Pete Doherty recalls wild first encounter with Shane MacGowan when The Pogues frontman stole his crack pipe – as he pays tribute to the late singer

Pete Doherty has paid tribute to his late friend Shane MacGowan, saying he ‘loved and respected’ the singer.

Pogues frontman Shane died ‘peacefully’ at 3am on Thursday with his wife Victoria Mary Clarke and family by his side.

The singer – whose prolific history of alcoholism and drug abuse was well documented – was battling viral encephalitis – a life-threatening condition that leads to swelling of the brain – and had been in and out of St Vincent’s Hospital in Dublin for months.

Yet Pete, 44, who has also had a highly publicized battle with addiction, admitted he thought his friend was ‘bulletproof’ when he reflected on their close friendship.

Speaking on BBC Sounds, the Libertines star revealed it was his ex-girlfriend Kate Moss who first introduced him to Shane at her home, revealing the model would talk about Shane and his wife as if they were ‘gurus’ .

Pete recalled, “When I met him, he stormed in and took my crack pipe from me, smashed it, stormed out and then came back and helped me put it back together with duct tape.

“He smoked all my drugs and told me how bad they were after he smoked them all. That was the first time I met him, so I thought that was cool!’

Still, Pete revealed that not all of their encounters involved “narcotic moments,” saying, “Most of the time he was near her.” [Kate’s] house and he said, “Go ahead, get the guitar out and show us what you’ve got,” and we just played guitar and sang songs.

Honestly, I just loved that guy. I knew he was sick, but I actually thought he was bulletproof. I don’t want to sound so gushing, but I’m just going to say how I really feel. I loved him, he was solid, he laughed manically and he knew an awful lot about history – the American Revolution, the history of Cuba…

“When he came on stage and played with us, he was always ready. Always up for a joke.

“In the dressing room we took out the guitar and for me that’s the strongest connection I’ve made with people like that through music.

‘I loved him and respected him. For a long time I sat at his feet in awe and over time I gained his respect.

“During difficult times in my life, I was able to talk to him. When I was in prison, he knew some people and helped me with a few places and I felt close to him.”

Pogues frontman Shane died ‘peacefully’ at 3am on Thursday with his wife Victoria Mary Clarke and family by his side after being in and out of St Vincent’s Hospital in Dublin for months.

He went on to praise the Irish musician’s talent, calling him one of the “top three or four lyricists of the last forty years.”

Pete mused: ‘He had a gift for melody, beautiful, melancholic, but action-packed stories about buccaneers, and sodomy in the back streets of Soho, and falling off your stool in the last chance saloon, and then running down the road and bumping into you to kick. heels when the sun goes down. Get up and do it all again the next day.

‘A bit of an old romantic, told stories, told stories in songs, strong characters, he painted a lot of pictures and fairy tales.’

Pete went on to call Fairytale of New York “one of the best songs ever written,” adding, “It’s something he can be proud of, you never get tired of hearing it.”

Hellraiser Shane, whose 1987 hit Fairytale of New York became a Christmas classic that sold millions of copies worldwide, was known for his loud partying lifestyle, slurred speeches, missing teeth and onstage meltdowns during his 1980s heyday.

In recent years, the Irish icon has been confined to a wheelchair and assisted at home by his wife and caregiver after being plagued by ill health linked to his years of alcohol and substance abuse.

His heartbroken wife today shared the news of the rocker’s death – just days after releasing a touching photo of them together to mark their fifth wedding anniversary.

The star started drinking at the age of five, when his family gave him Guinness to help him sleep, and his father would regularly take him to the local pub while drinking with his friends.

His first stint in rehab when he was just 17, after becoming addicted to Valium.

In 1999, Irish singer Sinead O’Connor reported him to the police for snorting heroin.

MacGowan later said the move was a wake-up call that helped him stop using the drug.

The singer also often performed drunk on stage and was depicted several times as looking worse for wear after drinking.

MacGowan was lead singer and songwriter for the immensely popular Pogues for nine years between 1982 and 1991 and also fronted the band off and on between 2001 and 2014.

Pete revealed it was his ex-girlfriend Kate Moss who first introduced him to Shane at her house and the rockers spent the night sharing a crack pipe (pictured in 2005)