Retro Video of the Week: "Fairytale of New York" by The Pogues feat. Kirsty MacColl

Now that it's December, the next three weeks of Retro Videos of the Week will all be holiday-themed songs.  We start on a somber note.  Last week, Shane MacGowan, longtime lead singer of beloved Celtic punk pioneers The Pogues, died of pneumonia in Dublin at age 65.  So even though I featured The Pogues' 1987 holiday hit "Fairytale of New York" (featuring British singer Kirsty MacColl) two years ago as a holiday-themed Retro Video of the Week, it seemed more than appropriate to feature it again in light of MacGowan's passing.

MacGowan and multi-instrumentalist Jem Finer cowrote the song.  It's a call-and-response duet sung from the perspective of an Irish immigrant (MacGowan) in New York who's sleeping off a Christmas Eve bender in the drunk tank, where he dreams of his former ladyfriend (MacColl).  The two reminisce about their relationship, and it devolves into them talking shit to each other.

Upon its original release in 1987, it went to #2 on the UK pop chart and #1 on the Irish pop chart.  It has reached the Top 20 on the UK chart in 19 different years since its release, including every year from 2005 to 2021, and it has made the Top 20 of the Irish pop chart nearly every year since 2007, breaking into the Top 10 most years.  It's the most-played Christmas song of the 21st Century in the UK, and it has been named the UK's favorite Christmas song in several polls over the years.  It has also secured a place on various "best of" lists, such as #1 on VH1's Greatest Christmas Songs for three years and #96 on Q Magazine's 100 Greatest Songs of All-Time, among many others.

The video features Matt Dillon as a NYC cop who arrests the drunk MacGowan, and apparently the video shoot was fueled with booze all around.  Be warned.  If you're of the PC or sensitive type, there is some colorful and offensive-in-2023 language in the song.  So pour yourself a stream of whiskey, sit back, and enjoy.