The BBC Puts The "Slut" And "Faggot" Back In Christmas
The Pogues are great. No doubt about that. We've been hitting you with all sorts of indie Xmas MP3s, but haven't yet posted "Fairytale Of New York," one of the best non-trad holidays songs ever. Well, the tight asses at the BBC finally gave us an excuse to bring you Shane MacGowan and Kirsty MacColl's classic working-class anthem. Via BBC News (where you can also hear the Disney version):
BBC Radio 1 has said it will allow the Pogues' Fairytale of New York to be played on the station uncut, after criticism of a decision to censor it. The words "slut" and "faggot" had been dubbed out from the 20-year-old festive hit by station executives. But after a day of criticism from listeners, the band, and the mother of singer Kirsty MacColl, they changed their minds.
Controller Andy Parfitt said the original decision was "wrong." The BBC had said that an edited version would be played because "some members of the audience might find it offensive." But sister station Radio 2 said it would play the track uncut, and Mr Parfitt subsequently said that after "careful consideration," the ban on the uncut version of the song would be lifted.Wow, this is one of those things that seems so obvious, it's hard to even make fun of the Scrooges. Regardless, here's the tune in its bantering glory. Make sure to cover your ears during the dirty parts."Radio 1 does not play homophobic lyrics or condone bullying of any kind," he said. "It is not always easy to get this right, mindful of our responsibility to our young audience. The unedited version will be played from now on. 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."
He told BBC News 24 the decision to edit the song had been made "some months ago" as part of a review of older records played on the station.
MacColl, who was killed by a speedboat off the coast of Mexico in 2000, brands Pogues frontman Shane MacGowan "you scumbag, you maggot, you cheap lousy faggot" in the song, which reached number two when it was first released. She continues: "Happy Christmas your arse, I pray God it's our last." Another line, where MacGowan calls MacColl "an old slut on junk", was also edited.
Jean MacColl told BBC Radio 5 Live's Breakfast: "These are a couple of characters - not in the first flush of youth, I would have thought. "This is the way they spoke. Today we have a lot of a gratuitous vulgarity and whatever from people all over which I think is quite unnecessary. They are what they are. These are characters and they speak like that."
There's also this live version from 1988, where MacGowan somehow reminds us of Bradford Cox. Yeah, Bradford has way (way) (way) better teeth, but something about the vibe. If nothing else, the video's a pleasant reminder this holiday season of how Shane's #1.
Posted at 4:27 PM in Video
Tags: Kirsty MacColl | The Pogues
For a moment, I thought the guy in the hat that the cops were dragging around in at the beginning of the video was Pete Doherty!
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I forgot about The Pogues. Is it too late to change my vote for hottest indie guy?
shane=hottie
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It's Kirsty, not Kristy. R.I.P.
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Ah, keyboard inversion. Thanks, RJM. Fixed.
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Also, is that Matt Dillon as the cop?
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Thanks for reminding me of Fairytale of New York.
I am now going to listen to it on repeat, and enjoy the goodness of Kirsty MacCall and Shawn MacGowan
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Yes! Finally a great band mentioning in the midst of The National Bear System (which actually would be an interesting band name).
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OK, so how do we win the tickets to see Rod Stewart?
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That whole sensorship thing was weird. I was excited when I hard KT Tunstall did a cover, but a little disappointed that her version has changed lyrics. eh well ...
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