Music

Shane MacGowan's teeth surgery called the "Everest of dentistry"

by Dan MacRae

Shane MacGowan has fucked up teeth. The Pogues singer-songwriter is much more than a walking nightmare for the tooth fairy, but we can’t seem to shake our fascination with this dude’s mouth.

As we noted last month, MacGowan was earmarked to have his recent dental surgery pop up on UK television in December. Smash cut to modern times (WOO! THE PRESENT!) where we have visual evidence that the repairs were a success. Just in time for the “Fairytale of New York” busy season, no less.

Let’s look at this pretty mouth!

Herculean feat, that teeth fixin’ job.

The documentary on MacGowan’s great teeth defuckening aired on Sky Arts under the title Shane MacGowan: A Wreck Reborn. In an interview ahead of its airing, the dental surgeon/miracle worker that got all up in MacGowan’s grill noted “a whole team required to get to the summit” of what’s been referred to as the “Everest of dentistry.” He also shared his take that good teeth helped make MacGowan a good singer.

“Shane recorded most of his great works when he had some teeth to work with,” offered Darragh Mulrooney in The Independent. “The question on everyone’s lips is how it will affect his voice. The tongue is a finely attuned muscle and it makes precise movements. We’ve effectively retuned his instrument and that will be an ongoing process.”

Mulrooney dished on a particularly touching moment that sounds like he’s talking about a sick horse, but really it’s about MacGowan.

“There was a moving moment when someone gave Shane an apple to eat… something he hadn’t done in 20 years,” shared the surgeon. “The simple things in life are sometimes the most important.”

[h/t The Guardian & NME]