The Irish punk musician passed away peacefully in Dublin following a long battle with esophageal cancer.
- Oct 9, 2013
AceShowbiz - Phil Chevron, guitarist of Celtic punk band The Pogues, passed away peacefully in Dublin on Tuesday, October 8 at the age of 56 after a long battle with esophageal cancer. After an initial treatment in 2007 that cleared him of cancer by April 2012, a new tumor emerged by August to which treatment had been "seriously ill-advised" since it "would almost certainly cause stroke or worse."
"He was unique. We'll miss him terribly. Dublin town, and the world, just got smaller," the band said in a statement posted on their website. Chevron, who joined The Pogues in 1984, also proved himself as a songwriter when he penned some of the group's hits which included the songs "Thousands Are Sailing" and "Lorelei".
Before joining The Pogues, Chevron had already founded his own The Radiators, considered as Ireland's first punk band. He served as its frontman from its formation in the late '70s. During a temporary hiatus in 1981, he moved to London where he befriended his fellow Irishman and Pogues founding member Shane MacGowan.
After MacGowan left the band in 1991, he was replaced by former The Clash frontman Joe Strummer, whose stint with the Pogues was short-lived due to his poor health ravaged by drug and alcohol abuse. This led to Chevron reforming The Radiators with his Pogues bandmate Cait O'Riordan, the group's bassist.
Prior to his death, Chevron last appeared in a testimonial concert in his honor held in Dublin two months ago and regularly wrote reviews on The Pogues' official online forum under "Speaker's Corner".
