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  "path": "/celebrity/dead-andrew-renken-pogues-drum-drummer",
  "publishedAt": "2026-02-11T13:08:37.000Z",
  "site": "https://www.gbnews.com",
  "tags": [
    "Claudia Winkleman issues heartfelt statement as she shares huge career update post BBC Strictly exit",
    "Mick Jagger's fiancé recounts terrifying attack at £3000 a year Mayfair club: 'Grabbed from behind!'",
    "BBC Strictly Come Dancing star said show ‘destroyed’ him in suicide note as inquest opens",
    "The GB News Editorial Charter"
  ],
  "textContent": "\n\n\n\nAndrew Ranken, the founding drummer of The Pogues, has died at the age of 72, the band confirmed this afternoon.\n\nHis former bandmates described him as the \"heartbeat\" of the celebrated Irish punk group in an emotional statement released on social media.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n\"It is with deep sadness that we announce the passing of Andrew Ranken, drummer, founding member, and heartbeat of The Pogues,\" the band wrote.\n\n\"Andrew, thank you for everything, for your friendship, your wit and your generosity of spirit, and of course for the music, forever a true friend and brother.\"\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nTRENDING\n\nStories\n\nVideos\n\nYour Say\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nBeyond his drumming duties, Mr Ranken also contributed percussion, harmonica and vocals throughout the band's classic periods.\n\nMr Ranken became part of The Pogues' original lineup in 1983 and remained with the group until 1996, appearing on every official studio recording from their 1984 debut Red Roses for Me through to Pogue Mahone.\n\nHe first encountered future bandmates Shane MacGowan and Jem Finer in their familiar Kings Cross haunts, where they invited him to join their fledgling project.\n\nInitially, Mr Ranken turned down the opportunity as he was committed to fronting another outfit called The Operation, but he subsequently changed his mind and took up the drum stool permanently.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nFollowing the band's mid-nineties dissolution, he returned for their reunion era from 2001 until 2014.\n\nMr Ranken had battled ill health for a number of years, suffering from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, a condition affecting the lungs that causes breathing difficulties.\n\nIn 2023, he recorded a charity single to raise funds for St Joseph's Hospice in Hackney, east London, drawing on his personal experience of respiratory illness.\n\nHis health problems meant he was unable to participate in The Pogues' most recent concert dates, with Fontaines D.C.'s Tom Cull stepping in behind the kit in his absence.\n\n### LATEST DEVELOPMENTS\n\n\n\n\n  * Claudia Winkleman issues heartfelt statement as she shares huge career update post BBC Strictly exit\n  * Mick Jagger's fiancé recounts terrifying attack at £3000 a year Mayfair club: 'Grabbed from behind!'\n  * BBC Strictly Come Dancing star said show ‘destroyed’ him in suicide note as inquest opens\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nA cause of death has not yet been disclosed by the family or the band.\n\nThe Pogues achieved their artistic zenith with 1985's Rum, Sodomy & the Lash and reached their greatest commercial success with 1988's If I Should Fall from Grace with God, which featured the perennial Christmas favourite Fairytale of New York alongside the late Kirsty MacColl.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nMr Ranken's death follows that of frontman Shane MacGowan, who passed away in November 2023 aged 65.\n\nLast year, surviving members Spider Stacy, James Fearnley and Jem Finer embarked on their first tour in over a decade to mark the 40th anniversary of Rum, Sodomy & the Lash.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nMacGowan's sister Siobhan paid tribute, calling Mr Ranken \"an unbelievably talented and unique drummer\" and \"a band brother.\"\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n**Our Standards:The GB News Editorial Charter **",
  "title": "The Pogues drummer ​Andrew Ranken dies aged 72 as band pay tribute to ‘heartbeat’ of group"
}