Fairytale of New York - wikipedia Fairytale of New York This article is about the song. For the novel by J.P. Donleavy, see A Fairy Tale of New York. `` Fairytale of New York '' Single by The Pogues featuring Kirsty MacColl from the album If I Should Fall from Grace with God Released 23 November 1987 Format 7 '' and 12 '' vinyl, cassette, CD single Recorded August 1987 Studio Rak Studios, London Genre Celtic rock, Celtic punk, Christmas music Length 4 : 33 Label Pogue Mahone Songwriter ( s ) Jem Finer, Shane MacGowan Producer ( s ) Steve Lillywhite The Pogues singles chronology `` The Irish Rover '' ( 1987 ) `` Fairytale of New York '' ( 1987 ) `` If I Should Fall from Grace with God '' ( 1988 ) `` Fairytale of New York '' is a song written by Jem Finer and Shane MacGowan and recorded by their band the Pogues, featuring singer - songwriter Kirsty MacColl on vocals. The song is an Irish folk - style ballad and was written as a duet, with the Pogues ' singer MacGowan taking the role of the male character and MacColl the female character. It was originally released as a single on 23 November 1987 and later featured on the Pogues ' 1988 album If I Should Fall from Grace with God. Originally begun in 1985, the song had a troubled two - year development history, undergoing rewrites and aborted attempts at recording, and losing its original female vocalist along the way, before finally being completed in August 1987. Although the single never reached the coveted UK Christmas number one, being kept at number two on its original release in 1987 by the Pet Shop Boys ' cover version of `` Always on My Mind '', it has proved enduringly popular with both music critics and the public : to date the song has reached the UK Top 20 on fourteen separate occasions since its original release in 1987, including every year since 2005, and was certified double platinum in the UK in 2016. As of September 2017 the song has sold 1,217,112 copies in the UK, with an additional 249,626 streaming equivalent sales, for a total of 1,466,737 combined sales. In the UK it is the most - played Christmas song of the 21st century. `` Fairytale of New York '' has been cited as the best Christmas song of all time in various television, radio and magazine related polls in the UK and Ireland. Contents 1 Background and song development 2 Recording 3 Composition 4 Music video 5 Lyrical controversy 6 Releases and promotion 7 Legacy 8 Track listings 8.1 1987 original release 8.2 1991 reissue 8.3 2005 reissue 8.4 2012 reissue 9 Charts 9.1 Weekly charts 9.2 Year end charts 10 See also 11 References 12 External links Background and song development Although there is agreement among the band that `` Fairytale of New York '' was first written in 1985, the origins of the song are disputed. MacGowan insisted that it arose as a result of a wager made by the Pogues ' producer at the time, Elvis Costello, that the band would not be able to write a Christmas hit single, while the Pogues ' manager Frank Murray has stated that it was originally his idea that the band should try and write a Christmas song as he thought it would be `` interesting ''. It was banjo player Finer who came up with the melody and the original concept for the song, which involved a sailor in New York looking out over the ocean and reminiscing about being back home in Ireland. Finer 's wife Marcia did not like the original story, and suggested new lyrics regarding a conversation between a couple at Christmas. Finer told NME, `` I 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 ''. The song 's title, the musical structure and its lyrical theme of a couple 's conversation were in place by the end of 1985, and were described by MacGowan in an interview with Melody Maker in its 1985 Christmas issue : `` I sat down, opened the sherry, got the peanuts out and pretended it was Christmas. It 's even called ' A Fairy Tale of New York ', it 's quite sloppy, more like ' A Pair of Brown Eyes ' than ' Sally MacLennane ', but there 's also