Travis & Jason Kelce Cover The Pogues’ “Fairytale Of New York” With A Philly Spin
Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce has won two Super Bowls and been first-team All-Pro four times. He might be the greatest tight end of all time, and he was already galactically famous before he started dating Taylor Swift. (That relationship isn’t officially confirmed or anything, but she was singing about him in Buenos Aires this past weekend.) Travis Kelce is not from Philadelphia, and he’s probably not the most popular person in that city right now, since the Chiefs beat the Eagles to win the Super Bowl earlier this year. But Travis’ brother Jason Kelce is an Eagle, and he’s just roped Travis into singing a Philly-themed version of the Pogues and Kirsty MacColl’s Christmas classic “Fairytale Of New York.”
Last year, Jason Kelce and his Chiefs teammates Jordan Mailatta and Lane Johnson recorded the holiday album A Philly Special Christmas for charity. Eagles executive and local music guy Connor Barwin, a former Eagle himself, paired the players up with members of Philadelphia bands like the War On Drugs, Pissed Jeans, the Hooters, Dr. Dog, and Sun Ra Arkestra. This year, they’re doing it again, and they’ve gotten Jason’s little brother Travis involved.
The group known as the Philly Specials is getting ready to release a new album called Philly Special Christmas Special, and they’ve already shared their version of Mariah Carey’s “All I Want For Christmas Is You.” Now, they’ve dropped their take on the 1987 classic “Fairytale Of New York,” with Jason Kelce singing the Shane MacGowan parts and Travis handling the Kirsty MacColl bits. They’ve changed the lyrics around a bit, turning it into a song about Philadelphia and sibling rivalry, and you will not be shocked to learn that Travis does not sing the slur that appears on the original. (That would’ve been a story.)
As a singer, Travis Kelce probably shouldn’t quit his day job, but Jason does a pretty nice job with the parts of the song that don’t actually require any sort of conventionally gifted singer. There’s also a cute claymation trailer. You can hear the song, watch the trailer, and see the video for the Pogues/MacColl video below.
Check out our feature on last year’s A Philly Special Christmas here.
