Shane MacGowan would “wave his willy” at passing trains from Bono’s house

The U2 frontman later asked MacGowan to leave

Shane MacGowan has admitted that he used to “wave his willy” at passing trains while living in Bono‘s house.

The U2 frontman has a guest house at his home on the south coast of Dublin, overlooking the bay and the railway line.

“Bono put in a glass roof and wall,” MacGowan explained in an interview with The Times. “I used to wave my willy at the train as it passed and hope that they thought it was Bono’s.”

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The Pogues frontman was interviewed alongside his partner, Victoria Mary Clarke, who elaborated further on the story.

“Bono was very patient,” she said. “We had the police round all the time because Shane kept setting off the alarm. Eventually, he asked us to move out.”

Elsewhere in the interview, MacGowan discussed the early days of The Pogues: “Everything was exciting. The first time we stayed in a hotel and discovered room service — that was exciting. We took Irish music and speeded it up a bit, which you can hear in A Pair of Brown Eyes — exciting. It changed our lives. But going around America got to be a real drag.”

Bono. Credit: Kevin Winter/Getty Images
Bono. Credit: Kevin Winter/Getty Images

MacGowan recently published a book of his artwork and writing, The Eternal Buzz And The Crock Of Gold. The artwork is being featured in an exhibition of the same name at the Andipa Gallery in Knightsbridge, London, which opened today (October 12) and lasts until October 29. According to The Independent, his work is expected to sell for over £30,000.

Meanwhile, Bono has announced a worldwide book tour in support of his forthcoming memoir Surrender: 40 Songs, One Story.

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The 576-page title is due to land on November 1 via publishing house Alfred A. Knopf, and in audiobook form via Penguin Random House.

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