Exclusive:Steve Lillywhite: I proposed to Fairytale of New York singer Kirsty MacColl in front of the Glasgow Barrowland

Shane MacGowan had managed to persuade Kirsty MacColl to join him and the band on stage in 1987 for a duet in Glasgow even though the singer had not sung live for years. A piece of musical history being created in front of a few thousand in the audience that night in the East End.

Record producer Steve Lillywhite who worked with the band on their albums If I Should Fall From Grace with God, then Peace and Love, gave me an insight into the recording which he started working on in 1987 and finished off in 2025, as well as the special connection he has to the Barrowlands.

Steve Lillywhite married Kirsty MacColl in August 1984. Three years later, Lillywhite worked with The Pogues, producing Fairytale of New York. His wife, provided the lead female vocal for the song, which became the band's biggest hit. The single narrowly missed being the UK Christmas number one single, but was still one of the biggest selling records that year, and has frequently returned to the charts each festive season.

The fact that Kirsty MacColl decided to return to live performing after years away from the stage may have been connected to the venue. Steve Lillywhite explains: “I have a very strong connection to Barrowlands with Kirsty, because on New Year’s Eve 1983, I was also at Barrowlands. I’d known Kirsty MacColl for less than two months. I’d finished Sparkle in the Rain with Simple Minds, but Big Country were playing at Barrowlands and that was being broadcast live on BBC Two at midnight,” explained Lillywhite.

“The band wanted me to be up there to make sure the sound was good. So, I was out in the mixing truck for Big Country as they were playing into midnight and Kirsty came to give me at midnight to say happy new year, and that was when I proposed to her. There was a big connection, here we were at the festive season again four years later. It was brilliant.”

“The basis of it is completely live. Because the band ran around on stage like crazy and leads would get pulled out some instruments dropped out. I was able to then go in on the computer screen and really fix up some things. It was lots of tiny little incremental changes that ended up making the whole thing sound like it was just perfect. I’ve said this before, but its got the spirit of the record, but actually even more of the spirit.

“There was one thing that I remembered after we finished the recording back in the eighties. I remember Shane saying he was a little bit disappointed with the outro because he wanted the outro to be more sort of rollicking. It wasn’t him that said this, but when he said that, I thought a bit more like the basement of the Titanic. Rather than upstairs, rather than the ballroom of the Titanic where it was very posh. He felt the record was a little bit posh, but if he was around today, I think he would approve of how the live version sounds on the outro because it’s a lot more rollicking for the outro, which is why I love it.”

Steve Lillywhite and Kirsty MacColl’s relationship was both personal and musical. They had two sons, Jamie born in 1985 and Louis, born in 1987. MacColl was already an acclaimed songwriter when they met, and Lillywhite, known for working with U2, Peter Gabriel, and Simple Minds, helped shape some of her later recordings. They divorced in 1994 and Kirsty died tragically in December 2000 in a boating collision in Mexico, adding a poignancy to the fact that Fairytale of New York is played each Christmas.

The Pogues in Scotland

The Pogues’ connection to Scotland is a long one. Nicky Stewart was one the first people to bring the band here, not long after the release of their debut album Red Roses for Me as they performed live at his pub the Mukky Duck in Shotts. He first came across the band in a London: "I happened to just see them purely by accident, possibly in Vauxhall. I just thought at the time they were pretty good and a bit different.

"After speaking to them for a short while that night, I started to read a little bit about them and along with some pals went down to Manchester to see them. Just brazenly when the gig was finished, we walked across the stage and went in the back door and went into the back dressing room and spoke to them there and then. From that minute onwards, we became very good friends - especially with James Fearnley and Spider.

"At that time in Manchester, I did ask them if they would consider coming up to Shotts and explained where it was but that it was a good wee venue. We got on so well and I was very surprised that they said yes. I contacted them a few days later and they were up for it, so that was maybe about two months later they were due to come up and by that time Red Roses had come out.

"Sure enough, on the Friday night they showed up in the Mukky Duck at ten o'clock at night and we sold out the Saturday and the Sunday night. We had a bus come up from Newcastle and one down from Stirling with a lot of people from Glasgow coming in for the Sunday gig.

"Elvis (Costello) had come up for the gig as a fan and there was talk of him playing a short set before it but one wee story about him was that when he was coming upstairs the doormen asked for his ticket and as he didn't have one told him it was £4. Costello explained who he was and although you hear things like this a lot, he was told 'I don't give a f*** if you're Elvis Presley, four quid mate!'

"After the gig, a lot of the young ones continued to party on in a park across the road and there was no hassle but 34 people got arrested even though there were no charges brought forward. When The Pogues toured America, they had t-shirts printed that said 'Free the Shotts 34'."

The Pogues in Glasgow

The band could never have then imagined how big a song Fairytale of New York would become with over two million copies sold and it being the most played Christmas song in the UK of the 20th Century. Concertgoer Mark Graham had been fortunate to see The Pogues for the first time at the Queen Margaret Union in February 1985 having been the President of the union the previous year.

Mark has fond memories of the Barrowland gig in 1987 saying: "The gigs at the Barrowland in December were eagerly awaited both to hear the old favourites and the new songs especially Fairytale although nobody expected Kirsty to appear as she was well known for suffering from stage fright and rarely performed live.

"I usually went to Pogues gigs with a crowd of mates but on this occasion, I was on a first date with a girl who would become my wife. The fact that she was as big a Pogues fan as me added to her appeal.

"I don’t think I’ve seen a more excited crowd at the Barrowland as I did that night. Expectations were high; The Pogues were back in town with a great new album and for the first time ever, a song riding high in the singles chart. The band was on absolute fire that night. The addition of Philip Chevron and Terry Woods to the original line up transformed them musically to a new level without losing any of the vibrancy from the earlier shows. Given what happened at the end of the show hardly anyone remembers that Joe Strummer from The Clash joined them onstage to perform London Calling and obviously it would take something special to upstage that.

"That arrived when James Fearnley set down his accordion and sat down at the piano and began playing one of the most famous song intros ever. The roof almost came off the Barrowland when Kirsty overcame her nerves and joined Shane at the front of the stage. It was one of the most emotional five minutes I’ve experienced in over 45 years of gig-going.

By the end, the Barrowland was awash with tinsel, glitter and strangers hugging strangers. It’s a real pity mobile phones didn’t exist then and no footage exists. Fortunately, I got to do it again three months later when she appeared with the band on St Patrick’s Day at the Town & Country Club in Camden.

"On the day that Dublin said farewell to Shane MacGowan, I went into the city centre with the girl who came to the Barrowlands with me (who is still my wife!) to say a final farewell to the great man. Watching his funeral later that afternoon we were laughing and crying as Glen Hansard and Lisa O’Neil made Shane and Kirsty come alive again for a few minutes, with the help of the remaining Pogues as they performed Fairytale of New York. We were transported back to the Barrowlands in December 1987 and the first time we heard it performed live."

A special limited edition 12" Zoetrope vinyl EP of "Fairytale of New York" by The Pogues is being released on December 12, 2025.