“Fairytale Of New York”: BBC censors Christmas classics by the Pogues

This decision causes a stir: BBC Radio One has announced that it will only play the censored version of the Christmas classic “Fairytale of New York” in future.

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It was the greatest success of their career: In 1987 the Anglo-Irish folk punk band The Pogues had a huge hit with “Fairytale of New York”, which made it to number two in the UK charts and has since been regularly in many countries the Christmas season is played.

But in the British homeland, of all places, this song will be heard less often in the future: the broadcaster BBC Radio One announced that it would no longer want to play the original version of “Fairytale of New York”, but instead an edited version. The reason: the audience could feel hurt by some text passages.

The song is a duet between Pogues frontman Shane MacGowan and the singer Kirsty MacColl, who died in 2000. He tells a love story from the perspective of an Irish immigrant who is brought to a New York prison cell after an alcohol intoxication and remembers his great love that began hopefully years ago on Christmas Eve. However, the big dreams do not come true, instead both comfort each other in alcohol and drug intoxication.

Hearty choice of words in the song of the Pogues

The partners argue violently, and one verse clearly thematizes: “You’re a bum / You’re a punk” (You’re a bum, you’re a bastard), she says. He counters: “You’re an old slut on junk / Lying there almost dead on a drip in that bed” (You are an old slut on the trash who is almost dead in bed here). Whereupon she scolds: “You scumbag, you maggot / You cheap lousy fagot / Happy Christmas your ass I pray God it’s our last” it is our last).