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
If I Should Fall from Grace with God female lines: when he brought them back to the studio The Pogues were so impressed that the song was re-recorded with MacColl as the replacement singing partner for MacGowan. "Fairytale of New York" was released as the album's lead single in November 1987 in the run-up to Christmas and reached number one in Ireland and number two in the UK. Its enduring popularity has seen it re-enter the charts several times since 1987, eventually going on to sell over a million copies in the UK and being voted the most popular Christmas-themed song of all time. Despite never being released