19 December 2005

Fairytale of NY Re-Released

It's no coincidence that A Fairytale of New York, is being re-released today, on the 5th anniversary of the death of Kirsty MacColl. Proceeds will be split between a homeless charity, Crisis at Christmas, and the Justice For Kirsty Campaign, which is "petitioning the Mexican government to more thoroughly investigate the circumstances of Kirsty’s death".

This is one of my favourite Christmas songs, despite being about two drunks/junkies wishing they were dead. [Lyrics] It reached number 2 on the UK Christmas charts in 1987 and since that was the year I was in England for Christmas, I heard it played many times over -- no doubt it is permanently burned into a few brain cells.

Oddly, we were discussing this over the weekend. I had been playing the Ghosts of Oxford Street CD, and explained this was the track that made me purchase it. I had no idea that Kirsty MacColl had even died let alone that there was such an uproar over her death. Now, though, I am really curious.

Hmmm... went searching for more info about the Ghosts of Oxford Street and find that it is the soundtrack to a BBCChannelFour-TV Movie (of the same name) from 1991. The show, put together by Malcolm Maclaren, included appearances by Kirsty MacColl, Shane MacGowan, Tom Jones, and Sinead O'Connor. Anyone know where I can see this show?

1 comment:

Mrs Robot said...

It's a great song, isn't it? So refreshing to hear a song that mentions the "C" word that doesn't drip with nauseating sentimentality. Shane MacGowan is the best.