THE POGUES Released Masterwork 'RUM SODOMY & THE LASH' 35 Years Ago...

4 August 2020

Band: THE POGUES
Album: RUM SODOMY & THE LASH – the band’s second LP
Released: 5 August 1985 – 35 years ago
Score: #13 in the UK

AllMusic wrote: “One spin of the album proves that Costello accomplished his mission,
this album captures all the sweat, fire, and angry joy that was lost in the thin, disembodied recording of the band’s debut, and the Pogues sound stronger and tighter without losing a
bit of their edge in the process… . Rum Sodomy & the Lash also found Shane MacGowan growing steadily as a songwriter; while the debut had its moments, the blazing and bitter
roar of the opening track, “The Sick Bed of Cúchulainn,” made it clear MacGowan had fused
the intelligent anger of punk and the sly storytelling of Irish folk as no one had before, and the
rent boys’ serenade of “The Old Main Drag” and the dazzling, drunken character sketch of
“A Pair of Brown Eyes” proved there were plenty of directions where he could take his gifts…
the first album to prove that they were a great band, and not just a great idea for a band.”
Full review here. Score: 4.5/5.

Did you know…

* Elvis Costello who produced the album said at the time: “My task was to capture
them in their dilapidated glory before some more professional producer fucked them up…”

* The album’s title is taken from a Winston Churchill quote “Don’t talk to me about naval tradition. It’s nothing but rum, sodomy, and the lash.” It was drummer Andrew Ranken who came up with the idea saying “It seemed to sum up life in our band. Nothing but rum, sodomy, and the lash!”

* The cover artwork was based on a painting by Théodore Géricault, with the band members’ faces replacing those of the men on the raft painted by illustrator Peter Mennim.