Former NYPD Bagpiper Reminisces about Fun-Filled Filming of Iconic Pogues Music Video

The New York Police Department Pipes and Drums band, made up of Irish-American officers, had never heard of The Pogues before they appeared in the band's famous music video for "Fairytale of New York." The video was filmed in Manhattan's Washington Square Park in November 1987, on one of the coldest days of the year. Kevin P McCarthy, a retired NYPD detective and a drummer and bagpipe player in the band, recalls that they arrived for their second gig of the night and were surprised to learn that they wouldn't be playing their instruments during the two-hour film shoot in the freezing temperatures. The Pogues wanted authenticity for their song, which mentions "The boys of the NYPD choir were singing Galway Bay." However, the NYPD didn't have such a choir, so the bagpipers and drummers were chosen instead to represent Irish heritage. In the video, they stood beside their instruments in full regalia, pretending to sing the song Galway Bay. However, the group members didn't know many Irish tunes, and none of them were known by everyone in the group. McCarthy suggested they sing the theme song to the Mickey Mouse Club as they all knew it, and they did so, matching the music by singing it slowly. McCarthy fondly remembers Shane McGowan, the frontman of The Pogues, who kept the group entertained with his drunken antics during the video shoot. McGowan even playfully threw an officer's mace into the air and caught it effortlessly, surprising the band. McCarthy didn't hear the song until eight months later, when he saw the video on MTV while sitting at a bar in Queens. He instantly loved the song because it was about New York and a couple down on their luck. "Fairytale of New York" became a hit in the UK and Ireland, and every year at Christmas, McCarthy receives a call from his cousin in Ireland, who was thrilled when the song was first released. The band remained in touch with Shane McGowan and other members for a few years after filming the video, occasionally seeking advice about the safety of certain New York neighborhoods. The NYPD Pipe and Drums band went on to appear in movies like The Departed and Ghostbusters 2. McCarthy still gets calls from UK journalists or documentarians every few years asking him to share the story of his involvement in the iconic song. And every Christmas, he is reminded of the classic lines: "The boys of the NYPD choir still singing Galway Bay, And the bells are ringing out for Christmas Day."