Four talking points from the Late Late Show including Shane MacGowan tribute and Take That
Take That are pictured on The Late Late Show with host Patrick Kielty. Picture: Andres Poveda
After the sad news of his death this week, Friday night’s Late Late Show opened with a tribute to the legendary Shane MacGowan and a performance of A Rainy Night in Soho.
Kielty started by offering his condolences to MacGowan’s wife and family who he said have “lost so much more than the rest of us”.
“On behalf of everyone who, like me, grew up with his music and on behalf of a generation of Irish people at home and abroad who were gifted the soundtrack to our lives, which allowed us to feel part of something so much bigger, we’d like to say thank you, Shane. Rest in peace,” he said.
"Thank you Shane, rest in peace."#LateLate pic.twitter.com/D55VPnHKyI
— The Late Late Show (@RTELateLateShow) December 1, 2023
The touching tribute was followed by loud claps from the audience before some of MacGowan’s TV highlights were played to the tune of the Fairytale of New York.
Moya Brennan, Camille O’Sullivan, and Terry Woods were among those who gathered to share their favourite memories of the singer.
The musicians all agreed that many people didn’t realise how shy the star was.
Terry Woods described MacGowan as a “one-off,” “funny,” and “chaotic,” adding that he “always got the job done” and appeared emotional when remembering his former bandmate.
Moya Brennan had visited MacGowan recently in hospital and said that “he would always put a smile on your face” while Camille O’Sullivan recalled the first time she met the Pogues frontman and sang Fairytale of New York with him.
“When I was beside him, he gave me a little cuddle and that’s what he always used to do,” she said.
This first batch of new recruits for the upcoming series of Dancing with the Stars was also revealed on Friday night’s Late Late Show. They are former Miss World Rosanna Davison, newsreader Eileen Dunne, Cork TikTok star Miriam Mullins, Wild Youth member David Whelan and Belfast drag queen Blu Hydrangea.
Davison joked she was doing it “for a break” from her three young children while Mullins is keen to redeem herself after a couple of TikTok dances that didn’t go down too well.
Meanwhile, Eileen Dunne is looking forward to getting her glitzy gowns out and Blu Hydrangea said they all feel like “a wee family already”.
Whelan said he probably will have to avoid using his own songs on the show while Davison — who is the daughter of Chris de Burgh — is hoping she won’t have to dance to her dad’s tracks.
If the applause from the Late Late audience is anything to go by, it seems Eileen Dunne is already the hot favourite to win the next season of the RTÉ show.
Take That has released their first album in six years and — as they found out on Friday night — it is officially number one in Ireland.
After performing one of their new songs, Gary Barlow, Mark Owen and Howard Donald sat down to chat with Kielty.
Speaking about the new album, Howard Donald said: “We feel like we made a great album and it’s just great to be back with the boys,” before the host informed them that the album had hit number one in Ireland.
It is their sixth number-one album here following Nobody Else (1995), Greatest Hits (1996), Beautiful World (2006), The Circus (2008) and Progress (2010).
To mark the occasion, Kielty even presented the thrilled trio with special awards.
Take That said they are looking forward to their Irish gigs next year because Irish fans are the loudest — and Friday night's studio audience made sure to prove them right.
The Late Late audience was made up of Take That superfans who submitted applications in order to be selected to attend the big night.
After performing their first song, one excited Take That fan just couldn't help themselves and shouted at the band to tell them that they sounded "amazing".
According to Kielty, the show was inundated with applications and he took the opportunity to remind the audience members of the stories they told in order to bag a spot in the studio.
🫣 @PatricKielty #LateLate pic.twitter.com/Xn5m6kIq7s
— The Late Late Show (@RTELateLateShow) December 1, 2023
One Mayo man admitted that while he has been to plenty of matches, his best night in Croke Park was seeing Take That’s Progress tour while another audience member named Paul claimed that he was in a karaoke bar in Italy last year and was mistaken for Gary Barlow (we don’t see it).
Closing the show with one final song, squeals and screams were heard from the audience as the band got closer and closer to them.
Considering all of the excitement in the studio, we guess it's no surprise that their gigs at Dublin's 3Arena, Cork's Musgrave Park and Belfast's Ormeau Park are already sold out.