a céilidh bit in the middle which you can definitely dance to. Like a country and Irish ballad, but one you can do a brisk waltz to, especially when you 've got about three of these ( drinks ) inside you... But the song itself is quite depressing in the end, it 's about these old Irish - American Broadway stars who are sitting round at Christmas talking about whether things are going okay. '' MacGowan had decided to name the song after J.P. Donleavy 's 1973 novel A Fairy Tale of New York, which Finer was reading at the time and had left lying around the recording studio. In the same Melody Maker interview MacGowan expressed regret that the song had not been completed in time to be released for Christmas that year, and hinted that the track would appear on an EP that the Pogues were due to record shortly. In January 1986 the group recorded the song during the sessions with Costello that would produce the Poguetry in Motion EP, with bass player Cait O'Riordan singing the female part. Costello suggested naming the song `` Christmas Eve in the Drunk Tank '', after the song 's opening lines, but the band were scornful of Costello 's suggestion, with MacGowan pointing out to Costello that a song with such a title was unlikely to be favourably received and played by radio stations. The majority of the lyrics had been written while MacGowan was recovering in a bed in Malmö after being struck down with double pneumonia during a Pogues tour of Scandinavia in late 1985 -- he later said, `` you get a lot of delirium and stuff, so I got quite a few good images out of that ''. However, despite several attempts at recording it, the group were unhappy with the results and the song was temporarily put aside, to be returned to at a later date. Guitarist Philip Chevron later said, `` It was not quite there. It needed to have a full - on, confident performance from the band, which it lacked. '' The producer of the final version, Steve Lillywhite, diplomatically described the version recorded with O'Riordan's vocals as not `` fully realised ''. Extracts from these earlier versions of the song are included on the 2008 box set Just Look Them Straight in the Eye and Say... POGUEMAHONE ! !. In March 1986 the Pogues toured the US for the first time. The opening date of the tour was in New York City, a place which had long fascinated MacGowan and which inspired him to write new lyrics for the song. Among the members of the city 's Irish - American community who saw the show and visited the band backstage after the concert were film - maker Peter Dougherty and actor Matt Dillon : both would later become friends with the Pogues and play important roles in the video for `` Fairytale of New York ''. Another inspiration was Sergio Leone 's film Once Upon a Time in America, which MacGowan and whistle player Spider Stacy would watch over and over again in the tour bus. Apart from shaping the ideas for the lyrics, MacGowan wrote a slow, piano - based introduction to `` Fairytale of New York '' influenced by the film 's score by Ennio Morricone : the intro would later be edited together with the more upbeat original melody to create the final song. As 1986 went on, however, the Pogues encountered various problems that brought a halt to their recording activity. Their record label Stiff ran into financial difficulties and went into administration, although as the label still owned the rights to the Pogues ' recordings this meant that a distribution deal had to be negotiated with a new label in order to release any new Pogues material. The group 's deteriorating relationship with Costello saw them part ways with their producer, and after increasingly erratic behaviour Cait O'Riordan, who had become romantically involved with Costello, left the band in October 1986. The departure of O'Riordan meant the song had now lost its intended female singer. Recording The problems at Stiff were eventually resolved, and the Pogues were finally able to enter a recording studio again in early 1987 to