The Pogues career) was the increasingly erratic behaviour of their vocalist and principal songwriter, Shane MacGowan. Their record label, Stiff Records, went bankrupt soon after the 1987 release of the single "The Irish Rover" (with The Dubliners). Members of the band, including O'Riordan, acted in Alex Cox's "Straight to Hell", and five songs by the band were included on the film's soundtrack album. The band remained stable enough to record "If I Should Fall from Grace with God" with its Christmas hit duet with Kirsty MacColl "Fairytale of New York". "Fairytale of New York" was released as a single in 1987 and
Give Love on Christmas Day Christmas Day" was written by the Motown Records' producing-writing team known as "The Corporation". Jackson 5 hit singles such as "I Want You Back", "ABC" and "The Love You Save" had been written by the Motown team months earlier, and had aided the five brothers in becoming the first black teen idols. The festive track was included on "The Jackson 5 Christmas Album", released in 1970. Other songs on the album included "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas", "Up on the Housetop", "Frosty the Snowman", "The Christmas Song", "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" and "Christmas Won't Be the Same This Year".