The Pogues‘ Christmas hit ‘Fairytale of New York’ has re-entered the Top 40 following the news of frontman Shane MacGowan‘s death.

• READ MORE: Shane MacGowan, 1957-2023: an uncompromising, chaotic one of a kind

On November 30, it was announced that MacGowan passed away peacefully surrounded by his family and friends. Since the news, fans have begun rallying to get the song to Number One.

MacGowan’s wife Victoria Mary Clarke has now joined the campaign, saying she was “very much in favour” of the track topping the charts. “It would be nice, wouldn’t it?” she said. “It should be the Christmas number one. It absolutely should.”

She also called MacGowan “the kind of husband that would tell you how beautiful you are every single day”. “He was always buying flowers, he was a really romantic man,” she said.

Now, the Official Charts has revealed the song entered the Top 40 Charts at Number 18 – and is expected to climb higher and higher. It could garner the single its first ever Number One spot, having previously peaked at Number Two upon its release in 1987.

Martin Talbot, Chief Executive Officer of the Official Charts said: "The terribly sad news about Shane MacGowan's death will hit hard all lovers of his music, as well as the fans of Fairytale Of New York, which is consistently one of the UK public's favourite Christmas songs – and which has become a festive staple since the advent of the digital era made it available to download and stream.

"As usual, it was already heading back into the Official Singles Chart Top 40 this week and, while it is currently too early to give an indication of the scale of the streaming surge, we would very much expect it to rise back into the Top 20 over the coming days, perhaps even higher. It is a genuine contender for this year's Christmas Number One – a chart position which this classic has never previously reached. What a fitting tribute to Shane that would be."

In what would be one of his last interviews, MacGowan claimed that ‘Fairytale of New York’ was not one of his favourite songs from the band: "It pisses me off when people always talk about it.”

When he was asked what his favourite song was, he added: "I've got a few, but that's not one of them," he said before adding: "'White City' I like a lot."

Meanwhile, Bruce Springsteen and Nick Cave have joined the huge wave of artists paying tribute to The Pogues icon. For a full running list, read here.

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Fat Joe has claimed he has lied in “95 per cent” of his songs, criticising the use of Young Thug‘s lyrics in his current RICO trial.

• READ MORE: Rolling Loud New York 2022: Five hype-worthy moments from the hip-hop festival

The rapper joined Gayle King on CNN in a discussion of Young Thug’s trial, who was charged with several felonies alongside Gunna including two gang-related charges in 2022. Both men have denied their charges, with Young Thug having his bail denied three times. Gunna was released from prison in December 2022 after entering a negotiated plea; Young Thug’s case is still ongoing.

In November this year, it was ruled that Young Thug’s lyrics could be used in his trial subject to certain conditions. The ruling was criticised by Young Thug’s lawyer as "targeting the right to free speech". The use of rap lyrics in criminal cases has also been criticised by Songwriters of North America's Dina LaPolt as “a convenient way to inject racial bias and confusion into the criminal justice process.”

Now, Fat Joe has come to defend Young Thug and speaking out against the use of his lyrics in the trial, calling it “horrible” and “a travesty”: “I’ve been rapping professionally for 30 years — I’ve lied in almost 95 percent of my songs.”

“I’m being honest,” he added. “I write like I feel that day. I’m just being creative. You couldn’t build a jail high enough for the lyrics I’ve said on songs which are all untrue.”

Joe continued: “What I am is I’m a family man, someone who gives back to his community all the time. I opened businesses in my community so the music would never amount to the actual person Joseph Cartegena. What’s even more horrible is the District Attornies. They know those lyrics ain’t real. They know that’s creativity, but if it helps their case, they’ll use it to put these guys in jail.”

He also stressed that “there really is six defendants in Atlanta who might spend the rest of their life in jail for something that’s totally not true.” “This is very serious,” he said. “This destroys families.”

Joe also claimed that Young Thug’s case was “setting a precedent in America”. “They’ve use this before with an up and coming aspiring artist,” he explained. “They never took a guy off the stage in the arena – a number one artist that my daughter and all the kids look up to.”

“It’s nasty work,” he concluded. “It’s real nasty work.”

He went on to say: “If you really wanna put these gentlemen in jail and they’re really criminals, use real evidence, use real facts.” He compared the trial to Arnold Schwarzenegger, claiming that the actor should “be in jail for 20,000 years” for killing “10,000 people in movies”.

Later in the conversation, he also expressed that the trial “definitely puts vulnerability once again to rappers all around the world.”

Recently, it was revealed that Fat Joe and 50 Cent‘s rivalry caused tension in the New York Knicks. Tim Thomas, a 50 Cent fan, clashed with Stephen Marbury, who favoured Fat Joe, causing their long friendship to dissolve.

“I knew his brothers, his mom, his pops,” said Thomas. “We actually played for Fat Joe with Terror Squad at the Rucker. It was really no issues between us at all until 50 and Fat Joe got into it. That's when me and Steph kinda separated."

The post Fat Joe says he’s lied in “95 per cent” of his songs, defends Young Thug in RICO trial “travesty” appeared first on NME.

Morrissey has announced that he will be playing a pair of shows in the US in 2024 to celebrate the 20th anniversary of his album 'You Are the Quarry'. 

• READ MORE: Morrissey at Riot Fest review – pop's problematic uncle wisely shuts up and plays the hits 

The first concert will take place at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California on January 26, followed by a show at the Kia Forum in Los Angeles on January 27. Tickets will be available from 10am local time on Friday December 8 here. 

The 2004 album included the singles 'Irish Blood, English Heart' and 'First of the Gang to Die', and was cited by many at the time as a return to form for the former Smiths singer. It also remains his highest-charting album in the US.

The news of the shows comes amid an ongoing struggle for the singer to release his latest solo record, 'Bonfire of Teenagers'. 

In October 2022, Morrissey announced that the album would be released in 2023 through Capitol. In late December, however, the former Smiths frontman said he had "voluntarily withdrawn from any association with Capitol Records". He also revealed that Miley Cyrus, who recorded backing vocals for 'Bonfire' track 'I Am Veronica' in 2020, had asked to have her vocals removed from the song. 

Morrissey then released a statement on his website in which it was asserted that, despite Capitol still maintaining ownership of 'Bonfire of Teenagers', the label would not release it. It comes after he was dropped by BMG in 2020, months after he released his most recent album, 'I Am Not A Dog On A Chain'. 

In a statement, the singer said he's starting to think that his former label are intentionally "sabotaging" his new album. A statement wrote: "Morrissey has said that although he does not believe that Capitol Records in Los Angeles signed 'Bonfire of Teenagers' in order to sabotage it, he is quickly coming around to that belief." 

In October, Morrissey said that Capitol are willing to give 'Bonfire Of Teenagers' back to him "for a certain price". 

He said: said: "This album was recorded in January 2021 and Capitol signed it and didn't release it, but they're now prepared to give it back to me for a certain price. It's been quite traumatic and quite sad because when you record something, you want it to be available immediately and it was very much of the time. For me, it was a very personal thing and the fact that it hasn't been released has been torture." 

Morrissey had debuted the title track 'Bonfire Of Teenagers' – which he said was about "England's 9/11", the 2017 Manchester Arena bombing – back in July 2022. 

Morrissey also revealed earlier this year that he recorded a new album called 'Without Music The World Dies' and shared its tracklist. 

No release date has been confirmed for the new LP, but a post on Morrissey's website detailed that it was recorded at La Fabrique Studios in St-Remy, France and was produced by longtime collaborator Joe Chiccarelli. 

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