THE Pogues and The Libertines both paid tribute to the late Gerry Conlon of the Guildford Four during their huge show at London’s Hyde Park on Saturday.
Performing a rare version of Streets of Sorrow/ Birmingham Six from their 1988 album, If I Should Fall From Grace With God, Pogues’ frontman Shane MacGowan dedicated the track to Conlon as mandolin and guitarist Terry Woods added that they were playing a song which “angered Margaret Thatcher’s government many years ago”.
Streets of Sorrow/ Birmingham Six was banned by the Independent Broadcasting Authority (IBA) in 1988, which claimed that the lyrics could "incite terrorism".
The song deals with the arrest and imprisonment of the Birmingham Six and the Guildford Four and contains lyrics declaring that those convicted of the 1974 pub bombings had been "picked up and tortured and framed" and were in prison "for being Irish in the wrong place and at the wrong time".
The Libertines also paid tribute to Conlon, who spent 15 years in prison as one of the Guildford Four and passed away last month.
Co-frontman Pete Doherty dedicated the band’s 2002 single, Time For Heroes to Conlon, saying: "Gerry Conlon, if you're looking down this afternoon" before beginning the song.
Both The Pogues and The Libertines sets on Saturday had to be stopped at various intervals due to crowd crushes with up to 30 people treated in hospital for minor injuries.
The Pogues set was paused midway through as as one of the audience members received urgent medical attention. It is believed that a man suffered a heart attack and a member of the audience first gave RPR.
A request has since gone out to find the good Samaritan who is said to have saved the man’s life.
Meanwhile, Shane MacGowan was forced to pull out of a fundraising concert in London last night for a former bandmate amid concerns for his health,
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