Fairytale of New York: How The Pogues Christmas classic almost didn’t happen
IT’S regularly voted the greatest Christmas song of all time and for many it is the official soundtrack to the festive period.
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.
The enduring popularity of The Pogues’ classic duet with Kirsty MacColl shows no sign of abating.
Fairytale of New York was first released in 1987 but famously failed to top the charts that year, thanks to The Pet Shop Boy’s cover of You Were Always On My Mind.
Since then, however, it has gone on to achieve success that The Pogues would never have imagined, as member James Fearnley admitted: “It’s like Fairytale of New York went off and inhabited its own planet.”
For such a cultural institution, the origins of the MacGowan-MacColl collaboration - which sees two abroad showing their disdain for one another before reuniting - are disputed.
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.
He wrote: “It was an awful song. We probably said, f*** that, we can do our own.”
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.
He reflected: “For a band like the Pogues, very strongly rooted in all kinds of traditions rather than the present, it was a no-brainer.”
It comes as..
- Legendary singer Shane MacGowan has died age 65
- Shane's loving wife paid tribute to her 'beautiful angel'
- The rock wildman defied critics who said he had ‘death wish’
- Fans have shared their heartbreak for the loss of the Irish frontman
- Last ever pic of the Pogues icon revealed
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.
But Finer’s wife Marcia did not like the original, calling it corny, and suggested new lyrics regarding a conversation between a couple at Christmas.
MacGowan addressed the controversy in recent years and said: “The word was used by the character because it fitted with the way she would speak and with her character.
“She is not supposed to be a nice person, or even a wholesome person.
“She is a woman of a certain generation at a certain time in history and she is down on her luck and desperate.
“Her dialogue is as accurate as I could make it but she is not intended to offend!
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“She is just supposed to be an authentic character and not all characters in songs and stories are angels or even decent and respectable, sometimes characters in songs and stories have to be evil or nasty to tell the story effectively.
“If people don’t understand that I was trying to accurately portray the character as authentically as possible, then I am absolutely fine with them bleeping the word, but I don’t want to get into an argument.”