Christmas songs can be a bit of a double edge sword. One one hand we say we quickly tire of hearing the same old tunes every year, but on the other hand we find ourselves singing and humming along every time we hear them. And, of course, they must work and put us in the mood for buying things, otherwise shops and department stores wouldn’t spend so much money to play them on their premises.
A fascinating documentary about Shane MacGowan reveals that the star had a crush on his ‘Fairytale of New York’ co-lead singer Kirsty MacColl. The Pogues’ frontman wrote the classic Christmas song with bandmate Jem Finer.
It’s a mystery to some people. Why is Fairytale of New York a Christmas song? Some even listen to the gravelly voice of MacGowan and wonder why it’s a popular song at all.
Well, there’s no doubt it’s popular. We’ve sort of known it all along but now it’s official – Fairytale of New York by The Pogues and Kirsty MacCall is the most popular and most played Christmas song of the 21st century.
It’s no surprise to the millions of us who’ve long regarded it as a much needed breath of fresh air at this time of year. I mean, Christmas is great but it can be stressful – fighting your way through shopping centres to buy your presents, all the time having your ears bombarded with schmaltzy music everywhere you turn.
But then, just when you think you can’t stand another word about Rudolph and reindeers, something magical happens. The mood changes as the sound of a single piano suddenly wafts across the airwaves.
No matter how busy you are your ear prick up because you realise you’re listening to the opening bars of Fairytale of New York, and you know that for the next few minutes you’ll be safe from schmaltz and fake sentimentality.
Singer Susan Boyle has revealed she was bullied as a child because doctors failed to correctly diagnose the illness that caused her mental health problems.
In an interview with the Observer, the Britain’s Got Talent finalist said: “It was the wrong diagnosis when I was a kid, I was told I had brain damage. I always knew it was an unfair label.”
Elvis Presley said Danny Boy must have been written by the angels, and when you hear Irish vocal group Celtic Woman perform this classic, you could easily believe it. It’s an awe-inspiring song and few have it justice as well as Celtic Woman.
They recorded in when they dropped into the world famous Capitol Studios in LA recently to take part in the 1 Mic 1 Take challenge.
They set the bar somewhere high up in the stars for any other artists want to sing Danny Boy. Seriously, this will make the hairs on the back of your neck stand up!
