Fairytale of New York undergoing rewrites and aborted attempts at recording, and losing its original female vocalist along the way, before finally being completed in August 1987. Although the single never reached the coveted UK Christmas number one, being kept at number two on its original release in 1987 by the Pet Shop Boys' cover version of "Always on My Mind", it has proved enduringly popular with both music critics and the public: to date the song has reached the UK Top 20 on fifteen separate occasions since its original release in 1987, including every year since 2005, and was certified double platinum in
Christmas (Creeper EP) of New York" released on the same day. Speaking about the decision to cover the song, the band's frontman Will Gould explained that "Ever since we were kids, Fairytale Of New York has always been our favourite Christmas song. Shane MacGowan and Kirsty MacColl trading insults in the lyrics and the overall sad tone of the song always appealed to us – we've wanted to cover it for some time." The EP was released on 8 December 2017 as a digital download and on streaming platforms. Christmas (Creeper EP) Christmas is the fourth extended play (EP) by English punk rock