ENGLAND: Singer-songwriter Shane MacGowan, the legendary frontman of the Irish band, the Pogues, died early Thursday, his family announced online. He was 65, reported the New York Post.

The songwriter of 'Fairytale of New York' died at 3 a.m. with his wife and family by his side, his band reported online.

"I don't know how to say this so I am just going to say it," his wife, Victoria Mary Clarke, also wrote on Instagram.

"'There's no way to describe the loss that I am feeling and the longing for just one more of his smiles that lit up my world," she said of the "love of my life and the most beautiful soul and beautiful angel," Clarke posted.

The cause of death was not immediately known on Thursday, but MacGowan had a history of health problems in recent years.

He was treated for encephalitis (brain enlargement) in December 2022 and spent extra time in the Intensive Care Unit over the summer. MacGowan, who has been in a wheelchair since 2015, was sent to the hospital earlier this month for an unspecified illness.

Born in Kent, England on Christmas Day 1957, MacGowan demonstrated his storytelling abilities from a young age. He won a Daily Mirror literary prize when he was just 13 and earned a scholarship to Westminster School in London for his essays, according to the New York Post.