Fairytale of New York Fairytale of New York "Fairytale of New York" is a song written by Jem Finer and Shane MacGowan and recorded by their band the Pogues, featuring singer-songwriter Kirsty MacColl on vocals. The song is an Irish folk-style ballad and was written as a duet, with the Pogues' singer MacGowan taking the role of the male character and MacColl the female character. It was originally released as a single on 23 November 1987 and later featured on the Pogues' 1988 album "If I Should Fall from Grace with God". Originally begun in 1985, the song had a troubled two-year development history,
Bap Kennedy touring, including performances with Shane MacGowan of The Pogues and Pete Doherty of The Libertines, and at the respected Half Moon, Putney, which also regularly held the Rolling Stones. The Pogues’ lead singer Shane MacGowan provided guest vocals on Kennedy’s next album, The Big Picture, with MacGowan providing lead vocals on the last verse of Kennedy’s song "On the Mighty Ocean Alcohol". The late Carolyn Cassady, another guest vocalist on the album, was the basis of the character Camille in Jack Kerouac's book "On the Road". At the end of Kennedy's song Moriarty's Blues, Cassady gave a reading from her