Kirsty Maccoll: Last News

BBC Radio 2 has this year, for the first time, joined the group of radio stations that have decided to play an edited version of ‘Fairytale Of New York’, the popular festive classic from The Pogues and Kirsty MacColl.There has been increasing controversy around the inclusion of the word ‘faggot’ in the lyrics of the song in recent years.On one side, there are people who think that a homophobic slur such as that shouldn’t really be heard on daytime radio in this day and age – regardless of whether or not it’s delivered as the words of an unsympathetic character within the context of the song.On the other side, there are those who think it’s been in the song for years now and people are just being overly sensitive – given that it’s delivered as the words of an unsympathetic character within the context of the song.Anyway, we have this conversation every year, even though everyone involved seems to have agreed that the song should be edited and the original should not be played on the radio anymore. Last year people got upset because Warner Music created a new radio edit, which replaced the line “you cheap lousy faggot” with “you’re cheap and you’re haggard”.The new line was lifted from a live performance by Kirsty MacColl, who herself had begun censoring the song before her death in 2000.

The Pogues and Kirsty MacColl was originally released in December 1987 and peaked at Number Two on the UK singles chart. It was held off that year’s Christmas Number One spot by Pet Shop Boys’ ‘Always On My Mind’.The single returned to the Top 40 in 1991 and, following the download boom, ‘Fairytale Of New York’ has re-entered the Top 20 every December since 2005.

Harry Hill has re-shared Shane MacGowan‘s festive cameo from the 2010 Christmas special of TV Burp. The late Pogues frontman appeared on the show to sing the Irish band’s Christmas classic ‘Fairytale Of New York’, but in a hilarious, quintessentially TV Burp twist, the performance ended up becoming a duet with a giant beluga whale who squeaked along in place of what would have been Kirsty MacColl‘s parts.Despite the audience being in hysterics, MacGowan plays it completely straight, carrying on with his performance as if it were nothing out of the ordinary.Hill has been posting to his Instagram account every day of December in a series of posts called ‘Mattvent’, where he shares a photo each day of a rogue mattress found in an odd place alongside old clips from TV Burp, which aired on Saturday nights between 2001 and 2012.Check out the clip of MacGowan’s appearance below:A post shared by Harry Hill (@mrharryhill)In a further Instagram post, Hill shared some extracts from his memoir Fight! where he recounted the experience of having MacGowan on the show.Hill had come up with the idea of MacGowan singing ‘Fairytale Of New York’ with a beluga whale played by a runner, but had been told by his producer Spencer that he was “having a laugh” and that there would be “no way he’s going to say yes to that!’”In the book, he wrote: “His agent explained to Spencer that Shane got a huge number of requests every Christmas to sing his Christmas hit and that he always turned them down.

Wham! taking the lead for the peak position on the charts.The news follows a neck-and-neck race between the iconic ‘80s pop duo Wham! And Eurovision star Sam Ryder over the past week, with their respective songs ‘Last Christmas’ [1986] and ‘You’re Christmas To Me’ [2023].At the first look at the race last week, just 42 chart units stood between the two taking the top spot on the UK charts, however, this week it has been revealed by the Official Charts that Wham! are in pole position, and have widened the gap between Ryder’s Amazon Music original track – which remains at Number Two.However, it doesn’t seem likely that the charts will stay this way until Christmas, with Ryder set to play a fan-exclusive gig tonight (December 19) in Shoreditch, London, in a push to promote the song in time for Christmas Day.Similarly, today (December 19) The Pogues are sharing a special, limited-edition physical run of their own iconic Christmas song ‘Fairytale Of New York’ in a push to climb the charts.Originally released in 1988 and featuring Kirsty MacColl, the track is being reissued in memory of the band’s late singer Shane MacGowan, who died “peacefully” in hospital from pneumonia on November 30. He was 65 years old and his funeral took place in Nenagh, County Tipperary on December 8.All proceeds from the reissue will be donated to the Irish charity Dublin Simon Community, and the release also arrived alongside a fan campaign to get Fairytale of New York to Christmas Number 1 for the first time.The push for the top position on the charts has also been endorsed by Shane MacGowan’s widow, Victoria Mary Clarke.

Sam Ryder has admitted that he would “love” for The Pogues’ ‘Fairytale of New York’ to beat him to this year’s Christmas Number One spot.The Eurovision star is one of the competitors in this year’s race, with his single ‘You’re Christmas to Me’, taken from the film Your Christmas or Mine 2.However, since the news broke of the death of Shane MacGowan, fans of his festive classic are rallying to get that track to the Christmas Number One. It has never gone above second place in the UK charts, peaking there on its initial release in 1987.

Shane MacGowan’s widow, Victoria Mary Clarke, has said she worried about his death for 35 years because he “pushed the boundaries of what humans can do to their bodies”. The Pogues frontman, best known for classic Christmas hit song Fairytale Of New York, died last week at the age of 65. The song is now battling to score the coveted Christmas number one spot, a feat which was not achieved when it was originally released in 1987, having peaked at number two in the charts.

Shane MacGowan’s sister Siobhan has said that ‘Fairytale of New York’ “captured what Christmas was like for a lot of people”. Siobhan MacGowan was speaking about the song to Hot Press Magazine, where she said, “I thought it was absolutely amazing.

A.D. Amorosi Regarded for his wrenching, joyful lyricism as a bard of all things Irish, Shane MacGowan – the singer-songwriter known mostly for his work as frontman of the Celtic punk phenomenon the Pogues – was truly a tender poet of universal concern.

Shane MacGowan, The Pogues founder who sang Christmas classic Fairytale of New York with Kirsty MacColl, has died aged 65.

Shane MacGowan, frontman of The Pogues, has sadly died at the age of 65. His wife Victoria Mary Clarke, 57, confirmed the heartbreaking news and said: "Shane will always be the light that I hold before me and the measure of my dreams and the love of my life." Shane was born in Kent on Christmas Day in 1957 and is likely best known for the band's hit festive song, Fairytale Of New York, featuring the late Kirsty MacColl.

The legendary singer of The Pogues, Shane MacGowan, has tragically died at the age of 65 following a long health battle after a lifetime of success in the music industry.

Shane MacGowan, best known as the frontman of The Pogues, has died at the age of 65.The news was confirmed by his wife, Victoria Mary Clarke, who said: “Shane will always be the light that I hold before me and the measure of my dreams and the love of my life”.The Irish band were best known for the festive hit ‘Fairytale Of New York’ featuring Kirsty MacColl.MacGowan had been ill for some time and had been discharged from hospital last week, where he had been staying since June after being admitted to intensive care for an unspecified health issue. He was hospitalised in early December 2022 with encephalitis.This is a breaking news story, check back for more information.

LadBaby would be stepping down from their streak of annual Number One tracks.Comprised of Mark and Roxanne Hoyle, the LadBaby duo have consistently topped the charts around Christmas for their sausage roll-themed takes on famous tracks. These include ‘We Built This City’ (2018), ‘I Love Sausage Rolls’ (2019), ‘Don’t Stop Me Eatin’’ (2020), ‘Sausage Rolls For Everyone’ (2021) and ‘Food Aid’ (2022).Now, Official Charts Company have revealed the artists who are most likely to take the top position on the UK charts – compiling a list of the contending songs for the 2023 Christmas Number One.Among those listed are a variety of charity singles, including ‘West End Girls’ – the recently shared track by post-punk duo Sleaford Mods.

Tributes poured in for Darryl following the news but the cause of his death has not yet been reported.Bandmate Spider Stacy paid tribute to the bassist on Twitter, writing: “This is wretched.See you around the way, Daz. ‘It’s in the fridge’ #TrickyTrees”.Farriage wrote: "Very sad to hear this."Steven Boon penned: "Terrible news.

Ed Sheeran & Elton John hold on to Number 1 on the Official Irish Singles Chart with Merry Christmas.

Christmas, Fairytale of New York continues to hold major cultural significance.With Shane McGowan's slurring form of singing and Kirsty MacColl's raspy vocals, the 1987 song arguably remains the nation's best-loved Christmas song.But Kirsty, who duetted with The Pogues on the famous track, never got to truly see the global impact of the song.In 2000, tragedy struck when she died in a horror incident.The British singer, who was 41 at the time, was holidaying in Mexico with her two sons, James and Louis, and her partner James Knight.Kirsty had been in the studio for a year and half prior to the trip working on new music, so the vacation was to act as a period of relaxation for herself and her family.The singer and her family had been enjoying

Ed Sheeran and Elton John’s new single Merry Christmas claims the highest new entry on this week’s Official Irish Singles Chart, debuting at Number 3.

Death Cab For Cutie’s Ben Gibbard has shared a cover of Kirsty MacColl‘s ‘They Don’t Know’ – you can watch it below.The frontman began performing livestream sessions for fans last year after the coronavirus pandemic spread across the world.

Gavin and Stacey 's Christmas special is set to air tonight (24th December) and the festive repeat will not include the offensive Fairytale Of New York lyric.

Gavin & Stacey Christmas special will not feature the controversial ‘Fairytale Of New York’ lyric that caused a number of viewers to make complaints to the BBC.The uncensored version of the 1987 hit by The Pogues and Kirsty MacColl, featuring the lyrics: “You scumbag, you maggot/ You cheap lousy f****t/ Happy Christmas, your arse/ I pray God it’s our last“, was performed by Nessa and Bryn during last year’s special.After the episode aired, the BBC received nearly 900 complaints about the lyric.

Gavin and Stacey Christmas special set to air on Christmas Eve has been re-edited to omit an offensive slur from the Christmas hit Fairytale of New York following backlash.The BBC will show the 2019 festive special of the much-loved comedy sitcom tonight - but the offensive lyric from the Christmas karaoke scene will be cut out, The Mirror reports.The show stirred up controversy last year when characters Bryn and Nessa – played by Rob Brydon and Ruth Jones - sang the word “f***ot”  and amassed a staggering 900 complaints.The Christmas hit by The Pogues and Kirsty MacColl has faced backlash in recent years over the use of the homophobic word in the lyrics.