1987 in British music the Christmas number one of 1987, with their cover of Elvis Presley's "Always on My Mind". The Pogues peaked at number 2 and has been re-issued several times since, reaching the top 10 in 2005, 2006 and 2007. In the world of classical music, Nicholas Maw's new work "Odyssey" made an impact, and veteran composer Malcolm Arnold produced his "Salute to Thomas Merritt", Op. 98, whilst Michael Nyman and Judith Weir both brought new operas to the stage. The BBC Cardiff Singer of the World competition was won by Italian soprano Valeria Esposito, and the Lieder prize was introduced into
Music censorship out its "obscene" lyrics, and announced that he would no longer play the song during his show. The BBC subsequently restricted the song to evening airplay. When the band made statements in a "Daily Express" interview confirming the possibility of sexual connotations in the lyrics, the BBC banned "Relax" entirely. The ban only increased interest in the single, causing it to become the number-one song in Britain only two weeks later. In December 2007, BBC Radio 1 began to play a version of The Pogues' popular Christmas song "Fairytale of New York" that censored the words "faggot" and "slut" from