Dirty Old Town - The Pogues - MP3 instrumental karaoke

"Dirty Old Town" captures all the riotous, booze-fuelled cheer of an Irish folk classic, although it was actually written about the smog of England — Salford, to be exact. Penned by "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" hit-maker Ewan MacColl in 1949 to bridge a scene in his play Landscape with Chimneys, "Dirty Old Town" was recorded by The Dubliners in 1968 before The Pogues got their hands on the song and recorded this version for their career-defining 1985 album Rum Sodomy & the Lash, which stopped off at number 13 on the UK charts that year. Not only did The Pogues crack the UK charts at number 62 with the track but they recorded what is arguably the definitive, silver-certified version of "Dirty Old Town," which can be read as an anti-capitalist anthem, is played during the team walk-on at Salford City FC, and is still inextricably linked with the former Shane MacGowan-fronted group.