‘Fairytale of New York’: How a soused Irish punk band created the greatest Christmas song of all time

The Week:

The first thing to say about The Pogues’ “Fairytale of New York” is that it is absurd when described in words.

Take an ever-soused Irish folk/punk band that includes a tin whistle player named Spider. Put them within a soaring orchestral arrangement, and task the shambolic front man with delivering a Christmas song. Make it a duet with a stage-fright afflicted singer who never quite became the pop starlet she wanted to be. The result is possibly the most sentimental Christmas song ever constructed, yet loved by people who spend December telling you, oh, how they despise sentimental Christmas songs.

While I wouldn’t call it the “greatest Christmas song of all time”, it is a great song and the article does a good job of describing its power.