The Pogue’s “Fairytale of New York” could return to the top of the charts in Ireland this Christmas.
The duet, sung by Shane MacGowan and Kirsty MacColl, first hit number one in Ireland in 1987.
Now, the song could be returning to the pop charts due to the controversy surrounding the track, The Irish Post reports.
An RTE DJ recently suggested some of the song’s lyrics should be censored.
Read More: The making of Irish Christmas song "Fairytale of New York" by The Pogues
MacColl sings the lines: "You scumbag, you maggot/ You cheap lousy faggot/ Happy Christmas, your arse/ I pray God it’s our last."
2FM DJ Eoghan McDermott posted to Twitter: "I asked the two gay members of my team how they feel, since faggot is their N word. If people want to slur the gay community, this is their most powerful weapon.
"One favours censoring, the other outright not playing it. Neither like it. Simples."
While many agreed with McDermott’s comments, fans of the Christmas favorite started an online campaign to push the song back up to the top of the charts through downloads and streaming.
MacGowan issued a statement to Virgin Media’s The Tonight Show addressing the controversy.
"The word was used by the character because it fitted with the way she would speak and with her character. She is not supposed to be a nice person, or even a wholesome person." he said.
Kirsty Mac Coll and Shane Mac Gowan in a promo shot.
"She is a woman of a certain generation at a certain time in history and she is down on her luck and desperate.
Read More: The Pogues' Fairytale of New York is not a good Christmas song
"Her dialogue is as accurate as I could make it but she is not intended to offend! She is just supposed to be an authentic character and not all characters in songs and stories are angels or even decent and respectable, sometimes characters in songs and stories have to be evil or nasty in order to tell the story effectively.
"If people don’t understand that I was trying to accurately portray the character as authentically as possible then I am absolutely fine with them bleeping the word but I don’t want to get into an argument."
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