Phil Chevron, the guitarist with the Pogues, has died, aged 56.

A post on the Pogues website reads: “After a long illness Philip passed away peacefully this morning [October 8]. We all send our sincere condolences to his family.”

Chevron, whose real name was Philip Ryan, was first diagnosed with esophageal cancer in June 2007 and had been undergoing treatment since. Despite being given an all-clear in 2008, in May 2013, it was announced that the cancer had returned.

Chevron formed one of Ireland’s first punk bands, The Radiators From Space, in Dublin 1976. He lived in London in the early 1980s, where he met Shane MacGowan in 1981; in 1984, Chevron was invited to tour with the Pogues, initially as a temporary replacement for Jem Finer, although he became a full-time member of the band in time for the recording of their second album, Rum, Sodomy And The Lash.

He continued to play with the Pogues after they reformed in 2001, and in 2004, Chevron oversaw the remastering of the Pogues‘ back catalogue ahead of its reissue on CD.

Chevron was last seen in public in August, during a fundraiser for the guitarist which saw actor Aidan Gillen and writer Roddy Doyle pay tribute; the Irish Independent reports that Shane MacGowan also performed.

At the event, Joseph O’Connor, author of Star Of The Sea and Redemption Falls, said, “Philip Chevron is one of the greatest Irish songwriters of all time, certainly the best of my generation, an artist of a unique and absolutely compelling sensibility.

“To any Irish person of my age who loves music, Philip is nothing less than a hero.”

A full obituary will appear in the next issue of Uncut.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_M0h_nPTq2k