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The Pogues’ Fairytale Of New York Too Spicy For BBC Radio 1

BBC Music
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LONDON (CelebrityAccess) — While the song Fairytale of New York by the Irish folk-punk band The Pogues has become a holiday favorite for many in recent years, the BBC’s Radio 1 has decided it won’t play the original version this year.

The BBC cited some of the song’s lyrics as reason for the decision, noting young listener may be sensitive to derogatory terms for gender and sexuality used in the song.

The song, which was written by Jem Finer and Shane MacGowan and recorded by the Pogues in 1987, features a duet with McGowan and Kirsty MacColl. In the context of the song, a couple argues, trading some admittedly vitriolic barbs such as ‘you’re an old slut on junk’ and ‘you cheap lousy faggot’ that might not be a great fit for the modern, politically sensitive era.

MacColl provided a sanitized version of the song in 1992 and the BBC further edited a version of the track to be radio friendly in 2007.

Despite the harsh language, the song has proved to be a popular holiday tune and returned to the UK’s top 20 for the past 15 years.

“We know the song is considered a Christmas classic and we will continue to play it this year, with our radio stations choosing the version of the song most relevant for their audience,” a spokesman for the BBC said.

While BBC Radio 1 plans to run the edited version of the song this year, the original 1987 cut will still be featured on the BBC’s Radio 2.

Or you can watch the original here:

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