LONDON—Shane MacGowan, lead singer and chief songwriter of the Pogues, died Thursday, his family said. He was 65.
Mr. MacGowan’s songwriting and persona made him an iconic figure in contemporary Irish culture, and some of his compositions have become classics—most notably the bittersweet Christmas ballad “Fairytale of New York,” which Irish President Michael D. Higgins said “will be listened to every Christmas for the next century or more.”
