Radio 1 backtracks after banning Christmas F-word

Published on Tuesday 18 December 2007 20:59

IN WHAT could prove to be the shortest ban in pop history, Radio 1 has reversed a controversial decision to censor Christmas classic Fairytale of New York.

The station's controller, Andy Parfitt, admitted the broadcaster was wrong to bleep the word "faggot" from the Pogues' 20-year-old duet with Kirsty MacColl.

The station, which was inundated with complaints from listeners yesterday and criticised by the late MacColl's mother Jean, will now play an unedited version.

MacColl, who died in 2000, sang the lyric to lead singer Shane McGowan in one of the most memorable exchanges of the song: "You scumbag, you maggot, you cheap lousy faggot. Happy Christmas your arse I pray God it's our last."

But two decades after it first entered the charts in 1987, Radio 1's head of music, George Ergatoudis, had ordered the word to be removed from broadcasts of the single, which is in the running to be this year's Christmas No 1, deeming it offensive to gay men.

However, other BBC outlets, including Radio 2 which is considered more conservative, continued to play the hit unedited and Radio 1 has done so in previous years.

MacColl's mother described the decision as, "pathetic ... It's absolute nonsense". She added: "Shane has written the most beautiful song. These are a couple of characters who are not in the first flush of youth, I wouldn't have thought. They are what they are, this is the way they speak ... It's like a play and it's very amusing and sad, and it's a great song."

Even gay-rights campaigners criticised the censorship decision as "misguided".

Andrew Gilliver, spokesman for the Lesbian and Gay Foundation, said: "I have spent hours ringing around and trawling the internet and I can't find anyone in the gay community who is offended by this song, in fact it is well-loved.

"Obviously that word put in a different context can be offensive, but not in this song. It is about how the word is used. I don't think it is offensive here, unlike the homophobic language used in rap music.

"By making this an issue, we are just bringing that word to the fore again – it's creating a problem where there isn't one."

After a day of criticism, including some on the station's own message boards, Mr Parfitt admitted the song did not use the word with any "negative intent". He added: "While we would never condone prejudice of any kind, we know our audiences are smart enough to distinguish between maliciousness and creative freedom."

Shane MacGowan said the row "says more about Radio 1 than about me or about anyone else", adding:

"It's just a pop song at the end of the day."

However, gay-rights campaigner Peter Tatchell said: "I doubt that the BBC would take the same relaxed attitude if this song included the n-word or other ethnic slurs.

"The BBC and other media urgently need to agree a consistent policy covering all forms of prejudiced language so that homophobic, racist, anti-Semitic and sexist words are all treated in the same way."

WEBSITE HITS

FAIRYTALE Of New York is heading up the charts again due to new rules which allow download sales to count, even if a recording is not available in shops.

When first released in 1987, it reached number two, and bookmaker Ladbrokes yesterday had the song listed at 33/1 to repeat the feat. The debut single by Leon Jackson, the Scots X Factor winner, is widely expected to top the charts.