Fairytale of New York controversy and The Pogues lyric change explained (2024)

Hearing The Pogues and Kirsty MacColl’s iconic Christmas ditty Fairytale of New York will be poignant for fans this year following the death of Shane MacGowan.

The Pogues frontman’s death at the age of 65 was announced on November 30, 2023, following years of battling health issues. His funeral took place on December 9, with Johnny Depp heading to Nenagh, Tipperary to give a reading.

Often voted the nation’s favourite Yuletide song, Fairytale of New York is the UK’s most-played Christmas single, and you can often find it getting everyone on their feet during annual parties.

It has been sold more than 1.5million times worldwide, and in 2022, the song was certified quintuple platinum in the UK for three million combined sales.

However, the song is notably different since its release in 1987, with one crucial lyric being changed in a bid not to offend listeners.

But why were the lyrics changed in the hit single, and why has it proved so controversial? Here’s what you need to know.

Why were the lyrics to Fairytale of New York changed?

Controversy has surrounded Fairytale of New York due to the ‘explicit’ nature of its lyrics.

The song’s original lyric features hom*ophobic and misogynistic slurs, with lead vocalist Shane MacGowan singing ‘You’re an old s**t on junk’ while the late MacColl responds with ‘You scumbag, you maggot, you cheap lousy f****t.’

Since its release, the song has proved controversial, at one point being banned by the BBC before being reinstated and entering regular Christmas rotations.

In 2020, BBC Radio 1 sparked debate by changing the lyrics, instead muting the word ‘s**t’ and changing the latter lyric to ”you’re cheap and you’re haggard’.

A source told The Sun that the new lyrics reflected a new generation who may not have been familiar with the original song.

‘The feeling is that Radio 1’s listeners are younger and may not be as familiar with this song — so it has been decided that the lyrics should be edited,’ the insider said.

Despite receiving backlash from listeners, the station defended its decision to not air the original version of the song.

‘We know Fairytale of New York is considered a Christmas classic and we will continue to play it this year on BBC Radio, with our stations choosing the version of the song most relevant for their audience,’ a spokesperson said.

‘We are aware that young audiences are particularly sensitive to derogatory terms for gender and sexuality, and after considering this carefully, Radio 1 has decided to play a version featuring Kirsty MacColl singing alternative lyrics, provided by the record label.’

Radio 2 continued to play the unedited version until 2022 when it adopted the censored version.

In a statement, the station said: ‘We know the song is considered a Christmas classic and will continue to play it this year, with our radio stations choosing the version of the song most relevant for their audience.

‘On Radio 2 we are reflecting what we are hearing back from many of our listeners who love the song, but find some of the lyrics jarring in 2022, and playing an alternative version provided by the record company.’

The change sparked debate, with some applauding the radio station’s stance not to repeat the slurs, while others argued that the intent at the time of release was not an offensive one.

Alex Dyke, a BBC radio presenter, called for the single to be banned, labelling it an ‘offensive pile of downmarket chav bilge.’

What have The Pogues said about the controversy?

In 2018, MacGowan said he was ‘absolutely fine’ with radio stations changing the lyrics as he addressed the controversy and the intention of the lyrics in a statement.

‘The word was used by the character because it fitted with the way she would speak and with her character,’ the musician wrote. ‘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! 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 in order 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,’ he concluded.

In 2019, he said during an appearance on Ireland’s Late Late Show: ‘I’ve been told it’s insulting to gays. I don’t understand how that works. Nobody in the band thinks that’s worth a second’s thought.’

He then branded the move to change the lyrics ‘ridiculous’ during a chat with Metro.co.uk in 2020.

In the same year, the band seemed to have accepted the change in an exchange on X, formerly Twitter.

The band reposted a statement written by journalist Harrison Block, which said: ‘This is all I’m gonna say on it for the whole year: the word itself being in Fairytale Of New York doesn’t bother or offend me, but straight people being so angry & outraged at its removal and literally fighting and arguing for the right to sing it bothers me deeply.’

The band retweeted his post and wrote ‘This’, indicating they are in agreement.

MacColl changed the lyrics herself in a 1992 performance on Top of the Pops, where she used the phrase: ‘You’re cheap and you’re haggard.’

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