Rows over offensive words in Fairytale of New York have become something a Christmas tradition alongside turkey and stuffing. Each year brings fresh controversy.
Opinion is always mixed and even different BBC radio stations can’t agree among themselves, with some deciding to only play a censored version, others using bleeps to cover certain words and others content to play the original.
A British DJ refused to play the Pogues’ Christmas classic after claiming it is a ‘nasty song’.
Alex Dyke of BBC Radio Solent objects to the language the characters in the song use towards each other.