Terry Woods

Michael Collins plays a crucial role in the establishment of the Irish Free State in the 1920s, but becomes vilified by those hoping to create a completely independent Irish republic.

'What we did, right, was we broke open the pop market, right? To trad music, right? Irish trad music, yeah? Now what happened after that I don't know...' So confesses toothy, hard-drinkin' Shane McGowan, lead man with punk-folk megastars the Pogues, the band that has taken traditional Irish folk and ramshackle rock to the bright pop lights of Wembley. In this rather haphazard but proud spirit, the documentary, like the Pogues' career itself, continues: the band and the various famous rockers they've jammed with offering opinions and anecdotes in a surprisingly entertaining and often revealing manner. Even if you have absolutely no interest in the music, the vast array of pasty-faced uglies is really quite stunning.

A gang of bank robbers with a suitcase full of money go to the desert to hide out. After burying the loot, they find their way to a surreal town full of cowboys who drink an awful lot of coffee.

Thirteen examples of The Pogues unique brand of hellraising folk, ranging from punky takes on traditional Irish songs like 'Dirty Old Town' to the Shane MacGowan penned originals which offered romanticised visions of life viewed through the bottom of a bottle.

A look at the creation of The Pogues' song "Fairytale of New York".

The Pogues celebrated their 30th anniversary with two sold-out shows in September 2012 at the famous Olympia venue in Paris. The shows were filmed/recorded and directed by Gautier & Leduc. The shows featured the full band line-up of Shane MacGowan, Spider Stacey, Jem Finer, James Fearnley, Andrew Ranken, Phillip Chevron, Terry Woods and Darryl Hunt.