack album). [16]
The Falconer demos are widely available on the Internet, and unlicensed copies occasionally surface on the online auction site eBay. They also appear on the Pogues box set of rare and unreleased material released by Rhino Entertainment on 17 March 2008.
The Pogues were an English or Anglo-Irish Celtic punk band fronted by Shane MacGowan and others, founded in King's Cross, London in 1982, as "Pogue Mahone" – the anglicisation of the Irish Gaelic póg mo thóin, meaning "kiss my arse". The band reached international prominence in the 1980s and early 1990s, recording several hit albums and singles. MacGowan left the band in 1991 owing to drinking problems, but the band continued – first with Joe Strummer and then with Spider Stacy on vocals – before breaking up in 1996. The Pogues re-formed in late 2001, and played regularly across the UK and Ireland and on the US East Coast, until dissolving again in 2014. The group did not record any new material during this second incarnation.
Shane Patrick Lysaght MacGowan is an Irish singer-songwriter. He is best known as the lead singer and songwriter of Celtic punk band the Pogues. He was also a member of the Nipple Erectors and Shane MacGowan and the Popes, as well as producing his own solo material and collaborating with artists such as Kirsty MacColl, Joe Strummer, Nick Cave, Steve Earle, Sinéad O'Connor, and Ronnie Drew.
The Popes are a band originally formed by Shane MacGowan and Paul "Mad Dog" McGuinness, who play a blend of rock, Irish folk and Americana.
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Peace and Love is the fourth studio album by The Pogues, released in July 1989.
The Nips are an English punk rock band formed in London in 1976 as The Nipple Erectors by punk artist Shanne Bradley. They were Shane MacGowan's first musical group.
Peter Richard "Spider" Stacy is an English musician, singer, songwriter, and actor. He is best known for playing tin whistle and sometimes singing for The Pogues.
The Snake is the first solo album by Shane MacGowan with backing band The Popes. Released in 1994 by ZTT Records. Guests on the album include Johnny Depp and members of The Dubliners, Thin Lizzy and The Pogues.
The Singles Collection, Volume 1 is a collection of non-album tracks by Dropkick Murphys. It is the American version of The Early Years which was released in Europe, although with some track changes. This album contains everything the band recorded before their first album, Do or Die, except for the Boys on the Docks EP and compilation tracks from I've Got My Friends and Runt of the Litter Volume 2, as well as exclusive live tracks.
"A Rainy Night in Soho" is a song by The Pogues released in 1986, originally included on their Poguetry in Motion EP.
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Pogue Mahone is the seventh and final studio album by The Pogues, released in February 1996. The title is a variant of the Irish phrase póg mo thóin, meaning "kiss my arse", from which the band's name is derived. It was the band's second studio album recorded after the departure of Shane MacGowan, and features Spider Stacy in the role of lead singer.
"Summer in Siam" is a single by The Pogues from their 1990 album, Hell's Ditch. Composed by enigmatic frontman Shane MacGowan, it charted in the UK Top 100 at Number 64. The accompanying music video was directed by Don Letts and produced by Nick Verden for Radar Films. The album was produced by Joe Strummer.
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The Crock of Gold was the second full-length album by Shane MacGowan and the Popes and was released in November 1997 on ZTT Records. The Crock of Gold followed The Snake, MacGowan's first solo album after the breakup of The Pogues, and was less critically acclaimed than its predecessor. The album is named for the novel by Irish writer James Stephens. To date, it is the last full studio album MacGowan has recorded.
Poguetry in Motion is an EP by The Pogues, released on Stiff Records in the UK on 24 February 1986, and in the US & Canada on MCA Records. It was the band's first single to make the UK Top 40, peaking at number 29 and the first Pogues recording to feature Philip Chevron and Terry Woods.
The Pogues were an English or Anglo-Irish Celtic punk band fronted by Shane MacGowan and others, founded in King's Cross, London in 1982, as Pogue Mahone – the anglicisation of the Irish Gaelic póg mo thóin, meaning 'kiss my arse'. The band reached international prominence in the 1980s and early 1990s, recording several hit albums and singles. MacGowan left the band in 1991 owing to drinking problems, but the band continued – first with Joe Strummer and then with Spider Stacy on vocals – before breaking up in 1996. The Pogues re-formed in late 2001, and played regularly across the UK and Ireland and on the US East Coast, until dissolving again in 2014. The group did not record any new material during this second incarnation.
The Very Best of the Pogues is a greatest hits album by The Pogues, released in April 2001.
Essential Pogues is a greatest hits album by The Pogues, released in November 1991.
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