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
Fairytale of New York 86 weeks on the official UK Top 75 (as of w/e 20 December 2018), making it the fifth most charted song of all time. In late 2012 it was declared a UK million-seller. On 22 December 2005, The Pogues performed the song on a "Friday Night with Jonathan Ross" Christmas special on BBC One in the UK, with the female vocals taken by singer Katie Melua. "Fairytale of New York" was announced as Britain's "favourite Christmas song" in a 90-minute special on ITV on 22 December 2012, following a nationwide survey of ITV viewers, despite not being a Christmas song,