Category Archives: News

Fairytale of 1997

Kirsty MacColl and Shane MacGowan performing Fairytale of New York on the Jack Docherty Show on Irish TV in 1997.

The song has stalled at No. 11 in the UK Christmas Chart (it was actually lower in the mid week interim charts) and will presumably fade away next week.

Meanwhile the Irish Mirror spoke to Jean MacColl this week, and their piece is here. They also spoke to Shane MacGowan.

Your 15 minutes

Unfortunately the film footage which was shot at October’s Kirstyfest, which was expected to be part of a documentary on Saturday 20th December, has not made the broadcast cut. If you were there and were looking forward to watching yourself in the choir, the producers pass on their thanks and best wishes for the new year, and are sorry that there wasn’t enough room to use the coverage. Thanks to Barry for the update. As he says, “Looks like our ’15 Minutes’ doesn’t start just yet!”

14 anos se passaram

Hay un ángel corriendo alrededor de esta casa.

Kirsty MacColl, © Charles Dickins
Kirsty MacColl, © Charles Dickins

Fourteen years ago today Kirsty MacColl died in Mexico. Her songs are still being sung, recorded, uploaded and cherished. Our lives are still enriched from her being here.

Kirsty ¡Viva

Kirsty longa ao vivo!

Fairytale of New York is No.11

Fairytale of New York is now sitting at No.11 in the UK singles chart – it’s highest placing since 2006! Can it go higher? Still a chart to come before Christmas Day.

The Independent reports that the arrival of digital streaming could yet propel Fairytale to the top. For the first time the songs that people are actually listening to count towards the chart, which now includes data from streaming services including Spotify and Deezer alongside download and CD sales.

The change means that each time Fairytale is streamed on someone’s festive playlist or played through Spotify as the soundtrack to an office Christmas party it counts towards its chart placing. Currently 100 streams count as the equivalent to one download or physical single, so streaming of hit songs on phones and tablets more than a million times a week can make all the difference. An Official Charts Company (OCC) spokesman said: “Fairytale has seen a significant boost this year thanks to streaming. The song streamed 552,000 times last week.” Which would seem to equate to over 5 thousand “sales”.

Time to get listening people!

Run Elvis Run

“RUN DEVIL RUN songs are brimming with honky-tonking, bar-room-brawl, tall stories of love lost and won along the road movie tales of Nashville, Memphis, Tombstone and in between the sheets.”

They also do a mean Chip Shop cover!