Shane MacGowan, Lead Singer of The Pogues, Placed on Ventilator in Hospital

Singer Shane MacGowan is hospitalized and intubated, according to his wife Victoria Mary Clarke, who posted an alarming photo of the former Pogues frontman on social media. She didn’t offer specifics on MacGowan’s latest health issues in her message, but she thanked two of his longtime bandmates for visiting. MacGowan, 65, has had a run of poor health, including a viral encephalitis diagnosis in late 2022. He was admitted to a hospital again in June. In 2015, MacGowan was also confined to a wheelchair after breaking his hip in a fall and then caught pneumonia, according to Clarke’s social media pages. She said that led the rocker to quit drinking. MacGowan became an international star with the Pogues’ boozy 1988 Christmas tune “Fairytale of New York.” He came to the aid of Jon Bon Jovi in 2020 when the pop singer was mocked for recording a sanitized version of the song.