The Pogues have celebrated the hotly debated censorship of their Christmas hit Fairytale of New York.
The Irish group responded to BBC Radio 1’s move to play an edited version of the track by telling opponents of the decision to “f*** off”.
The song has been a Christmas favourite since its release in 1987, but in recent years it has found itself at the centre of fierce debate over its lyrics.
This year, Radio 1 will play an alternative version which replaces or mutes derogatory terms used in the original.
Since news of the move emerged, the band has shared a string of tweets supporting the broadcaster’s action.
One post featured quote reading: “We’ve decided not to play Fairytale of New York out of respect for LGBT people, in other news the Govt have axed funding for anti LGBT Bullying programs in school.”
In the original, a fiery Kirsty MacColl calls her partner Shane MacGowan a “f*****”, while he brands her a “s***.”
Another re-tweet read: “This is all I’m gonna say on it for the whole year: the word itself being in Fairytale Of New York doesn’t bother or offend me, but straight people being so angry and outraged at its removal and literally fighting and arguing for the right to sing it bothers me deeply.”
In a more blatant rebuttal of calls for a boycott of Radio 1, the band retweeted a post by actor-turned-right-wing-commentator Laurence Fox.
In it, he wrote: “Here we go again. The cultural commissars at the @bbc are telling you what is and isn’t appropriate for your ignorant little ears. Wouldn’t it be nice if we sent the (proper) version to the top of the charts? #DefundTheBBC. RT.”
But rather than an endorse his message, they captioned the re-tweet: “F*** off you little herrenvolk s****.”
