Spot where The Pogues recorded Fairytale of New York

RAK Studios at 42-48 Charlbert Street in St John's Wood, London, is where The Pogues recorded the main sessions for 'Fairytale of New York' in August 1987. A demo had been laid down at Abbey Road Studios earlier that year, with Shane MacGowan singing both the male and female parts himself. But it was at RAK, working with producer Steve Lillywhite, that the song took its final shape — and where the crucial decision was made to bring in Kirsty MacColl to sing the woman's role.

MacGowan had written the song as a duet, a bitter and beautiful argument between two Irish immigrants in a New York drunk tank on Christmas Eve, measuring their lives against their dreams. MacColl's voice — sharp, wry, and full of heart — transformed the song from a good recording into an extraordinary one. The string arrangements were added later at Townhouse Studios. The song was released in November 1987 and reached number two in the UK charts, kept off the top by the Pet Shop Boys.

RAK Studios is still an active, highly regarded recording facility today. The studio's address is somewhat at odds with the song's New York setting — but 'Fairytale of New York' was always a song about Ireland and America seen from London, which is precisely where it was made.