Pogues Christmas Song Reaches Milestone

The Fairytale Of New York by The Pogues and Kirsty MacColl has reached one million sales, 25 years after it was first released.

The perennial Christmas favourite, a heartfelt tale of festive excess with explosive lyrics, reached the seven-figure milestone after getting to number 12 in the chart at Christmas, the Official Charts Company said.

The song by the band – led by distinctive singer Shane MacGowan – and singer-songwriter McColl, who died in a boat accident in Mexico aged 41 in 2001, has made the festive top 20 every year for the last eight years.

Martin Talbot, managing director of the Official Charts Company, said: “It is apt that, in the year of its 25th anniversary, Fairytale Of New York has entered into the pantheon of the UK’s all-time favourite singles to become the latest – and 126th – million-selling single in the history of the British charts.