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
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