Phil Chevron, Pogues Guitarist, Dies At 56

Phil Chevron, a guitarist for the Pogues, died at the age of 56 after a battle with cancer. The band announced Chevron’s death on Tuesday.

The Pogues are an Anglo-Irish folk-punk ban that formed in 1982. Chevron joined the band in 1984 and quickly became a core member as the group gained international fame in the 1980s and early 1990s.

Reuters reports that the band’s albums include Rum, Sodomy and The Lash and If I Should Fall From Grace With God. Chevron, whose real name was Philip Ryan, wrote the popular ballad “Thousands are Sailing.”

CBS News notes that the Pogues announced their guitarist’s death on their website, saying, “He was unique. We’ll miss him terribly. Dublin town, and the world, just got smaller. His loved ones are in our thoughts.”

Chevron was born in Dublin and got his start in music with the Irish act The Radiators From Space, which is considered by many as Ireland’s first punk band. The guitarist then moved to London and joined the Pogues, playing guitar, banjo, mandolin, and occasionally singing.

Phil Chevron stayed with the Pogues until 1994, when he quit because of poor health caused by drug and alcohol abuse. The band broke up two years later. After quitting, Phil reformed the Radiators with ex-Pogues bassist Cait O’Riordian. The Pogues went on to reform in 2001 and interest in the band’s music piqued again.

The guitarist remastered the band’s back catalog on CD and took a role in their annual reunion tours. However, he was diagnosed with head and neck cancer in 2007. After treatment, Chevron was given a clean bill of health in April 2012. Unfortunately, the guitarist’s cancer returned and his final appearance was at a testimonial concert held in Dublin in his honor.

Funeral arrangements for Phil Chevron have not been announced.

[Image by Marnie Joyce via Wikimedia Commons]