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<\/p>\nIT\u2019S regularly voted the greatest Christmas song of all time and for many it is the official soundtrack to the festive period.<\/p>\n
And over three decades later after the tragic news of Pogues frontman Shane MacGowan's death, Fairytale of New York could become Christmas number one in the UK for the first time.<\/p>\n
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The enduring popularity of The Pogues\u2019 classic duet with Kirsty MacColl shows no sign of abating.<\/p>\n
Fairytale of New York was first released in 1987 but famously failed to top the charts that year, thanks to The Pet Shop Boy\u2019s cover of You Were Always On My Mind.<\/p>\n
Since then, however, it has gone on to achieve success that The Pogues would never have imagined, as member James Fearnley admitted: \u201cIt\u2019s like Fairytale of New York went off and inhabited its own planet.\u201d<\/p>\n
For such a cultural institution, the origins of the MacGowan-MacColl collaboration – which sees two Irish abroad showing their disdain for one another before reuniting – are disputed.<\/p>\n
MacGowan maintained that Elvis Costello, who produced album Rum, Sodomy & the Lash, bet the Tipperary singer that he couldn\u2019t write a Christmas duet to sing with bass player (and Costello\u2019s future wife) Cait O\u2019Riordan.<\/p>\n
But accordian-player Fearnley, who later published a book, Here Comes Everybody: The Story of the Pogues, claimed band manager Frank Murray suggested they cover a single called Christmas Must be Tonight.<\/p>\n
He wrote: \u201cIt was an awful song. We probably said, f*** that, we can do our own.\u201d<\/p>\n
Whatever the precise details of the beloved ballad are, legendary Pogues member Jem Finer insisted it was the right move for the London-Irish rockers, who were famously proud of their Gaelic roots.<\/p>\n
<\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n He reflected: \u201cFor a band like the Pogues, very strongly rooted in all kinds of traditions rather than the present, it was a no-brainer.\u201d<\/p>\n It comes as..<\/p>\n Banjo player Finer first came up with the melody and the original concept for the song, which was set in Co Clare, involving a sailor in New York looking out over the ocean and reminiscing about being back home in Ireland.<\/p>\n But Finer\u2019s wife Marcia did not like the original, calling it corny, and suggested new lyrics regarding a conversation between a couple at Christmas.<\/p>\n Finer later told an interviewer: \u201cI had written two songs complete with tunes, one had a good tune and crap lyrics, the other had the idea for Fairytale but the tune was poxy, I gave them both to Shane and he gave it a Broadway melody, and there it was.\u201d<\/p>\n He discussed his battles with co-writer MacGowan and said: \u201cShane and I batted arrangements around for ages and we\u2019d periodically try and record it. Shane\u2019s a tireless and meticulous editor.\u201d<\/p>\n Iconic singer-songwriter Shane later told how he sat down to add his own magic to the single following sherry and peanuts.<\/p>\n He explained: \u201cI sat down, opened the sherry, got the peanuts out and pretended it was Christmas.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s even called \u2018A Fairy Tale of New York\u2019, it\u2019s quite sloppy, more like (Pogues songs) \u2018A Pair of Brown Eyes\u2019 than \u2018Sally MacLennane\u2019, but there\u2019s also a c\u00e9ilidh bit in the middle which you can definitely dance to.<\/p>\n \u201cLike a country and Irish ballad, but one you can do a brisk waltz to, especially when you\u2019ve got about three of these [drinks] inside you…<\/p>\n \u201cBut the song itself is quite depressing in the end, it\u2019s about these old Irish-American Broadway stars who are sitting round at Christmas talking about whether things are going okay.\u201d<\/p>\n He also spoke of his musical struggles with the project from time to time and revealed: \u201cEvery night I used to have another bash at nailing the lyrics, but I knew they weren\u2019t right.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is by far the most complicated song that I have ever been involved in writing and performing. The beauty of it is that it sounds really simple.\u201d<\/p>\n The song ultimately took two years to produce in total after a series of changes, including introducing ballad star Kirsty MacColl to replace O\u2019Riordan.<\/p>\n The original plan to record with O\u2019Riordan fell through when she married Costello and left the band.<\/p>\n But as it became an annual favourite and gained massive popularity, the song also became increasingly controversial.<\/p>\n This was\u00a0due to language contained in its second verse, where MacGowan\u2019s character refers to MacColl\u2019s character as \u201can old s*** on junk\u201d, to which MacColl responds with a tirade that includes the words \u201cf****t\u201d and \u201ca***\u201d.<\/p>\n When the song was performed on Top of the Pops on its initial release, the BBC requested that MacColl\u2019s singing of \u201ca***\u201d be replaced with \u201ca**\u201d.<\/p>\n MacGowan addressed the controversy in recent years and said: \u201cThe word was used by the character because it fitted with the way she would speak and with her character.<\/p>\n \u201cShe is not supposed to be a nice person, or even a wholesome person.<\/p>\n \u201cShe is a woman of a certain generation at a certain time in history and she is down on her luck and desperate. <\/p>\n \u201cHer dialogue is as accurate as I could make it but she is not intended to offend!<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/www.thesun.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/DD-dean-v2_COMP-1.jpg\")
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