heavily centred around Islington.
The Popes play the Boston Arms in Tufnell Park on June 24, where they're expected to revive song Holloway Boulevard, about the eclectic area where Mr McGuinness used to live. He came to the UK in 1980 while touring with punk band DC9.
He said: “Holloway was one of the first areas I settled in. I didn't want to go home. I felt at home here. I've a daughter who's in Ireland with her mum. When I go back, it's beautiful, fantastic, but after a week I realise why I want to leave.
“In London there's so many minorities that you can live an alternative life. Ireland has changed – it was still a bit of a third world country when I left – minority interests suffered and I felt we had that freedom in London.
“Here I really discovered my Irishness. The bands I played in were influenced by the London rock scene. I came to soak that up but the opposite happened.”
He first met future bandmate Shane MacGowan at a Pogues gig at the Pillar of Wakefield in Kings Cross and they became drinking partners.
McGuinness became a part-time roadie for The Pogues, stepping in when one member fell ill.
He said: “The best Irish music is played outside Ireland. I'd never really seen it in its raw, immigrant state, and seeing the life The Pogues injected into it made me rediscover and connect with my roots. I was present when they sacked Shane. He suggested we start up a band and The Popes started.”
The influence of Holloway Road was very much apparent in The Popes' work: “At the time Holloway Road had a fantastic rejuvenation. In the 60s it was popular with Irish people. There was a big Irish scene and a lot of old characters. Many were on their way to America and stopped off in Holloway Road, loved it and stayed. Holloway Boulevard was a bit of a joke, like Hollywood Boulevard, some used to call it “the Strip”.
“There was a period in the 80s when it started falling apart. I moved to Stoke Newington mainly because of my child, it was child-friendly. I still go back. I've still got drinking buddies there. I've noticed a whole lot of new bars opening. It's an area of rejuvenation. When we think it's on the way out it keep being replenished by the new blood
that come here.”
His fondest memory is of the Holloway Crawl with MacGowan.
He said: “We started early in the morning, hired a bright red pick up truck, ran into each pub and played for half an hour. We ended up in Archway Tavern around midnight.”
He recalled how they would gather for lock-ins at pub The Favourite, owned by Tommy McManamon, a watering hole frequented by The Dubliners.
“It was one of the hot spots for lock-ins, Tommy would stop by and play. Many people came before the Celtic tiger. We'd see them missing Ireland and not able to go back and that provoked much passion and emotion.
“If you look above the new shopfronts you can see the signs from the old shops, the growth from the 60s and the history. I also love the community spirit. The priest in St Gabriel's church feeds the local bohemian crowd.”
In 2005, Mr McGuinness ended up on remand in Pentonville Prison.
He said: “It was very oppressive. It's not the holiday camp it's made out to be. The cells were full of cockroaches. I used to get three little pieces of paper a week from Her Majesty to write letters. I hadn't written songs for ages and suddenly I had this new energy. I was writing in my cell in very small little handwriting.
“I tried to work out the ideas and chords in my head but the only way I could get my hands on a guitar was at the folk mass. It was the only time in my life I was first in line for mass. The priest would let me borrow it for 15 minutes. I'm very grateful to him. That was enough for me to know if I was going in the right direction. Prison was a huge positive influence for me. It woke me up and I got to sit down and take stock of all the influences I had.”
His experiences were translated into recent album Outlaw Heaven, inspired by going cold turkey in prison.
He said: “There's a euphoria when you're coming off drugs and drink. I began to imagine everyone there was my friend. Then I was thinking about Robert Johnson, Jimmy Hendrix, Phil Lynott, perhaps there's a bar in outlaw heaven or a rehearsal room where they all hang out and maybe one day I'll get to meet my favourite musicians and jam with them. You do an awful lot of dreaming when you're locked in a two-man cell for 23 hours a day.”
BLOB The Popes play the Boston Arms, 178 Junction Road, N19, on June 24, at 8pm. Tickets available on the door or at www.hollowayartsfestival.co.uk
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