9 photos of The Pogues playing at a Preston nightclub - as race is on for Christmas Number 1 following death of Shane MacGowan

Preston was home to a plethora of nightspots offering live music, and celtic punk band the Pogues were riding high, having just released their first studio album.

Three hundred people were lucky enough to get tickets to see them perform at the Paradise Club in Avenham Street, a gig organised by the Maguire sisters and Steve Titherington.

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Gordon Gibson of Action Records in Church Street was one of those in the crowd that night.

Aged 33 and with a cheap camera in his hand, he held onto whatever he could to take some steady snaps of the band as the busy crowd danced and surged.

"It was a brilliant night”, said Gordon. “It was absolutely bonkers”.

He remembers how people got onto the stage at the end of the night, having been “madly excited” about the band’s arrival in the city.

By coincidence, Gordon came across a box of photos from the gig while reorganising, just days before the death of lead singer Shane MacGowan last week.

Now Shane’s family and fans are pushing to get his song Fairytale of New York to Christmas number 1, 2023.

Gordon said he’s been delighted by the response to the shots after uploading them to social media, and has had several gig-goers visit him in his shop.

To see the photos, click on the pages below.