My Christmas Singles

Welcome to the seasonal offshoot of my record by record trawl through my huge singles collection. I have separated my Christmas singles from the rest and it’s these I am going to look at here. My definition of a Christmas single is quite simply a record with an A Side that explicitly mentions Christmas or is based on a carol. So, here goes, it’s time to get festive!

The Barron Knights had a run of success in the late 70s and early 80s with their parody tracks. Never Mind the Presents is a typical set of three songs being parodied, together with a linking tune and lyrics. The three songs in their sights at Christmas 1980 were Another Brick in the Wall Part 2, about a drunk Father Christmas, Day Trip to Bangor, about the office Christmas party and The Sparrow, about a fairy at the top of a tree. It was great fun at the time and still raises a grin all these years later. White Christmas by Bing Crosby was re-released in 1977 after his death and I had to get it. Yes, it’s old fashioned, yes it sounds a bit corny in places, but for sheer Christmas spirit it perhaps encapsulates the traditional feelings of the season better than any other. It’s always interesting for me to look at why certain records don’t stand the test of time in the way others do. With Dana’s gorgeous I’s Gonna be a Cold Cold Christmas it’s definitely not about the quality. It’s arguably a better seasonal ballad than pretty much any other from the era, and it’s beautifully sung by Dana. However, Dana has slipped from the collective musical consciousness, due I think to the unfair perception of her music as old fashioned and I think this explains why one of the superior Christmas singles, which got to Number 4 in 1975 has been unjustly forgotten. If you find it on YouTube I think you will agree with me. I said from the start of this series that I would include every single and I have. Another Rock n Roll Christmas has fallen foul of the singer’s crimes, quite understandably, but I bought it, I loved listening to it and although I have obscured his name to avoid offending sensibilities, it stays in my collection. Jethro Tull’s Solstice Bells is a very classy piece of folk/pop and is, as far as I know the only festive record to reference December 21st! Given the fact that so many of our Christmas traditions were taken from Yuletide, it counts as Christmas for me. Finally, we have Aled Jones A Winter Story from the cartoon of the same name. It was clearly designed to repeat the success of his version of Walking in the Air from The Snowman cartoon (originally sung in the cartoon itself by Peter Auty in case you get that question in a pub quiz!) the previous Christmas. It was sung by Aled Jones who was on the crest of a wave, was from the soundtrack of a Channel 4 cartoon shown at Christmas and had a similar sound. It looked all set to hit similar heights. However, A Winter Story released in 1986, didn’t get much airplay simply because it wasn’t as memorable, and crawled to Number 51 in the charts.

I know I said it based on whether the A Side was a Christmas record, but as I only picked up the single from Johnny Mathis and Henry Mancini because of When A Child is Born I have decided to count it! Even if Dave Bartram of Showaddywaddy hasn’t forgiven Johnny Mathis for stealing the Christmas Number One from under their noses in 1976, it’s still a gorgeous song beautifully sung and when I saw it in a charity shop I thought ‘Why not?’ Stop the Cavalry is simply a seasonal must listen and has been every year since 1980. Jona Lewie may not have intended it to be a Christmas single, but it has been a welcome returnee to my playlists every Christmas and will always be a cherished song of my mid teens at a time when the Christmas record arguably seemed to be in decline. Mud were Number One in 1974, following the previous year’s Christmas themed monster, of which more later. An Elvis pastiche, it was performed by Les Gray on Top of the Pops with his trademark lack of seriousness. He had a ventriloquist’s dummy that ‘delivered’ the spoken section to camera on a set which was covered by snow by a very enthusiastic stage crew! Listening to it devoid of the memories of the time, it probably sounds a little pedestrian, but it’s a song that caught the imagination of the record buying public in no uncertain terms. Shakin’ Stevens was one of those artists whose singles I bought without hearing them in virtually every case, so sure I was that I would like them. As a result I bought three of his Christmas singles as soon as they were released. His Elvis impression is even better than Les Gray’s on Blue Christmas. Not surprising really as his big break was appearing as the Young Elvis in the West End. The star on the top of the Christmas tree from Shaky is of course Merry Christmas Everyone, a seasonal classic in the top tier of the genre. It is so good that it was always going to be a Number One, except of course it wasn’t. He recorded it in 1984 but as soon as he saw the competition, Band Aid and Wham, he postponed its release until the following year when it stormed to Number One! For anyone else, The Best Christmas of All would have been a signature Christmas tune, but so good were both predecessors that, good though it is, it has the air of an also ran. I still enjoy listening to it though.

As already mentioned, Showaddywaddy missed out on the Christmas Number One by a whisker in 1976. Two years earlier they released their self-penned festive song, Hey Mister Christmas, a catchy rock n roll number that is better than a lot of people give it credit for. Sentimental verses and a singalong/shoutalong chorus makes it proper Christmas fare and it is definitely due a reappraisal so just give it a chance. I think it may just surprise you. Next, it’s Slade, it’s Noddy, it’s Christmaaaaaaaaas!! Arguably, without them and Wizzard in 1973 the Christmas chart battle and perhaps the whole genre of Christmas songs may never have been developed in the same way. It’s brilliant and I can listen to it time after time every December and never get remotely bored of it. Given the number of novelty records that hit the charts in December it’s perhaps surprising that I don’t have more of them in my collection and that so few of them are directly Christmas themed. One that is, is a very funny record from Dennis Waterman and George Cole in their characters of Terry McCann and Arthur Daley from the hit TV series Minder, What Are We Gonna Get for ‘Er Indoors? It’s a genuinely good record in its own right and on its own terms. In the song, Arthur is agonising over which of his knock off goods to give to his wife at Christmas! The comic timing displayed and the singing of Waterman are both top notch and they combine to produce an excellent Christmas single. As I am putting this entry together, the Number One is Last Christmas by Wham. My single is from the original release in 1984, pretty much on the day it came out. Again, no introduction is necessary. The only thing that I cannot understand is why people want to play Whamaggedon every year. I can’t wait to hear it as soon as possible. The final original single is the fantastic, timeless Wombling Merry Christmas with the ultimate sax solo, gorgeous lyrics and the typically multi-layered Mike Batt lyrics. Pure magic that takes me right back to 1974

As a bonus, I end up with two modern day Christmas classics from Cats in Space, a group who hark back to the 70s and 80s with their sound and also in terms of their release of vinyl singles. My Kind of Christmas is simply fantastic and the sound is a throwback to every classic Christmas track you’ve ever heard. Tongue in cheek lyrics with the 70s flowing through them and I only wish it could have been given a chance to get a wider audience. As you can see I have two copies, one a single disc, the other one a double disc pack. Finally, I have their version of I Believe in Father Christmas, which loses nothing in comparison with the original. The voice of Damien Edwards is one of the best in modern rock music and he really shows it on this track.

So there you have it. My Christmas singles collection of the good and the not so good. I hope you enjoyed the journey through Christmas past and that some of these will get you singing along in your head and going on to Spotify to relive your youth.