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Richard Balls: A Furious Devotion – The Authorised Story Of Shane MacGowan

Chris Charlesworth, Just Backdated, December 2021

WITH HIS uncombed hair, rotten teeth and charity shop clothes, not to mention the obligatory bottle, Shane MacGowan presented himself to the world as a drunken lout. But behind this fortuitously crafted image lurks a man of keen intelligence, deep artistic sensibility and shy vulnerability. Also, like many a swashbuckling rock star, much of what he says can be taken with a pinch of salt. 

Total word count of piece: 1102

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