Northern Ireland

Wife of Pogues singer Shane MacGowan admits to physical abuse

Shane MacGowan and Victoria Mary Clarke on their wedding day in November 2018
Shane MacGowan and Victoria Mary Clarke on their wedding day in November 2018 Shane MacGowan and Victoria Mary Clarke on their wedding day in November 2018

THE wife of Pogues singer Shane MacGowan has admitted to physically abusing him in the past - and how she once threw a video recorder at him in an outburst.

Journalist Victoria Mary Clarke also revealed she had punched the frontman "very hard" in the face after discovering him with another woman in a hotel room.

The couple have been together for more than 30 years and married in Copenhagan in 2018.

Ms Clarke (54) told The Sunday Independent there were multiple incidents of domestic violence during their stormy relationship and that MacGowan (62) was "probably" left with bruises due to the attacks.

She said there had been no recent incidents and accepted there was a double standard in relation to male victims of abuse.

"As women, we are not even expected to apologise for hitting men - especially if we think they are being unfaithful," she said.

"Remember Shane once had his ear famously bitten by a girl in a mosh pit at a Clash concert. The incident was never investigated...nothing was done about it. If a man had done that to a woman there would have been uproar."

She admitted hurling a VCR in a "fit of temper" and narrowly missing him.

"He had said something to me..and I was absolutely furious with him...he told me to 'chill out' and that's when I lashed out."

Last month, Ms Clarke defended the actor Johnny Depp after he lost his libel "wife beater" trial to The Sun newspaper.

She described Depp as a "gentle soul". She and MacGowan have been friends of the 'Pirates of the Caribbean' star for over 20 years.