Via blogger Lyle Masaki at MTV/LOGOonline.com's
AfterElton.com:
In Britain, Kirsty MacColl (who died seven years ago today) and The Pogues' Christmas-themed song "Fairytale of New York" is an annual tradition. The tune gets the kind of play "All I Want for Christmas is You" does in the States. (I. Am. So. Envious.) However, after twenty years of annual airplay, BBC 1 Radio has begun playing an edited version of the popular song.
If you're unfamiliar with "Fairytale of New York," MacColl and Pogues frontman Shane MacGowan play a raucous couple who spend their Christmas bitterly fighting with each other over broken dreams and wasted opportunities. Amid the many insults the couple throw at each other, MacColl sings "You scumbag, you maggot/You cheap lousy faggot/Happy Christmas your arse/I pray God it's our last". This year, BBC Radio is playing an edited version which, according to a BBC spokesperson, had the word "faggot" faded down, taking it out of the song.
With the song being an annual tradition, the change is controversial. The late MacColl's mother, Jean, called the alteration "ridiculous" while a Pogues spokesperson said that the band found the change amusing, considering that the song has been heard for so long without incident. Fans, meanwhile, are making the predictable cries of "It's political correctness gone too far!" as can be seen in the comments of this BBC Radio blog. (One comment interestingly notes that "slut" was also edited out, though the controversy entirely focuses on the f-word.)
An update to the entry says the BBC has backed down and gone back to the original and completely brilliant version. Video of the song, in all its filthy holiday glory, after the jump...