start work on their third album, now with Steve Lillywhite producing. A new demo of `` Fairytale of New York '' was recorded at London 's Abbey Road Studios in March 1987, with MacGowan singing both the male and female roles. However, it was not until the third set of recording sessions in August 1987 in nearby RAK Studios that it was suggested that Lillywhite take the track back to his home studio and let his wife Kirsty MacColl lay down a new guide vocal for the song. Having worked on her vocals meticulously, Lillywhite brought the recording back to the studio where the Pogues were impressed with MacColl 's singing and realised she would be the ideal voice for the female character in the song. MacGowan later said, `` Kirsty knew exactly the right measure of viciousness and femininity and romance to put into it and she had a very strong character and it came across in a big way... In operas, if you have a double aria, it 's what the woman does that really matters. The man lies, the woman tells the truth. '' MacGowan re-recorded his vocals alongside the tape of MacColl 's contribution ( the duo never recorded the song together in the studio ) and the song was duly completed with the addition of a harp played by Siobhan Sheahan and horns and a string section. The French horns and strings were recorded at Townhouse Studios on the last day of recording If I Should Fall from Grace with God, arranged by Fiachra Trench after band member James Fearnley had mocked up an arrangement on a keyboard. Composition The song follows an Irish immigrant 's Christmas Eve reverie about holidays past while sleeping off a binge in a New York City drunk tank. When an inebriated old man also in the cell sings a passage from the Irish ballad `` The Rare Old Mountain Dew '', the narrator ( MacGowan ) begins to dream about the song 's female character. The remainder of the song ( which may be an internal monologue ) takes the form of a call and response between the couple, their youthful hopes crushed by alcoholism and drug addiction, as they reminisce and bicker on Christmas Eve. MacColl 's melodious singing contrasts with the harshness of MacGowan 's voice, and the lyrics are sometimes bittersweet -- sometimes purely bitter : `` Happy Christmas your arse / I pray God it 's our last ''. The lyrics `` Sinatra was swinging '' and `` cars as big as bars '' seem to place the song in the late 1940s, although the music video clearly depicts what was then present - day 1980s New York. Music video The video for the song was directed by Peter Dougherty and filmed in New York during a bitterly cold Thanksgiving week in November 1987. The video opens with MacGowan sitting at a piano as if playing the song 's opening refrain : however, as MacGowan could not play the instrument, the close - up shot of `` his '' hands actually features the hands of the band 's pianist Fearnley wearing MacGowan 's rings on his fingers. Fearnley found the experience `` humiliating '' but conceded that it looked better in the video to show MacGowan seated at the piano. Part of the video was filmed inside a real police station on the Lower East Side. Matt Dillon plays a police officer who `` arrests '' MacGowan and takes him to the cells. Dillon recalled that he had been afraid to handle his friend roughly, and had to be ordered by Dougherty and MacGowan to use force. MacGowan and the rest of the band were drinking throughout the shoot, and the police became concerned about their increasingly rowdy behaviour in the cells. Dillon, who was sober, had to intervene and reassure the police that there would be no problems. The chorus of the song includes the line `` The boys of the NYPD choir still singing ' Galway Bay ' ''. In reality the NYPD ( New York City Police Department ) does not have a choir, the closest thing being the Pipes and Drums of the NYPD 's Emerald Society who are featured in the video for the song. The NYPD Pipes and Drums did not know `` Galway Bay '' and so sang a song that all of them knew