The Big Apple Top Ten: Fairytale of New York (#6)

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Yes, when this song doesn’t get to the top five it’s a problem. Actually, this explains why a lot of the favorite singers were in the alphabetical list. Now THIS is a Christmas song I can listen to all day long, and wouldn’t you know it was set in New York! Perfect for this list. #6: Fairytale of New York - The Pogues See you tomorrow. Sooo….what happens with you mix Irish Celtic music and punk? You get The Pogues. They were not that popular in America, save for this song, but wow what a legacy they had. This song is good enough on its own, but The Pogues brought in a ringer: Kristy MacColl. Again, she wasn’t that well known in America. Her biggest successes here came as the writer of Tracy Ullman’s hit “They Don’t Know” and her own hit “There’s a Guy Down At the Chip Shop Swears He’s Elvis.” She had an amazing voice (as you can hear in this song). The Pogues are sadly best-known for the troubles (and, yes, terrible teeth) of their front man, Shane MacGowan. He co-founded the band, and they fired him because of his drinking. MacGowan’s antics were so extreme that, when he died in 2023, the first reaction was sorrow…and the second reaction was surprise that he lived to the age of 65. MacColl, on the other hand, didn’t have a chance. She was killed by a speedboat while she was vacationing in Cozumel. The boat came into a restricted area at a high rate of speed (also prohibited), and MacColl sacrificed her life to push her 15-year-old son out of the way of the boat. She was only 41. Together, these two titans of music, relegated to popularity with the “college rock” scene in America, gave us a classic Christmas song. No, scratch that, it’s a classic song, period. Fairytale of New York Written by Jem Finer and Shane MacGowan Recorded by The Pogues From If I Should Fall From Grace With God, 1987 NYC LYRICS: title Sinatra was swinging: