Biography shane macgowan christmas song

Behind the scenes of the recording of The Pogues’ “Fairytale of New York.”

On the eve of Christmas, The Pogues’ defining 1987 holiday duet, “Fairytale of New York,” is once again in the upper region of the British singles charts.

In fact, thanks to a re-structuring of criteria for chart order (which now includes streaming) “Fairytale of New York,” may, as you read this, be the number one single in the UK; a feat it just nearly missed back in ’87.

It’s also, shockingly, the time of year when Shane MacGowan—inarguably the most alcohol-and-drug blasted pop singer still living today—has another birthday (on Christmas Day he’ll turn 58, if you can believe that).

So how did this song come to be?

Let’s start with the year, which ended on a calamitous note: there was the “Black Monday” market crash, the ongoing Iran-Contra investigation, the bombing of Korean Air Flight 858. Then there’s the song: a tale o