the words to -- the `` Mickey Mouse March '', the theme tune for The Mickey Mouse Club television series. The footage was then slowed down and shown in brief sections to disguise the fact the Pipes and Drums were singing a different song. Murray recalled that the Pipes and Drums had been drinking on the coach that brought them to the video shoot, and by the time they arrived they were more drunk than the band, refusing to work unless they were supplied with more alcohol. Lyrical controversy The song attracted attention from the start due to some of the language used in its second verse, where MacGowan 's character refers to MacColl 's character as `` an old slut on junk '' ( heroin ), and MacColl responds with a tirade that includes the words `` faggot '' and `` arse ''. When the song was performed on Top Of The Pops on its initial release, it was customary for acts to mime to the studio track. The BBC insisted that MacColl 's singing of `` arse '' be replaced with the less offensive `` ass '', ( although as she mimed the word, MacColl slapped the relevant part of her body ). The subsequent pronunciation of `` last '' was also changed to rhyme. Upon the song 's 1991 release, MacColl changed the lyrics during a live performance on Top Of The Pops in January 1992 to, `` You 're cheap and you 're haggard. '' When Katie Melua performed the song with The Pogues on CD : UK in December 2005, ITV censored her singing the word `` arse '', yet left in `` faggot '' despite the word being generally deemed more offensive by this time. Wikinews has related news : BBC Radio 1 reverses `` faggot '' ruling hours after initial ban On 18 December 2007, shortly after increased media sensitivity of offensive - perceived content in the aftermath of the Russell Brand Show prank telephone calls row, BBC Radio 1 edited the words `` faggot '' and `` slut '' from the track to `` avoid offence ''. MacColl 's mother, Jean, called the ban `` too ridiculous '', while The Pogues said they found it `` amusing '' ( despite MacColl herself having previously changed the lyrics to, `` You 're cheap and you 're haggard '' in live performances in the nineties when the term became more widely accepted as offensive ). The BBC said, `` We are playing an edited version because some members of the audience might find it offensive ''. Later that evening Radio 1 backed down and said that after a day of criticism from listeners, the band, and MacColl 's mother, they had reversed the decision. The unedited version was then played later on that day. Other BBC radio stations, including the traditionally more conservative Radio 2, had continued to play the original version throughout this period, the ban having applied to Radio 1 only. The MTV channels in the UK also removed and scrambled the words `` slut '', `` faggot '' and `` arse '' from the song. In his Christmas podcast, musical comedian Mitch Benn commented that `` faggot '' was Irish and Liverpudlian slang for a lazy person, and was unrelated to the derogatory term for homosexuals, although `` faggot '' is used as an insult for gay men in Ireland. Releases and promotion The song was released in the United Kingdom and Ireland in November 1987 and swiftly became a hit, spending five weeks at Number 1 in the Irish charts. On 17 December 1987, The Pogues and MacColl performed the song on the BBC 's popular television show Top of the Pops, and it was propelled to number two on the official UK Top 75. Although the song finished 1987 as the 48th best seller of the year despite only a month 's sales, it was denied the UK Christmas number one by the Pet Shop Boys ' cover of `` Always on My Mind ''. MacGowan is said to have commented on this in his typically forthright manner, `` We were beaten by two queens and a drum machine ''. MacColl later said that she did not feel they were really in competition with the Pet Shop Boys as they were doing a completely different kind of music. The song was re-released by the Pogues in the UK in 1991 ( reaching # 36 ), and again in the UK and Ireland for Christmas 2005, reaching number three in the UK. All proceeds from the latter release were donated towards a mixture of homeless charities and Justice for Kirsty, a campaign to find out the truth behind MacColl 's death in 2000. Due to the eligibility of downloads to chart even without a physical release, coupled with a more recent further boost from streaming data, the song has re-entered the Top 75 every December since 2005. It has now made the Top 20 on fourteen separate occasions including thirteen times in successive years, and the Top 10 on five separate occasions including three times in successive years, feats that no other single can match. Its fifteen visits to the chart now total 83 weeks on the official UK Top 75 ( as of w / e 4 January 2018 ), making it the fifth most charted song of all time. In late 2012 it was declared a UK million - seller. On 22 December 2005, The Pogues performed the song on a Friday Night with Jonathan Ross Christmas special on BBC One in the UK, with the female vocals taken by singer Katie Melua. Legacy `` When I first read ' Fairytale of New York ' and heard it played I really wished I 'd written it. I still do. It 's a classic. '' -- Kirsty MacColl on the song 's lasting legacy, May 1988 Fairytale of New York was announced as Britain 's `` favourite Christmas song '' in a 90 - minute special on ITV on 22 December 2012, following a nationwide survey of ITV viewers, despite not being a Christmas song, merely set at Christmas. In the UK it is the most - played Christmas song of the 21st Century. The song has featured in many UK - based surveys and polls : Number 1 in the VH1 greatest Christmas song chart three years running, in 2004, 2005, and 2006 Number 11 in Channel 4 's 100 Greatest Christmas Moments Number 27 on VH1 's Greatest Songs Never to Make Number One Number 23 on VH1 's greatest lyrics Number 29 on 4Music 's Noddy Holder 's Big Christmas 50 Number 83 in Q Magazine 's 100 Greatest Ever Songs * Number 84 on BBC Radio 2 's top 100 greatest songs of all time poll Number 204 in NME s 500 Greatest Songs of All Time The Hits music channel rated `` Fairytale of New York '' number one in `` The Nation 's Favourite Christmas Song '' countdown In December 2008 The Music Factory UK did a poll which found that the song was the favourite Christmas song. Number 1 song of the 1980s by voters of The Radcliffe & Maconie show on BBC Radio 2 & BBC Four 's Pop On Trial season in January 2008 The UK 's second - favourite single to have missed the number 1 slot The `` tragicomic tale of love gone sour and shattered dreams '' was the subject of BBC Radio 4 's Soul Music series on 22 December 2015, with a repeat on the same station on 26 December 2015 and then on the BBC iPlayer. Among those appearing in the programme were The Pogues ' pianist James Fearnley -- who tells how `` the song started off as a transatlantic love story between an Irish seafarer missing his girl at Christmas before becoming the bittersweet reminiscences of the Irish immigrant down on his luck in the Big Apple '' -- and Irish Gaelic footballer Alisha Jordan, who was inspired by the song 's words to recover and to not be overcome by facial injuries she received when a stranger attacked her in a New York City street. Track listings 1987 original release 7 '' single `` Fairytale of New York '' ( Jem Finer, Shane MacGowan ) -- 4 : 33 `` The Battle March Medley '' ( Terry Woods ) -- 4 : 07 12 ``, cassette and CD single `` Fairytale of New York '' ( Finer, MacGowan ) -- 4 : 33 `` The Battle March Medley '' ( Terry Woods ) -- 4 : 07 `` Shanne Bradley '' ( MacGowan ) -- 3 : 38 Note : Shanne Bradley was one of MacGowan 's bandmates in his previous group The Nips. 1991 reissue 7 '' and cassette single `` Fairytale of New York '' ( Finer, MacGowan ) -- 4 : 33 `` Fiesta '' ( Finer, MacGowan ) -- 4 : 33 12 '' and CD single `` Fairytale of New York '' ( Finer, MacGowan ) -- 4 : 33 `` A Pair of Brown Eyes '' ( Live ) ( MacGowan ) -- 3 : 40 `` The Sick Bed of Cúchulainn '' ( Live ) ( MacGowan ) -- 3 : 16 `` Maggie May '' ( Live ) ( Rod Stewart, Martin Quittenton ) -- 4 : 23 Live tracks recorded at Barrowland Ballroom, Glasgow, 1987 2005 reissue 7 '' single `` Fairytale of New York '' ( Finer, MacGowan ) -- 4 : 33 `` The Battle March Medley '' ( Woods ) -- 4 : 07 CD single `` Fairytale of New York '' ( Finer, MacGowan ) -- 4 : 33 `` Fairytale of New York '' ( instrumental ) ( Finer, MacGowan ) -- 4 : 33 2012 reissue 7 '' single `` Fairytale of New York '' ( Finer, MacGowan ) -- 4 : 33 `` Fairytale of New York '' ( instrumental ) ( Finer, MacGowan ) -- 4 : 33 Charts Weekly charts Chart ( 1987 ) Peak position Ireland ( IRMA ) UK Singles ( Official Charts Company ) Chart ( 1988 ) Peak position New Zealand ( Recorded Music NZ ) 5 Chart ( 1991 ) Peak position Ireland ( IRMA ) 10 UK Singles ( Official Charts Company ) 36 Chart ( 2005 ) Peak position Ireland ( IRMA ) UK Singles ( Official Charts Company ) Chart ( 2006 ) Peak position Norway ( VG - lista ) 18 UK Singles ( Official Charts Company ) 6 Chart ( 2007 ) Peak position Ireland ( IRMA ) Norway ( VG - lista ) 9 Sweden ( Sverigetopplistan ) 24 UK Singles ( Official Charts Company ) Chart ( 2008 ) Peak position Ireland ( IRMA ) 8 Norway ( VG - lista ) 15 Sweden ( Sverigetopplistan ) 38 UK Singles ( Official Charts Company ) 12 Chart ( 2009 ) Peak position Ireland ( IRMA ) 13 Norway ( VG - lista ) 12 UK Singles ( Official Charts Company ) 12 Chart ( 2010 ) Peak position Ireland ( IRMA ) 11 Norway ( VG - lista ) 15 Sweden ( Sverigetopplistan ) 16 UK Singles ( Official Charts Company ) 17 Chart ( 2011 ) Peak position Ireland ( IRMA ) 7 New Zealand ( Recorded Music NZ ) 34 Norway ( VG - lista ) 17 Sweden ( Sverigetopplistan ) 28 UK Singles ( Official Charts Company ) 13 Chart ( 2012 ) Peak position Ireland ( IRMA ) 9 New Zealand ( Recorded Music NZ ) 37 Norway ( VG - lista ) 13 Sweden ( Sverigetopplistan ) 22 UK Singles ( Official Charts Company ) 12 Chart ( 2013 ) Peak position Ireland ( IRMA ) 8 New Zealand ( Recorded Music NZ ) 27 Slovenia ( SloTop50 ) 45 Sweden ( Sverigetopplistan ) 20 UK Singles ( Official Charts Company ) 14 Chart ( 2014 ) Peak position Ireland ( IRMA ) 10 New Zealand ( Recorded Music NZ ) 31 Sweden ( Sverigetopplistan ) 25 UK Singles ( Official Charts Company ) 11 Chart ( 2015 ) Peak position Ireland ( IRMA ) 6 Sweden ( Sverigetopplistan ) 26 UK Singles ( Official Charts Company ) 13 Chart ( 2016 ) Peak position Ireland ( IRMA ) 6 Sweden ( Sverigetopplistan ) 16 UK Singles ( Official Charts Company ) 15 Chart ( 2017 ) Peak position Ireland ( IRMA ) New Zealand ( Recorded Music NZ ) 22 Sweden ( Sverigetopplistan ) 14 UK Singles ( Official Charts Company ) 5 Year end charts Chart ( 1987 ) Position UK Singles 48 Chart ( 2005 ) Position UK Singles 73 Chart ( 2006 ) Position UK Singles 126 Chart ( 2007 ) Position UK Singles 89 Chart ( 2008 ) Position UK Singles 106 Chart ( 2009 ) Position UK Singles 191 Chart ( 2010 ) Position UK Singles 196 Chart ( 2011 ) Position UK Singles 179 Chart ( 2012 ) Position UK Singles 178 See also List of songs about New York City References Jump up ^ `` none ''. Melody Maker. 21 November 1987. p. 3. Jump up ^ `` BPI certified awards searchable database ''. Archived from the original on 17 September 2016. Jump up ^ Copsey, Rob ( 19 September 2017 ). `` The UK 's Official Chart ' millionaires ' revealed ''. Official Charts Company. Retrieved 31 December 2017. ^ Jump up to : `` Fairytale Of New York is true sound of Christmas ''. The Telegraph. Retrieved 22 September 2014 Jump up ^ `` Pogues track wins Christmas poll ''. BBC News. 16 December 2004. ^ Jump up to : Mattingly, Nick ( producer ) ( 19 December 2005 ). The Story of... Fairytale of New York ( television programme ). BBC Three. ^ Jump up to : Gilbert, Pat ( August 2008 ). `` 20 Greatest Duets ''. Q. No. 265. pp. 106 -- 09. Jump up ^ Martin, Gavin ( 2 January 1988 ). `` Once Upon a Time in the West ''. NME. pp. 22 -- 