Shane MacGowan's reported yearly earnings from Fairytale Of New York released 35 years ago
Ah, Christmas. The time of pigs in blankets, getting ripped off at festive markets, and hearing absolute bangers everywhere you go.
The same songs every year, and some never get old.
I’m not talking about those Ladbaby tracks, I’m talking about the classics. Mariah, Wham, Slade, Mr Bublé, Brenda Lee, Band Aid – I could go on. But of course I have to mention, the Pogues.
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It’s not the festive season without hearing their tune with the late Kirsty MacColl.
Everyone loves to stand around and pretend they know the words before shouting out the chorus of ‘Fairytale of New York’.
Originally released all the way back in 1987, the song was written by Jem Finer and Shane MacGowan.
Surprisingly, the song has never been the UK Christmas number one, but has reached the UK Top 20 many times – including every year since 2005.
Last December, the song was certified quintuple platinum in the UK for a whppping 3 million combined sales.
And in 2012, it was voted The Nation's Favourite Christmas Song on an ITV special December show.
So, it might not be a total surprise that the lead singer from the Pogues still earns big money bags from the song each year.
The Irish Times report that ‘Fairy Tale of New York’ earns MacGowan an estimated £386,000 a year in royalties.
The singer-songwriter previously told the site about the origins of the now legendary song: “Elvis Costello challenged me and Jem [Finer] to write a Christmas song which was a duet. He was producing us at the time. He challenged us to do it – a sportsman’s bet because he was too tight to put money on it.”
And MacGowan also revealed he never expected the song to be successful as he said: “You could have knocked me down with a feather. It was a challenge Elvis Costello set us and it ended up being our greatest hit.”
The Irish Times also asked the Pogues frontman if he still liked the song: “It’s just musical wallpaper now, but yes, I hear it and it doesn’t make me sick. It’s pretty good.
“I hardly ever sing it, unless it’s a request from someone I really like . . . because Kirsty [MacColl] is gone. Basically I stopped singing it when Kirsty went. Kirsty put in a great performance.”
MacGowan’s wife Victoria Mary Clark recently shared an update on his health as the star has been in and out of hospital in recent years.
She added: “Sometimes when you love very deeply you will find yourself facing terrifying fears of loss that can feel so big and devastating that you don’t know how you can survive them and you can’t imagine life without this person that you love."
Jess Battison