Shane MacGowan's widow endorses Fairytale of New York's Christmas Number 1 campaign

The widow of The Pogues singer Shane MacGowan has endorsed the campaign to get the band's festive classic, Fairytale of New York, to Christmas Number 1 in the UK.

Following the sad news last month that the Irish firebrand had died aged 65, Pogues fans up and down the country have been rallying to get the 1987 modern standard to the top of the Official Singles Chart for the first time ever. In news coming in just as the race for the biggest Number 1 of the year intensifies, MacGowan's widow has thrown her support behind the campaign.

Victoria Mary Clarke, MacGowan's long-term partner, spoke to The Guardian about the increased attention on the song in the weeks following MacGowan's death, which also now includes a push by the band's label to release Fairytale of New York on select physical formats to help push the track to Number 1.

Addressing the possibility of The Pogues (finally) reaching Number 1 in the UK with Fairytale of New York, Clarke was asked if MacGowan himself would have approved of the campaign.

MORE: The 2023 Christmas Number 1 contenders in full

"I think," she said, "he probably would."

On the outpouring of love for her late husband following his death, Clarke added that MacGowan would have been "completely dumbfounded" by the attention adding; "we lived a very quiet life. We hardly ever went out, we spent most of our time at home watching TV.”

When will 2023's Official Christmas Number 1 single be announced?

The Official Christmas Number 1 race 2023 kicked off Friday December 15, the final cut-off for sales and streams to count is midnight (11.59pm) on Thursday, December 21. So whoever you're backing, get behind your favourites before then.

Tune in to The Official Chart on BBC Radio 1 on Friday December 22 from 4pm to hear the Christmas Top 40 countdown and the exclusive reveal of the Official Christmas Number 1 2023.

The full Top 100 Official Christmas Singles Chart and Albums Chart will be published on OfficialCharts.com from 5.45pm.

Join the Official Charts mailing list and opt in to Breaking News alerts, we'll keep you tipped on the Christmas Number 1 race and music's biggest breaking stories as they happen! 

Keep up with all our Christmas Number 1 news and features here and join the conversation over on social media now using the hashtag #XmasNo1. Follow @OfficialCharts on TikTok, Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. 

Image: Steve Rapport/Getty Images