Former Pogue now Pope, still rocking all the way to Port Fairy <> The Popes Source: Supplied THE death of The Pogues' banjo player Tommy McManamon in 2006 was a wake-up call for Paul "Mad Dog" McGuinness. "It could have been any one of us," said McGuinness, who played guitar briefly with The Pogues then formed The Popes with the former's original frontman Shane MacGowan in 1992. A lot of us were getting warnings by doctors, by our friends or family to take it easy, cut back on the booze and drugs, get off the road and sort our lives out. It was one of the things which woke me up to the fact how lucky I was to be doing a fantastic job, playing music. If you can make a living out of something that you love doing, you're kissing the hand of the gods. It helped me discover all of that again. With MacGowan in a boozy limbo, McGuinness decided to reform The Popes with a new line-up and himself as lead singer. You can't turn around to other people and say you've got to change your life to suit mine. McGuinness was raised on punk and Celtic music, but was always the more rocky influence in early Popes with his love of Thin Lizzy. The Popes' 2009 album Outlaw Heaven still bore a folky, Pogues sound with appearances from MacGowan and Spider Stacy but their latest album, New Church, heads down a more guitar-heavy route with McGuinness' gravelly, Tom Waits-esque vocals. I'm tired of hearing bands that sound like The Pogues or early Popes. They're riffs I played 15 years ago coming from these bands. Good luck to them, but I want something fresh and new and rock's something I've listened to all my life. Pogues fans need not be disappointed: he promises they will be playing some Pogues, old Popes, traditional Irish and new Popes material. Ironically, while The Popes' sound is more rock'n'roll, McGuinness' lifestyle is much less so. I'm the first person off stage back in the hotel in bed with a cup of tea. I'm asleep before the rest of them. I could still give them a run for their money when I put my party shoes on, but it's been a while. The Popes play the Port Fairy Folk Festival this weekend (March 8-11), The Flying Saucer Club next Wednesday, March 13, and the Northcote Social Club on Thursday, March 14.