And worryingly, so do the public. Fairytale of New York is fricking brilliant. I sez it, Carrie sez it, and Chris sez it. But why? Why is this song from the 80s, by an Irish group (best know for a drunk frontman with bad teeth) and little known singer, so popular now? Why will you find everyone (from teenage spides to drunk WW2 vets and everyone in between) singing along to it?

My take on it would be: it’s the perfect Christmas song because it’s about people at Christmas, rather than about Christmas itself. It’s about people doing what they actually do (get drunk and reminisce and/or argue), instead of some idealised christmas card image of what Christmas should be.

Plus, it’s a damn fine tune. Mustn’t forget that.