THIS is how much The Pogues rake in every year in royalties from Christmas hit Fairytale of New York

When the Pogues’ Christmas song Fairytale of New York was released in 1987, it solidified the band’s status in rock and roll history.

And nearly forty years later, the song is still as well-known as ever, and the royalties are still coming in.

The song was written by Pogues bandmates Jem Finer and Shane MacGowan and features the vocals of English singer-songwriter Kirsty MacColl.

According to music magazine NME, the song originated from a wager that the singers couldn’t write a Christmas song that wasn’t “slushy.”

As Christmas Day draws near, the folksy tribute to old New York depicts a slanging war between an elderly couple, with Shane portraying the male character and Kirsty the female.

In 2021, the Independent calculated that the song’s yearly royalties from radio play and streaming arrangements were approximately £400,000, while the Performing Rights Society keeps the precise numbers confidential.

However, experts estimate revenues to “exceed £500,000” if it eventually reaches Christmas number one, according to music copyright lawyer Brad Banias.

He told The Metro in 2023: “I’d expect a 10-20 per cent royalty rate split between the band, songwriters MacGowan/Finer and Kirsty MacColl’s estate.”

Despite frequently being listed as one of the country’s favourite Christmas tunes, the song has notably never reached the coveted top place on the UK charts.

Fairytale of New York peaked at number two in the year it was released, having been surpassed by the Pet Shop Boys’ rendition of Always On My Mind.

After Shane, the frontman of The Pogues, passed away tragically in November 2023 at the age of 65 following an eight-year fight with a neurological ailment, it saw a comeback two years ago.

Despite criticism over a homophobic slur in its lyrics, its popularity has persisted over the years.

Concerned that listeners may be outraged by “derogatory terms for gender and sexuality,” the BBC decided in 2020 to replace some of the lyrics on Radio 1 with an alternate version.

Shane had previously defended the song’s linguistic choices, saying in 2017: “The word was used by the character because it fitted with the way she would speak and with her character.”

“She is not supposed to be a nice person, or even a wholesome person. She is a woman of a certain generation at a certain time in history, and she is down on her luck and desperate.”

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