Pogues frontman Shane MacGowan was born on Christmas day in 1957 in Kent, England, and on his 30th birthday, he narrowly missed landing the Christmas No. 1 on the UK charts with “Fairytale of New York” (the Pet Shop Boys held it off at No. 2). MacGowan founded the Pogues in 1982, paying tribute to his Irish roots by playing Celtic folk with punk aggression. The band became a chart fixture with hits like “Sally McLennane” and “Dirty Old Town.” “Fairytale of New York,” MacGowan’s duet with the late Kirsty MacColl, stands as the band’s crowning achievement as well as the most profane, hilarious, heartbreaking Christmas song in the
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