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
The Two Ronnies 1987 Christmas Special (with whom he starred in "Porridge") in 1979 and Eric Morecambe in 1984 reportedly frightened him. The Two Ronnies 1987 Christmas Special The Two Ronnies 1987 Christmas Special was first broadcast on BBC1 on Christmas Day 1987 as part of the 12th series of the show starring Ronnie Barker and Ronnie Corbett, being also their last outing as Barker decided to retire from showbiz. Memorable sketches included "Pinocchio II: Killer Doll", a parody of the slasher films popular at the time. The musical guest was Elton John. At the time the special aired, no one except Corbett knew about Barker's