Andrew Ranken, the drummer and occasional singer and songwriter of the Pogues, died Tuesday, February 10. The band announced the news on Instagram, describing the musician, known as the Clobberer, as a founding member and “heartbeat of the Pogues.” In her own post, Victoria Mary Clarke, the wife of late bandleader Shane MacGowan, said Ranken had died after a “long and brave battle with illness,” though no cause of death was given. He was 72 years old.
Native Londoner Ranken joined MacGowan, Peter “Spider” Stacy, and Jem Finer, in the band then known as Pogue Mahone, in 1983. He played on every record through the band’s first phase of infamy, including the classic 1985 album Rum Sodomy & The Lash, which he named as such because, he said, “it seemed to sum up life in our band.” Ranken remained in music after the Pogues’ first breakup in 1996, joining the reunited members between 2001 and 2014 and playing in other projects such as the Mysterious Wheels and hKippers.
In her tribute, Clarke commended Ranken for “braving all the beer-swilling, pogo-jumping, underground illegal drinking joints the fledgling band played and developing his own unique style of a warrior drumbeat. Without him the Pogues could never have developed their battle-ready rhythm and sound.”
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