"I was at my peak" - Shane MacGowan Extended Interview on Fairytale of New York (2007)

On 18 December 2007, Shane MacGowan sat down for an interview with ITN's Stephanie West. The lead singer and primary songwriter of The Pogues, MacGowan discussed his memories of recording their Christmas classic, Fairytale of New York - most of the lyrics having been written by MacGowan while he was recovering from double pneumonia in a hospital bed in Malmö, Sweden, in late 1985. He also gave his thoughts on BBC Radio 1's decision to play the song uncut, having previously censored certain lyrics. As well as the origins of Fairytale, MacGowan told West about his childhood years spent in Ireland and how it felt to have been born on Christmas day. It was announced bon 30 November 2023 that Shane MacGowan had died aged 65 after a long period of ill health. Tributes to the power and influence of his songwriting have been paid by his fellow band members and artists across the music industry. #ShaneMacGowan #ThePogues #Pogues #FairytaleOfNewYork #Christmas 00:00 Introduction 01:16 Interview 01:55 On writing Fairytale of New York 03:29 On why people love Fairytale of New York 03:50 On recording with Kirsty MacColl 04:31 On Radio 1 censoring the lyrics 04:50 On being easygoing with his lyrics 05:29 On the death of Kirsty MacColl 06:19 On Fairytale of New York being a romantic song 07:05 On turning 50 07:41 On being born on Christmas Day 08:29 On his lyrical influences 09:52 On writing the lyrics to Fairytale of New York 11:33 On whether he would like it to reach Number 1 12:14 On Pet Shop Boys having the Christmas number 1 in 1987 13:04 On lyrical censorship 15:06 Reading Shane's angels 18:30 Shane watches TV 20:44 Drinks monitor To license the footage featured in this clip, follow the link below: https://www.gettyimages.co.uk/videos/... To search the ITN Archive collection on Getty Images, follow the link below: https://www.gettyimages.co.uk/footage... 🎥 Subscribe to our YouTube channel (tap the bell icon and stay up to date with all the latest ITN Archive videos!) -    / @itnarchive   🎥 Follow us on Twitter -   / itnarchive   🎥 Like us on Facebook -   / itnarchiveitnp   🎥 Check out our TikTok -   / itnarchive1955