In 1985, the Pogues launched their great second album 'Rum, Sodomy and the Lash' with a party on HMS Belfast, the retired Royal Navy ship permanently moored between London Bridge and Tower Bridge. All of this was in keeping with the nautical theme for the album, the sleeve of which features Theodore Géricault's painting 'The Raft of the Medusa' (1819), with the band's heads superimposed on some of its characters.
According to accordionist James Fearnley:
'On the 30th July, the piratical theme reached its apotheosis with the launch party for the record. It took place on HMS Belfast - an early venue for Spandau Ballet. We donned our Nelson-era costumes, invited the press and a slew of friends, acquaintances and others, played a short set on the upper deck under a marquee, and then got drunk. At some point in the evening, a journalist fell into the Thames from a landing stage' ('Here Comes Everybody: The Story of the Pogues').
Record Mirror (10 August 1985) reported that over '2000 bottles of beer and untold amounts of wine and rum' were consumed.
The band performed in vintage martime uniforms, as can be seen in these photos from the night (top one by Andrew Catlin, not sure who took picture of bassist Cait O'Riordan_
See previously:
- Spandau Ballet and Depeche Mode on HMS Belfast
- The Pogues play Skehans, 2025
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