-BBC: FONY - How did the song come about?

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From BBC website

The stories of the Christmas hits

By Liam Allen
Entertainment reporter, BBC News
22 December 2008

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JEM FINER - FAIRYTALE OF NEW YORK

How did the song come about?
I decided to start writing a Christmas song.
Marcia, my wife, said it was a load of rubbish, lyrically and narratively speaking, so she suggested a storyline about a couple who are down on their luck.
The guy went out with what little money they had to buy a Christmas tree and presents but, on the way, he decided to go into the bookies and it all went horribly wrong - he came back and they had a row.
The row was quite a crucial part of it. But then there was a redemptive quality - love took over from the more material aspects of Christmas.
Shane [MacGowan] had been working on the same idea as well, a Christmas duet. He had written the first section and we kept the melody from my first song - the one with the really bad story - and basically the storyline from the second one, which Shane transposed to New York and rewrote in his own inimitable style.

Do you get bored with it?
I never got bored of performing it. There's always a lot of excitement. There's excitement when another singer arrives on stage - for the last few years it's been one of our daughters, Ella. Then when people realise it's Fairytale of New York, the piano starts out, then they get more excited.
The audience always respond in increments of excitement.

It must be disappointing that the song didn't reach number one.
It doesn't surprise me that the Pet Shop Boys with a not-very-interesting remake of an Elvis Presley song [Always On My Mind] got the Christmas number one.
I suppose it might be nice to be number one but, as far as I'm concerned, it's had a longer life than that particular song.

Have you written any other Christmas songs?
I worked in an astrophysics department for a couple of years as an artist-in-residence, and I formed a band there. I wrote a Christmas song there called Is It Christmas Time on Venus? I don't think it's going to knock Fairytale off its pedestal.

Has the song provided you with your pension?
I don't know because I'm not of pensionable age. I'll let you know when I've got my bus pass.

FINER POINTS
Christmas number two for The Pogues in 1987
It was co-written with the band's frontman, Shane MacGowan
The hit version, featuring Kirsty MacColl and produced by Steve Lillywhite, was recorded two years later
Multi-instrumentalist Finer, 53, of London, last performed song "the night before last" with The Pogues
Favourite other festive song is Captain Beefheart's There Ain't No Santa Claus on the Evenin' Stage

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[Jeff Roesgen]

That's a nice story, thanks for sharing it!