Shane MacGowan’s wife has said her first Christmas without The Pogues frontman “physically hurts”, following his death a few weeks ago.
In a Monday Instagram post, Victoria Mary Clarke wrote: “Today is really really hard much harder than I expected it to be. I just can’t stop crying and I want to be with him so much it physically hurts.
“I don’t know how people get through this but I do know that they do and people do feel joy even after they lose their person.
“Shane always said that even though he was born on Christmas Day he was much more focused on it being Jesus birthday and he felt like that was the most important thing about Christmas so I am asking for Jesus and the angels to help me today.”
MacGowan, who was due to celebrate his 66th birthday on Christmas Day, was best known for co-writing and singing the gritty festive song Fairytale Of New York.
Clarke had previously campaigned to make Fairytale Of New York land this year’s Christmas number one but it lost out to Wham!’s Last Christmas.
She supported the British band claiming the top spot saying she “loved” George Michael, who died on Christmas Day in 2016 aged 53, and his band Wham!, which also included Andrew Ridgeley.
Originally released in 1987, MacGowan’s track has never reached the top of the UK charts, peaking at number two and beaten to the Christmas number one the year it was released by the Pet Shop Boys’ cover of Always On My Mind.
He wrote the song with fellow founder of The Pogues, Jem Finer, and he sang it alongside English singer Kirsty MacColl, who died in December 2000.
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