He was born on Xmas day, he wrote possibly the best Xmas song ever, and he likes a Xmas drink. Or six. Just to help the creative process, y’understand

Q. Did you sit down and deliberately try and write a Christmas song for Fairytale of New York?
A. Yeah. We decided that we wanted to do a male-female duet, a Christmas song. And I was told to go and write one. All I had was a little riff from Jem [Finer, the Pogues’ banjo player], right, which was ripped off from my own song The Broad Majestic Shannon anyway. And it just came in a blinding flash of inspiration.

Q. Was it a reaction against all the other crap Christmas songs?
A. No. I did it to write a Christmas duet, Pogues-style. No-one was more surprised than me when it got to number two. It got to number one in Ireland.

Q. It must be your most famous song
A. Yeah, I suppose so. The most money-making one, yeah.

Q. You were born on Christmas Day, weren’t you?
A. I was, yeah. There’s something about Christmas, y’knoworramean? But it’s a sad song, Fairytale of New York. And it’s a realistic song. That’s the only way I could write it. ‘Cos that’s the way it is.

Q. Fairytale’s written from the point of view of a tramp and a bag lady, and a lot of your songs are about fictional characters or written from someone else’s point of view why?
A. Because I’m not interested in writing about my own angst. Whether or not I’ve broken up with my girlfirend this week who gives a shit, y’knoworramean? I like a good story. Violence. A bit of sex, a bit of drinking, a bit of drugs. A bit of real life, y’knoworramean?

Q. Where do the characters come from?
A. Just from guys that I’ve hung around with. I base them on people that I known or have known or been told about. I hear stories in pubs, or things happen in pubs. Sometimes I write about how I’m feeling, but I always put a story behind it.

Q. Do you think that drink or drugs can help the creative process?
A. Yeah, definitely, yeah.

Q. Is that why you do it?
A. No, no. I’ve always liked drinking and taking drugs, and I’ve always liked making music. So the two go together for me. I’m not saying you have to drink or take drugs to play music. It’s rubbish to say that. I’m not advising anybody. But it is easier when you’re laid back and a bit out of it. The imagination’s set free

Q. Do you actually write when you’re drunk?
A. Yeah, yeah.

Q. You don’t wait until you’re sober and remember it?
A. Well, it varies. Obviously I don’t get my guitar out in the pub and start writing about something when it’s just happened. I remember it the next day, get pissed again, and then write it.

Q. What songwriters do you admire?
A. Well, there’s all the anonymous songwriters who wrote all the old Irish traditional ballads. And the un-anonymous ones like Tom Moore and Dominic Behan. Tom Waits is a really big influence. Nick Cave. The Stones, Beatles. Johnny [Rotten]. Johnny’s the main man. I like Shaun Ryder, the way he writes his lyrics. Stream-of-consciousness. I think if I ever wrote anything without music it’d be stream-of-consciousness. Where it definitely helps to be stoned and pissed.

Q. To keep it flowing?
A. Yeah.

Q. Can you see yourself giving up music and concentrating on writing books or something as you get older?
A. No, I’m a musician. The words are just things you put in to go along with the music

Q. No way! How can you say that?
A. [Has a chuckle.] The music is more important than the words to me. But they’re both really important.