Could The Pogues’ Fairytale of New York finally reach No1 at Christmas for the first time on the British charts? Classic tune has already jumped 22 places on official ranking and climbs up Spotify and iTunes lists following Shane MacGowan’s death
- The Official Charts’ Midweek Update puts the single at number 23 in the UK
- Nation’s favourite Christmas song is also top of the iTunes downloads chart
- READ MORE: The making of vulnerable genius Shane MacGowan
The Pogues’ Fairytale of New York could be on its way to becoming Christmas number one 36 years after it was released following the death of the Irish punk outfit’s frontman Shane MacGowan.
MacGowan, 65, died on Thursday after an eight-year battle with a brain condition, sparking an outpouring of tributes from fans and public figures; the President of Ireland, Michael D. Higgins, called him ‘one of music’s greatest lyricists’.
His death has also kickstarted a renewed campaign to get Fairytale of New York, the 1987 duet performed with Kirsty MacColl, to number one for the first time – and chart data suggests the song is well on its way to achieving the feat.
The Official Charts’ midweek update, published on Monday, shows the song is currently at number 23, up 22 places from the previous midweek chart, outpacing classics by Band Aid, Elton John, Chris Rea and Paul McCartney.
Its spot in the charts this week will not be officially confirmed until later today, when the Official Top 40 – decided by streams and downloads, as well as physical sales – is broadcast on BBC Radio 1. As of last Friday, the song had been at number 53.
The Pogues’ frontman Shane MacGowan with Kirsty MacColl, with whom he duetted on Fairytale of New York
MacGowan performing Fairytale Of New York in the official music video for the song, which was released in 1987 but has never reached number one
Fairytale of New York is currently sitting at number 23 in the Official Singles Chart Update
The Christmas favourite is also flying high in the iTunes Charts at number one (left) and number two in the Apple Music Top 100 UK list (right)
Spotify’s official Charts data shows the song was the 23rd most played in the UK on November 29 – the day before MacGowan passed away
Fairytale of New York was released in 1987 and reached number two in the Christmas single charts, beaten to the top spot by the Pet Shop Boys
Official Charts says that it’s normal for The Pogues favourite – along with many other Christmas songs – to re-enter the charts as December approaches, but its boss Fairytale is sizing up to be a ‘genuine contender’ for the top spot ahead of the 25th.
How are the Official Charts decided?
In 2014, the Official Charts began including audio streaming in the singles chart as sales fell out of favour with the rise of services such as Spotify.
In 2017, it overhauled the algorithm it uses to decide how many streams constitute the same value as a purchase of a single, based on whether people pay for their streaming.
From 12am Friday until 11.59pm on Thursday each week, the Official Charts count sales and streams from 8,000 sources – covering CDs, vinyls, cassettes and both downloads and streams of audio and video.
It counts 100 premium streams – by users who pay for Spotify Premium or other paid services – and 600 ‘free’ streams as one single ‘purchase’.
And everything from remixes to acoustic versions counts towards the chart entry for a single song.
Martin Talbot, chief executive, told The Daily Telegraph: ‘While it is too early to give an indication of the scale of the streaming surge, we would very much expect it to rise back into the Top 20 over the coming days, perhaps even higher.’
He added: ‘It has become a genuine contender for this year’s Christmas number one. What a fitting tribute to Shane that would be.’
The Christmas number one for 2023 will be named on the last Friday before Christmas, December 22.
But chart data from the Apple iTunes store and Spotify show that the song is already experiencing a boost in both sales and streams in the weeks ahead of that date.
It is currently number one in the iTunes singles chart – which is based on downloads – and is the the highest ranking Christmas song in the Apple Music UK Top 100 streaming chart at number two.
And on Spotify, the most recent daily data for November 29 shows the song was the 23rd most-streamed tune in the UK that day, being played 190,288 times.
It has also remained in the UK’s most played songs on the streaming service for 19 days in a row – a streak it is unlikely to break before December 25.
Despite regularly topping polls naming it as the best Christmas song ever written, Fairytale has never made it to number one. It was beaten to the top spot in the year of its release, 1987, by the Pet Shop Boys’ cover of Always On My Mind.
It’s something that fans – including some famous faces – now hope to rectify in McGowan’s memory, as well as to honour Kirsty MacColl, who was killed in a speedboat accident in 2000.
And on Friday, a new poll by bookmakers Ladbrokes has once again named the song as the UK’s favourite festive song of all time.
It comfortably took the top spot in the poll, which was commissioned after MacGowan’s death, with 17 per cent of the vote, ahead of Wham!’s Last Christmas in second place, which picked up eight per cent.
Alex Apati of Ladbrokes Live said: ‘The bells will no doubt be ringing out for Shane MacGowan this year. We’d be amazed if Fairytale of New York – the nation’s favourite festive track – isn’t top of the charts come December 25th.’
Fairytale of New York was already the favourite to hit number one as fans rallied around the Pogues frontman during his fight with viral encephalitis, a life-threatening condition that leads to brain swelling.
Bookies slashed their odds on the song – a drunken dirge by an Irish immigrant in New York as he reminisces about a former lover – reaching the top spot yesterday.
