It’s almost Christmas time and controversy around the language in The Pogues’ mega-hit Fairytale of New York begins once again as holiday radio nears. BBC Radio 1 has announced that it will air a new censored version of the famous duet with Kirsty MacColl. BBC Radio 2 will continue to air the original explicit version.
The censored version to be played this Christmas will exclude the words ‘slut’ and ‘faggot’. BBC Radio 1 hosts have stated they will be removing these two words in an effort to not offend members of the LGBTQ+ community and younger audiences who might be particularly sensitive to offensive language towards women and especially sexuality.
— The Pogues (@poguesofficial) November 19, 2020
Fairytale of New York was released November 23rd, 1987 and featured on The Pogues’ album If I Should Fall from Grace with God. It’s original release only made it #2 on the UK Christmas hits, however, since then it has reached triple platinum in sales. In 2019 it was awarded the title of The Most Played Christmas Song in the UK of the 21st Century.
The beginning of the controversy surrounding this Irish Christmas folk-song began in 2007 when BBC Radio 1 released an edited version in an attempt to avoid any offence taken by listeners. The Pogues stated it was amusing and ridiculous to them. After mass outrage, BBC Radio 1 reversed its position and continued to play the original version through the holiday season.
‘Morning https://t.co/xnoWEhjOl1
— The Pogues (@poguesofficial) November 19, 2020
2018 saw a much wider call to remove the offensive language from the track, or remove it from the radio-stations all together, however, the original version continued to dominate radio plays. MacGowan from the band defended the words once and for all in a statement on The Tonight Show, saying, “The word was used by the character because it fitted with the way she would speak and with her character. 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! […]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.”
In 2019 there was still no censorship on the song on the Christmas radios and mixed reactions and opinions on whether it should be allowed on air was still broadly up for debate. Despite the dispute, the song received its most streams and downloads last year then ever before.
Even now in 2020 there continues to be split beliefs among all generations and communities throughout the UK on whether to censor Fairytale of New York. BBC Radio 1 has made headlines with the call to censor the iconic holiday hit from The Guardian to The Gay Times to CNN and all BBC radios have now been instructed to make the best decision based on their audiences.