23 & 31. Jump up ^ McIlhenney, Barry ( 21 -- 28 December 1985 ). `` All I Want for Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth ''. Melody Maker. pp. 14 -- 15. ^ Jump up to : Lynskey, Dorian ( 6 December 2012 ). `` Fairytale of New York : the story behind The Pogues ' classic Christmas anthem ''. The Guardian. Retrieved 7 December 2012. Jump up ^ Fearnley, James ( 2012 ). Here Comes Everybody : The Story of the Pogues. Faber and Faber. p. 220. ISBN 978 - 0 - 571 - 25397 - 5. Jump up ^ Connor, Alan ( 21 December 2007 ). `` Smashed Hits : Fairytale of a fairytale ''. BBC News. Archived from the original on 24 December 2007. Retrieved 1 April 2010. Jump up ^ Scanlon, Ann ( September 2004 ). `` Culture Soul Rebels ''. Mojo. No. 130. pp. 76 -- 82. Jump up ^ Buskin, Richard ( December 2008 ). `` Classic Tracks : The Pogues -- `` Fairytale of New York '' ``. Sound on Sound. pp. 66 -- 73. Jump up ^ `` The anti-dote to schmaltzy Christmas videos ''. Irish Music Daily. Retrieved 22 April 2013. Jump up ^ `` Radio 1 censors Pogues ' Fairytale ''. BBC News. 18 December 2007. Retrieved 9 July 2014. Jump up ^ `` Radio 1 backs down in Pogues row ''. BBC News. 18 December 2007. Retrieved 9 July 2014. Jump up ^ `` The Mitch Benn Christmas Podcast ''. Mitchbenn.com. Retrieved 26 February 2010. Jump up ^ `` Do you find the term * * * * * * offensive ''. Boards.ie. Jump up ^ Taylor, Jerome ( 19 December 2007 ). `` BBC backs down on plan to censor ' Fairytale of New York ' ''. The Independent. Retrieved 21 December 2011. Jump up ^ Entertainment Wise, 1 November 2005. The Pogues Re-release ' Fairytale of New York '. Retrieved 17 November 2005. Jump up ^ Willcock, David ( 31 December 2012 ). `` Sales of the Pogues ' ' Fairytale Of New York ' reach 1 million 25 years after release ''. The Independent. Retrieved 10 July 2014. Jump up ^ Deevoy, Adrian ( May 1988 ). `` ' Til death us do part ''. Q. No. 20. pp. 34 -- 40. Jump up ^ `` Pogues track wins Christmas poll ''. BBC News. 16 December 2004. Retrieved 17 November 2005. Jump up ^ `` Fairytale still the festive pick ''. BBC News. 15 December 2005. Retrieved 19 December 2005. Jump up ^ MTV UK : Nation 's Favourite Christmas Song Results Archived 19 December 2008 at the Wayback Machine. Jump up ^ `` Ultravox 's Vienna tops ' number two ' poll ''. BBC News. 1 January 2013. Retrieved 1 January 2013. Jump up ^ Fairytale of New York, BBC website, undated. Retrieved : 8 December 2015. ^ Jump up to : `` The Irish Charts -- Search Results -- Pogues featuring Kirsty MacColl ''. Irish Singles Chart. ^ Jump up to : `` Pogues featuring Kirsty MacColl : Artist Chart History ''. Official Charts Company. ^ Jump up to : `` Charts.nz -- The Pogues -- Fairytale of New York ''. Top 40 Singles. ^ Jump up to : `` Norwegiancharts.com -- The Pogues -- Fairytale of New York ''. VG - lista. ^ Jump up to : `` Swedishcharts.com -- The Pogues -- Fairytale of New York ''. Singles Top 100. Jump up ^ `` SloTop50 : Slovenian official singles weekly chart '' ( in Slovenian ). SloTop50. Retrieved 29 December 2013. Jump up ^ `` Sverigetopplistan - Sveriges Officiella Topplista ''. Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved 31 December 2016. Jump up ^ `` IRMA -- Irish Charts ''. Irish Recorded Music Association. Retrieved 30 December 2017. Jump up ^ `` NZ Top 40 Singles Chart ''. Recorded Music NZ. 1 January 2018. Retrieved 29 December 2017. Jump up ^ `` Sverigetopplistan -- Sveriges Officiella Topplista ''. Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved 23 December 2017. Jump up ^ `` Pogues : Artist Chart History ''. Official Charts Company. Retrieved 16 December 2017. Jump up ^ `` Top 100 Singles ''. Music Week. London, England : Morgan - Grampian Publications. Jump up ^ `` Charts Plus Year end 2005 '' ( PDF ). UK Charts Plus. Retrieved 10 July 2017. Jump up ^ `` Charts Plus Year end 2006 '' ( PDF ). UK Charts Plus. Retrieved 10 July 2017. Jump up ^ `` Charts Plus Year end 2007 '' ( PDF ). UK Charts Plus. Retrieved 10 July 2017. Jump up ^ `` Charts Plus Year end 2008 '' ( PDF ). UK Charts Plus. Retrieved 10 July 2017. Jump up ^ `` Charts Plus Year end 2009 '' ( PDF ). UK Charts Plus. Retrieved 10 July 2017. Jump up ^ `` Charts Plus Year end 2010 '' ( PDF ). UK Charts Plus. Retrieved 10 July 2017. Jump up ^ `` Charts Plus Year end 2011 '' ( PDF ). UK Charts Plus. Retrieved 10 July 2017. Jump up ^ `` Charts Plus Year end 2012 '' ( PDF ). UK Charts Plus. Retrieved 10 July 2017. External links Guardian article on `` Fairytale of New York '', December 2012 `` BBC article on Fairytale ''. BBC News. 21 December 2007. Fairytale of New York lyrics -- The Pogues ' discography `` Sold on Song '' article -- BBC Radio 2 Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics The Pogues Spider Stacy Jem Finer James Fearnley Shane MacGowan Andrew Ranken Darryl Hunt Terry Woods Cait O'Riordan Philip Chevron Joe Strummer Dave Coulter James McNally Jamie Clarke Studio albums Red Roses for Me Rum Sodomy & the Lash If I Should Fall from Grace with God Peace and Love Hell 's Ditch Waiting for Herb Pogue Mahone EPs Poguetry in Motion Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah Compilations Essential Pogues The Best of The Pogues The Very Best of The Pogues Singles `` Dark Streets of London '' `` A Pair of Brown Eyes '' `` Sally MacLennane '' `` Dirty Old Town '' `` Haunted '' `` The Irish Rover '' `` Fairytale of New York '' `` If I Should Fall from Grace with God '' `` Fiesta '' `` Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah '' `` Misty Morning, Albert Bridge '' `` Summer in Siam '' `` Jack 's Heroes '' `` Sunny Side of the Street '' `` A Rainy Night in Soho '' `` Honky Tonk Women '' `` Tuesday Morning '' `` Once Upon a Time '' Other songs `` And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda '' `` The Auld Triangle '' `` Greenland Whale Fisheries '' `` I 'm a Man You Do n't Meet Every Day '' `` Jesse James '' `` Maggie May '' `` Mountain Dew '' `` The Parting Glass '' `` Poor Paddy '' `` South Australia '' `` Streets of Sorrow / Birmingham Six '' `` Thousands Are Sailing '' `` Waxie 's Dargle '' `` When the Ship Comes In '' `` Worms '' Related articles Discography Songs Kirsty MacColl Studio albums Desperate Character Kirsty MacColl Kite Electric Landlady Titanic Days Tropical Brainstorm Compilations Galore Notable singles `` They Do n't Know '' `` Keep Your Hands Off My Baby '' `` There 's a Guy Works Down the Chip Shop Swears He 's Elvis '' `` You Still Believe in Me '' `` Terry '' `` A New England '' `` Free World '' `` Days '' `` Do n't Come The Cowboy With Me Sonny Jim ! '' `` Walking Down Madison '' `` My Affair '' With The Pogues `` Fairytale of New York '' Related articles Ewan MacColl Steve Lillywhite Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Fairytale_of_New_York&oldid=859165879 '' Categories : 1987 singles 1980s ballads Christmas songs Irish Singles Chart number - one singles Kirsty MacColl songs Songs about alcohol Songs about New York City Black - and - white music videos Song recordings produced by Steve Lillywhite The Pogues songs Vocal duets Songs written by Jem Finer Songs written by Shane MacGowan Folk ballads Obscenity controversies in music Hidden categories : Webarchive template wayback links CS1 Slovenian - language sources ( sl ) Use dmy dates from December 2016 Use British English from August 2014 Articles with hAudio microformats All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from September 2018 Singlechart usages for Ireland2 Singlechart called without song Singlechart usages for UKsinglesbyname Singlechart usages for New Zealand Singlechart usages for Norway Singlechart usages for Sweden Talk Contents About Wikipedia Čeština Dansk Deutsch Euskara Français Italiano Nederlands Norsk Norsk nynorsk Suomi Svenska 4 more Edit links This page was last edited on 12 September 2018, at 05 : 14 ( UTC ). 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Question: who wrote the song fairytale of new york
Answer: Jem Finer