Darryl Hunt, Bassist With The Pogues, Dead At 72

The Pogues’ bass player Darryl Hunt has died aged 72.

The band said on Twitter they were “saddened beyond words” to share that Hunt had died on Monday afternoon, August 8, in London.

Posting a black-and-white photo of Hunt holding a guitar case, they paid tribute by quoting the lyrics of their song “Love You Till the End”, which was written by Hunt. They quoted: “I know you want to hear me catch my breath / I love you till the end.”

Paying tribute, The Pogues’ frontman, Shane MacGowan, described Hunt as a “great friend and a great bass player” in his own tribute to his late bandmate. “I am very, very sorry that Darryl has passed on, he was a really nice guy and a great friend and a great bass player,” MacGowan wrote on Twitter. “We will all miss him.”

Spider Stacy, his Pogues bandmate, also paid tribute to Hunt on Twitter, writing: “This is wretched. See you around the way, Daz. ‘It’s in the fridge’ #TrickyTrees.”

Darryl Hunt was born in Hampshire on 4 May 1950. Before he began playing bass in the Pogues, he was part of the pub rock bands Plummet Airlines and The Favourites.

He was initially employed as chief roadie for the London-based Celtic-folk pioneers before he took over on bass after The Pogues’ original bassist, Cait O’Riordan left the band in 1986.

Hunt was involved in the band’s subsequent albums, including their critically-acclaimed third full-length release, 1988’s If I Should Fall from Grace with God which featured the legendary Christmas hit “Fairytale of New York”. He remained through their split in 1996 and returned in 2001 when The Pogues reunited. Hunt stayed with the band until they played their final show in 2014.

He also contributed material until their last album, Pogue Mahone, in 1996. He has writing credits on a number of their songs. The Hunt-penned song, “Love You Till the End,” was featured in the films Mystery, Alaska and P.S. I Love You.