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language barrier Subtitles added to Shane MacGowan documentary after being found 'too difficult to understand'

Shane MacGowan of the Pogues. Photo by Andrew Catlin Expand

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Shane MacGowan of the Pogues. Photo by Andrew Catlin

Shane MacGowan of the Pogues. Photo by Andrew Catlin

Shane MacGowan of the Pogues. Photo by Andrew Catlin

Ciara O'Loughlin and Niamh Horan

Film distributors have decided to add subtitles to the UK release of Shane MacGowan's documentary because journalists who watched the first release said he was hard to understand.

Crock of Gold: A Few Rounds with Shane MacGowan will be released next Monday.

Copies of the documentary were sent to media before its release next week, but many said it was hard to work out what The Pogues singer (62) was saying.

Director Julien Temple told the BBC the "strange mixture of Irish and English" could be tricky to understand, so it was decided to add subtitles to the film.

He added that it was not his choice, and in the end it was that of the distributors whether they wanted to do so or not.

Altitude Films is distributing the documentary in Ireland and the UK, and viewers will have the option of whether to use subtitles or not.

The documentary is also set to be shown on BBC Four next year.

Crock of Gold was played at the San Sebastian Film Festival and won the special jury prize.

The film looks at the life of the hard-living singer and poet from his childhood years until today.

Big-name contributors include Johnny Depp, Bono, Nick Cave, Bobby Gillespie, Elvis Costello and Gerry Adams.

"Knowing Shane for 30 years, I am honoured to be producing the definitive film on both my friend and one of the most important artists and beloved poets of the 20th century," Depp said about the biopic earlier this year.

Mark Jones, a spokesperson for the film, said: "Shane is very honest about everything he has been through."

Director Temple has previously worked on a critically acclaimed documentary on the Sex Pistols.

He has also directed music videos for musicians including David Bowie, Joe Jackson, Neil Young, Blur, Depeche Mode and The Rolling Stones.

The documentary includes unseen footage from the early days of MacGowan's life and will detail his heartbreak following the death of Kirsty MacColl, with whom he performed on Fairytale of New York.

Jones said it will also contain "some really interesting conversations between Shane and Gerry Adams about what it means to be Irish".

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