Shane MacGowan announces the release of his art book

The Eternal Buzz and The Crock of Gold is the first art folio book by the Pogues frontman Shane MacGowan.

The book celebrates Shane MacGowan’s love for art. The musician has been practising painting since an early age. Inspired by French impressionists and avant-garde poetry of W.B. Yeats, the drawings illustrate the creative process of writing music. Apart from sketches and self-portraits, the limited edition book contains handwritten lyrics, stories, photographs and other memorabilia, dating back to Shane’s childhood as well as the rebellious punk period.

Some of the drawings were revealed during the work on The Crock of Gold, the documentary about MacGowan. With assistance from the musician’s mother-in-law, who had been keeping Shane’s artworks, the director Julien Temple could use them in the film. Many of these had been made on random materials such as shopping lists and napkins. MacGowan says, “In terms of my materials, I like pastels but I don’t really think about it. I’ll paint or draw on anything, with anything. I like more or less everyone from Fra Angelico and Giotto to the latest, like Caravaggio was the last of the Renaissance before it went into Expressionism”.

The book is available to pre-order via the official website of Shane MacGowan, and those that do before Christmas will receive a hand-written certificate of ownership and a Christmas card from the author.