Punknews.org

|
Sign In | create an account

Controversy over the Pogues' "Fairytale in New York"

Contributed by zombiecrush. Posted by aubin on Tuesday, December 18, 2007 at 9:40 PM (EST)

Despite being a bonafide Christmas classic, the BBC Radio 1 nearly censored The Pogues classic song, "Fairy Tale of New York" to remove the word "faggot" from broadcast. The word, sung by the late Kirsty MacColl as she trades insults with Shane MacGowan, was briefly dubbed out on the station. MacColl's mother, Jean, called the ban "too ridiculous", while the Pogues said they found it "amusing".

At the last minute however, the station responded to listeners, the band, Mrs. MacColl and reversed the decision. Controller Andy Parfitt said the original decision was "wrong". The station explained:

While we would never condone prejudice of any kind, we know our audiences are smart enough to distinguish between maliciousness and creative freedom. In the context of this song, I do not feel that there is any negative intent behind the use of the words, hence the reversal of the decision."

Radio (62 comments)

Please login or register to post comments.What are the benefits of having a Punknews.org account?

Share your opinion by posting comments on the stories that interest you
Rate music and bands and help shape the weekly top ten
Let Punknews.org use your ratings to help you find bands and albums you might like
Customize features on the site to get the news the way you want.

Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way. Seriously.

totonotdead (December 18, 2007)

dont you guys think that the guy next to the punknews logo is on cocaine???

and if he is not, what did he taKe???

GO!!!!
(I KNOW...WORST POLL EVER...)

4+ Replies

GlassPipeMurder (December 18, 2007)

he's on PUNK!

sparkerjc (December 18, 2007)

I would have expected glasspipemurder to come up with a better idea than that

Seth_Uber_Alles (December 19, 2007)

isn't that Jello?

misterspike (December 19, 2007)

Jello's on Self-Importance.

veganboyjosh (December 18, 2007)

is it me, or does shane mcgowan sound kinda like oscar the grouch's irish cousin?

eran_zombis (December 18, 2007)

Is this the same as the NUFAN song? I dislike the NUFAN song/version.

6+ Replies

cowoverlord (December 18, 2007)

yes, the NUFAN song is a cover of the Pogues' original.

P.S. Best Christmas song EVER!!!

punk_rawk_show (December 18, 2007)

as if, good song

MN_punkmaster-skaman (December 18, 2007)

If I had to choose, I'd pick the Pogues version over NUFANs, but the NUFAN version is still pretty awesome... especially since it's the chick from Tilt singing.

SomethingClever (December 19, 2007)

the chick has a name

madams3 (December 18, 2007)

nufan's is way better.

SloaneDaley (December 18, 2007)

lolasaurus

MsJustinChris (December 18, 2007)

rofldactyl

AnalogArkives (December 18, 2007)

Context, people

stillanonymous (December 18, 2007)

If that's typical of how Shane MacGowan sounds in concert I'm glad I never saw them.

Drugs are bad, m'kay?

5+ Replies

veganboyjosh (December 18, 2007)

it's kinda sad, actually. for those interested, the shane mcgowan story is a great and depressing documentary that talks somewhat about his alcohol problem. words don't do it justice, tho. the scene(s) with him falling asleep during the interview are strange. sort of like the guy from WASP on decline 2, or that interview with sid vicious...it'd be pretty comical if it weren't so sad...

TheMike (December 19, 2007)

He was once a great singer back in the 1980s.

StuckInBielers (December 19, 2007)

I believe Strummer had to fill in on vocals on many occasions.

TheMike (December 19, 2007)

It was only a brief stint after they fired MacGowan. He only finished one tour, I think.

RamblinBoyOfPleasure (December 19, 2007)

nah theyre still great to see,great atmosphere.goin to see them saturday and cannot wait.

stillanonymous (December 18, 2007)

Isn't "faggot" primarily an American epithet? Why would an Irish/English band even use it? Especially back then, did people (outside of the US) even know what meant (other than a bundle of sticks?)

11+ Replies

veganboyjosh (December 18, 2007)

Last time i checked, New York was in the US.

jonhareslovechild (December 19, 2007)

BOOM!

+20 scene points

TEAiM (December 19, 2007)

we invented the language, you guys just reappropriated it and start spelling things wrongly..

john_stone (December 19, 2007)

Colony

veganboyjosh (December 19, 2007)

wrongly, huh?

Joeybombstyles (December 19, 2007)

see that was funny

cowoverlord (December 19, 2007)

Actually, the term "faggot" goes back farther than America. The British definition of faggot is a ball of of seasoned chopped liver, baked or fried. However, since the Pogues have a Irish background, most likely they are meaning the Irish definition of the word, which is an old woman (usually used referring to one that is immoral or dirty).

StuckInBielers (December 19, 2007)

Well aren't most Americans descended from Irish (or German) people anyway? As well as being a derogatory word for homosexuals over here it is also a pork based food stuff.