Finally number one? The Pogues are the odds-on favourite for the Christmas Number One single with Fairytale Of New York
Piers Morgan is leading calls for the single to take the coveted Christmas number one spot
News of his death was announced in a post on Instagram by his wife, Victoria Mary Clarke (pictured)
Shane McGowan and Kirsty MacColl, with whom he duetted on Fairytale of New York, in a promotional shot for the single
Ladbrokes has given odds of 1/4 on The Pogues, with Wham!’s Last Christmas the next-closest bet with odds of 6/1. Earlier in November, it was offering odds of 6/4.
UK CHRISTMAS NUMBER ONES
What was the number one song in the UK on Christmas Day between 2012 and 2022?
2012 He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother by The Justice Collective
2013 Skyscraper by Sam Bailey (X Factor)
2014 Something I Need by Ben Haenow (X Factor)
2015 A Bridge Over You by The Lewisham & Greenwich NHS Choir
2016 Rockabye by Clean Bandit
2017 Perfect by Ed Sheeran
2018 We Built This City by LadBaby
2019 I Love Sausage Rolls by LadBaby
2020 Don’t Stop Me Eatin’ by LadBaby
2021 Sausage Rolls For Everyone by LadBaby ft. Ed Sheeran and Elton John
2022 Food Aid by LadBaby
Source: OfficialCharts.com
Coral, meanwhile, is offering the same odds of 1/4, against 5/1 on Wham’s classic. It had previously offered 5/4 on the single before McGowan’s passing.
Spokesperson John Hill said: ‘Punters think there is going to be a wave of support behind The Pogues landing the Christmas number one single this year following the sad passing of Shane MacGowan.
‘We make Fairytale of New York odds-on to top the official singles charts on Christmas Day, 36 years after it was released.’
Betfair said it has ‘significantly shorted’ its odds following Thursday’s news. It now offers slightly slimmer odds, 4/11, on the single topping the charts.
Spokesperson Sam Ramsbottom said: ‘The Pogues’ Fairytale of New York is always a firm favourite with punters when it comes to Xmas number one.
‘Following today’s tragic news about the passing of their singer, Shane MacGowan, the odds have significantly shortened to 4/11 and it’s hard to see anything else topping the charts. It would certainly be a fitting tribute.’
Other bookies have also slashed their odds on topping the charts by the end of December 21.
The results will be announced on the last Friday before Christmas, December 22. As of 10am on Friday, Bet365 is offering odds of 1/4, SkyBet 1/6, William Hill 2/7 and Betvictor 1/7, according to Oddschecker.
Famous fans including Piers Morgan are leading calls to make the song – frequently named the best Christmas song of all time in polls – number one as a fitting tribute to the Irish punk legend.
Morgan wrote on X, formerly Twitter: ‘RIP Shane MacGowan, 65. Irish punk legend, genius Pogues singer/songwriter, and hell-raiser extraordinaire.
‘His favourite joke was: “I was given six weeks to live, about 25 years ago!” Let’s make Fairytale of New York the Christmas No1 as a tribute. (He was born on Xmas Day).’
Michael D. Higgins, the President of Ireland, noted in an official tribute: ‘Born on Christmas Day, there was perhaps some form of destiny which led Shane to writing Fairytale of New York, the timeless quality of which will surely mean that it will be listened to every Christmas for the next century or more.’
A Facebook campaign group was established just two weeks ago, days before McGowan was discharged from hospital, and has since grown to almost 1,000 members.
McGowan’s wife Victoria Mary Clarke expressed support for the single’s long-awaited ascension to the top spot a week before his death, sharing a post on X about bookies’ odds with four red heart emojis.
The field is open for The Pogues to storm the charts at long last after YouTube duo LadBaby announced they would not be releasing a sixth consecutive Christmas single, after dominating the festive charts for five years in a row since 2018.
The news comes as LadBaby revealed that they aren’t doing a festive single for 2023 to give other acts a chance; the band have had five Christmas number ones
The duo – parents Mark and Roxanne Hoyle – reached the top of the festive charts with food-inspired tracks including We Built This City (2018), I Love Sausage Rolls (2019), Don’t Stop Me Eatin’ (2020) and the Ed Sheeran and Sir Elton John-featuring Sausage Rolls For Everyone (2021).
They surpassed a record held by The Beatles to claim the first ever fifth UK Christmas number one with Food Aid in 2022, a rework of the Band Aid song Do They Know It’s Christmas?
Profits from the singles were donated to food bank charity The Trussell Trust, which says single sales and other ‘partnerships’ raised over £1.2 million to feed the hungry.
Mark Hoyle told the Metro earlier this month: ‘After five amazing years we’ve decided to pass the baton over to the Great British public and we’re not going for Christmas No 1 this year.
‘We never expected it to be five, I’ll be totally honest. It’s one of those things that just happened over the years and we thought it was amazing that the public got behind us in the way that they did.
‘Five years ago when we started this, we knew the importance of food banks in this country and we wanted to raise funds and awareness for that so we did that one [song], that was lovely.’
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