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
Alone on Christmas Day mix of the song was recorded by the group and later circulated via bootlegs. In early 2015, Phoenix requested permission to cover the song for Bill Murray's "A Very Murray Christmas". In response, Love rerecorded the song himself and revised some of the lyrics. The version by Phoenix was then released. Besides Murray, their recording features Jason Schwartzman, Paul Shaffer, and New York Dolls' David Johansen (as Buster Poindexter). Phoenix's version was recorded in September and issued as a digital download and 7" vinyl. Alone on Christmas Day "Alone on Christmas Day" is a song written by Mike Love and