Some words Americans use that British people don't and that British people are glad we don't: Jerk, butt, 'enough already!, Mr president (Mr Prime Minister sounds almost as shit), school (when talking about uni), recess (unless its in court), SOCCER, math (we make it plural). Thats all i can think of right now.

heyyon (December 22, 2007)

Funny story about the Mr. President thing. Upon finishing the Constitution, the various representatives sat around and hand picked George Washington (whom was old enough to be wise, but not sickly as Ben Franklin was at 80+ years of age) to be president. He wasn't just the first president of the US, mind you... he's the first president... of any nation... ever. The whole idea of an elected leader was really new... and really not monarchy. You see, on the day of his inauguration, no one knew how to address him. Ideas were being thrown out there, but they were full of pomp and circumstance... the kind of thing that befits a king. Hours before being sworn into the position, Hamilton approaches Washington and addresses him as "Your Majesty," the term used for the King of England. Washington immediately corrects him, suggesting that he address the office as "Mr. President" to

show rest of comment

RamblinBoyOfPleasure (December 19, 2007)

tune in shit for brains

StuckInBielers (December 19, 2007)

huh?

Holy_Balls (December 18, 2007)

I got Jamie Lynn Spears pregnant!

5+ Replies

freesandwich (December 18, 2007)

No I did!

acris (December 18, 2007)

Not something to be proud of.

Ass_Pirate (December 18, 2007)

So I guess you're not a faggot.

Holy_Balls (December 19, 2007)

YEAH ass pirate, YEAH!

David_Arquette (December 18, 2007)

I really thought my friend made this up.

DrSudholt (December 18, 2007)

Have to side with AnalogArkives on this one, although I do sort of naturally wince everytime I listen to this tune.
And yeah, NUFAN version is better. Although I really don't like NUFAN.

P.S. I anxiously await the obligatory "faggot" response.

1+ Reply

spoon_of_grimbo (December 19, 2007)

you posted in the wrong bit, you pork-based food product, you!

GlassPipeMurder (December 18, 2007)

tough call.

Cottage_Cheese (December 18, 2007)

Radio stations still censor "faggot" in Green Day's "American Idiot," and that's not meant to be prejudice.

By the way, "Wonderful Christmastime" by Paul McCartney and Wings is the greatest Christmas song ever.

2+ Replies

GlassPipeMurder (December 19, 2007)

agreed, that's the only Christmas song that doesn't drive me nuts.

baldsteve (December 19, 2007)

You guys are fucking nuts. Do you also like Manheim Steamroller? Fuck that Song. The only thing worse is 'So this is Christmas'

jumpkid_638 (December 18, 2007)

In my opinion, this is the greatest Christmas song ever (yes, even better than Gayla Peevey's "I Want A Hippopatamus[sp?] for Christmas").

I also want the Pogue's "If I Should Fall From The Grace of God" played at my funeral.

That's all.

1+ Reply

cycle (December 19, 2007)

great idea

David_Arquette (December 18, 2007)

For those of you who caught the Duke Nukem reference in the last D4 news post:

http://www.gamespot.com/news/6184131.html?action=convert &om_clk=latestnews&tag=latestnews;title;0

1+ Reply

dlangl4 (December 19, 2007)

I will be waiting at noon, devastator, mighty foot, and hologram ready to go watch that shit.

the_problem_with_fire (December 19, 2007)

What should I check out first from the Pogues? I've heard a lot, just not sure what album to buy and sit down with.

3+ Replies

burntorangepeel (December 19, 2007)

'If I Should Fall From Grace With God'

then

'Rum, Sodomy, and The Lash'

then the others.

RamblinBoyOfPleasure (December 19, 2007)

rum,sodomy and the lash! then If I should fall from grace with god

Joeybombstyles (December 19, 2007)

buy um both then once you hear how great one is you won't have to wait to go get the other.

TommyTumult (December 19, 2007)

Best Christmas song ever! And at least they'll play it on BBC radio, edited or not. I haven't heard a station stateside play it in years.

TheMike (December 19, 2007)

http://youtube.com/watch?v=K0xSNrFXacM

john_stone (December 19, 2007)

Fairytale IN New York? Really?

1+ Reply

HolyCrapItsJeff (December 19, 2007)

I was beginning to worry that I'd reach the end of the page without anyone mentioning this.

at-riskpants (December 19, 2007)

Rescinded

BBC Radio 1 has bowed to mounting pressure to play the uncensored version of “Fairytale of New York” after a flood of complaints from listeners and the mother of the singer Kirsty MacColl.

Andy Parfitt, the station controller, admitted that the decision to bleep the word “faggot” from the iconic Christmas song had been “wrong” and said the uncut version would from now on be broadcast.

The Pogues' frontman Shane MacGowan
The station’s head of music, George Ergatoudis, had ordered the word to be removed from the single, which is in the running to be this year’s Christmas number one, for fear of upsetting homosexuals.

He had stood by his decision to censor the duet between MacColl and Shane MacGowan of The Pogues, even though the station has been playing the song in full every year since it was first released in 1987.

show rest of comment

Dordon (December 19, 2007)

what the FUCK is mcgowan saying?

and whudafuxup wit his teeth?

1+ Reply

TheMike (December 19, 2007)

http://www.jurnale.ro/img_1/poze_notite_4211.jpg

BizzleBrizzle (December 19, 2007)

"While we would never condone prejudice of any kind, we know our audiences are smart enough to distinguish between maliciousness and creative freedom. In the context of this song, I do not feel that there is any negative intent behind the use of the words, hence the reversal of the decision."

Seriously, if only people were that smart in this country.

kpave (December 19, 2007)

i always thought that "faggot" was what british people called scraps of wood meant for the fire...therefore calling gay people faggots is the equivalent of calling them things that should be burned....not cool

Features

Exclusive Streams

see more streams

Newest Reviews

see more reviews

Punknews.org Team

Other Places to Go

Punknews.org Flickr Pool

View All Photos