Christmas Pop Songs? Not Quite!

Following on from yesterday’s choice of five favourite Christmas songs, I now turn to Christmas hits. They are the tracks that were nothing to do with Christmas but which have that festive quality. They might be reflective songs, or they might be party tunes, but whatever they are you can’t imagine the festive season without them. As with yesterday, they are not necessarily the pinnacle of the Christmas hit, but they are tracks that I love to listen to during the festive season.

A classic Rock ‘n’ Roll track from Leicester’s finest

In 1976, one song was positioning itself to be the Christmas Number One, having already been at the top for 3 weeks. It was from the eight piece band who had more hits than any other UK act in the 1970s. Yes, it’s the brilliant Showaddywaddy, who were occasionally considered unfashionable for their 50s style clothing and glam reworking of old hits. I, however, would never hear a word against them from their first appearance on New Faces, and in the mid to late 70s they were unchallenged as my favourite group. They came to the Central Hall in Chatham every year, and every year I went along. Under the Moon of Love was, and is, a festive party classic. What happened in the chart race? Oh yes, When a Child is Born happened! It took me years before I forgave Johnny Mathis for stealing the Christmas Number One from under their noses. https://youtu.be/mDvsaMqQVvQ?si=ByfHlIKiBPOtmVk8

Paul’s Pop Pinnacle? Possibly!

Everyone knows that in 1984, the Christmas charts were a procession with Band Aid outselling everyone by 2 to 1 at least. Last Christmas by Wham was, at the time, the biggest selling Number 2 single ever. Shakin’ Stevens even quietly shelved Merry Christmas Everyone when he saw the competition to give himself a clear run for the following year! The Number 3 record that year was also the biggest selling Number 3 record ever, and it had a real magic to it. Paul McCartney’s song with the Frog Chorus, We All Stand Together, divides opinion like few other records in his career. However, for me it was simply a song that could appeal to anyone’s inner child at Christmas. I remember playing it at a house party that year, and hearing everyone singing along. We were in our teens but we definitely found our inner children thanks to the alchemy of the one and only Paul McCartney.

It’s a Slade song, but not the one you might be expecting!

In 1983, Slade looked odds on for their second festive chart topper, but in a very close battle they lost out to the brilliant Only You by The Flying Pickets. As I loved both songs I didn’t care who won the battle, but I would love to have seen both get the Number One they so richly deserved. My Oh My was a perfect festive singalong that could be heard being belted out in church halls, house parties and pubs throughout the Christmas season. You didn’t need to dance, you just swayed in time to the music holding aloft, usually, imaginary scarves. It is a song of reflection, togetherness and optimism, so it was a perfect Christmas hit and would have been a worthy Christmas chart topper in its own right.

A pachyderm inspired punk classic!

In December 1984, the big dance craze wherever I went was the pogo. It was the result of one song, whose far more restrained original version had me singing along on Junior choice over a decade earlier. Nellie the Elephant was a frightfully posh song with immaculate vowels and complete restraint. When punk band The Toy Dolls got hold of it, the verses were delivered with similar restraint, but the chorus became a frenetic thrash which was frankly impossible to dislike. I had had a very hard time in my first few weeks in the RAF, so this was a cathartic release of energy, frustration and anger. Altogether now ‘Oooooooooooohhhhhhh’!

A Beatles inspired ballad that sounds like a Christmas classic

My final choice brings the tempo back down as I finish with Freiheit, a German band and their single Keeping the Dream Alive from 1988. Like Gilbert O’Sullivan’s Christmas song, I was sure this would be in the mix for Christmas Number 1. Like summer hit Beach Baby by First Class, I convinced myself it was at least Top 10 if not Top 5, where in fact, 14 was its highest chart position. At the time, many listeners swore it was Paul McCartney under a pseudonym, and when you listen you can understand that. It has that air of melancholy that fits the season so well, but it also swells the heart as the chorus kicks in and the singing is simply beautiful. It is another brilliant track that did not get the success it deserved, but it always reminds me of Christmas whenever I hear it.

So there you have it, five more festive songs that, although not about Christmas, very much belong in the seasonal mix of memories we all have when we look back to our younger days. Hope you rediscovered an old favourite or discovered a new one.