Comments on: Why Have The Charts Gone Christmas Crazy?

By: Marcello Carlin

Marcello Carlin — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 16:20:39 +0000

Not as good as Malcolm Middleton but substantially better than Leon Jackson.

In the same way that the Melua/Cassidy exercise in necrophilia was only available in Tesco’s, my feeling is that all copies of “When You Believe” should be shipped directly to the charity shops in order to cut out the middleman, since that’s where they’ll all end up in, ooh, four weeks’ time.

By: Tom

Tom — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 15:27:34 +0000

Check out a new Christmas song put together by students - is number one in the HMV download charts - http://www.christmasnumberone.org - ‘Smells like Christmas time’ by Anarchy Christmas. ll proceeds going to charities.

By: Marcello Carlin

Marcello Carlin — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 12:11:51 +0000

“Rock ‘N’ Roll Winter (Loony’s Tune)” to be precise (five points from Graham Archive).

By: Erithian

Erithian — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 12:03:08 +0000

Certainly no worse than the springtime release of Wizzard’s “Rock’n'Roll Winter (sorry, the word “spring” wouldn’t fit)”.

By: Marcello Carlin

Marcello Carlin — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 11:29:44 +0000

It probably wasn’t a good idea to release “New Year’s Day” as a single two weeks after New Year’s Day. Still, never mind your Blur vs Oasis; the big battle that week was U2 vs Echo (”The Cutter”). Mac scraped to victory by virtue of his striptease on TOTP.

By: Erithian

Erithian — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 10:54:38 +0000

Dina Carroll’s “Perfect Year” is utterly lovely. Marcello’s also overlooked “New Year’s Day” by U2, possibly on purpose!

The best X Factor rumour I’ve heard yet is that Little Britain are going to sign up Rhydian as the other gay in the village.

By: Marcello Carlin

Marcello Carlin — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 10:20:15 +0000

How could I have forgotten the worst solo Beatle single ever?

By: mike

mike — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 09:59:45 +0000

There’s also George Harrison’s “Ding Dong Ding Dong”, which leaves the old comprehensively rung out, the new fully rung in, etc.

By: Billy Smart

Billy Smart — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 09:04:48 +0000

I like ‘Happy New Year’ by Altered Images - an undisguised rewrite of ‘Happy Birthday’ with a brand new spoken word section: “Wishing a happy new year to the readers of Flexipop magazine from Claire and the boys!”

By: Marcello Carlin

Marcello Carlin — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 08:54:27 +0000

There tend to be very few New Year-specific pop songs - “Happy New Year” by Abba, which isn’t exactly a knees up, “Ring Out The Old (Ring In The New),” Roy Wood’s forlorn 1985 attempt to repeat the Wizzard formula, “This New Year” by Cliff Richard (I’m sure you all remember it), the aforementioned “New Year” by the Sugababes, I suppose “The Perfect Year” by Dina Carroll at a very long stretch - but I’m sure other FTers can recall more than that.

There is also of course “The Millennium Prayer” by Sir Cliff but we don’t talk about that. Not yet, anyway.

By: Pete

Pete — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 23:58:47 +0000

All good theories Tom, but missing out key usage of All I Want For Christmas in constant rotation in DFS adverts which may also have something to do with it.

Sugababes “New Year” is an awesome Christmas record needlessly overlooked because its title is a completely different bank holiday.

By: koganbot

koganbot — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 20:31:03 +0000

Though I guess that “Not This Year” has yet to become a “classic.” But “Christmas, Baby Please Come Home” is. Darlene sings it every year on Letterman.

By: koganbot

koganbot — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 20:29:47 +0000

Lex, you apparently have not ever heard Darlene Love’s “Christmas, Baby Please Come Home” or Aly & A.J.’s “Not This Year” (Lex, how is it that you have not heard this song?).

By: Rob M

Rob M — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 19:07:11 +0000

Xpost to Marcello (#2) - I can’t wait to find out what song the three totally different acts are having foisted upon them for Xmas number one. Or is this already known and I’ve missed out? Though we (wife and I) are routing for Rhydian as we’re Welsh, I think we both would like Same Difference to win, just to annoy Louis, and because they are just so plain odd. Sorry, I keep hijacking these things and turning them into X Factor.

Christmas Singles? Bah humbug. I always dig out “Hot club of Bethlehem” by Aztec Camera, and that does me fine.

By: Billy Smart

Billy Smart — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 18:14:46 +0000

Re: Marcello post 2. Actually, All You Need Is Love by the Beatles appears on ‘Now That’s What I Call Summer!’. I don’t understand why, though.

By: Marcello Carlin

Marcello Carlin — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 17:25:31 +0000

Astonishingly the Rea original only managed #53 at Xmas ‘88.

By: CarsmileSteve

CarsmileSteve — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 17:16:28 +0000

oh hold on, i see, i thought ball had charted there…

By: CarsmileSteve

CarsmileSteve — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 17:05:20 +0000

whereas michael ball may well be the opposite, it’s on quite a few comps, but i guess some ppl are cherry picking tracks by title, rather than artiste, possibly assuming that there is no other version apart from the rea one.

according to everyhit, NEITHER version had previously charted, can this be right?

By: Marcello Carlin

Marcello Carlin — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 16:57:44 +0000

Remarkable how Band Aid II has been written out of history.

But Michael Ball doing “Driving Home For Christmas”??? Away with you, coarse varlet…the Rea-meister OWNS that song!

By: Steve

Steve — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 16:47:57 +0000

At least there is no Bon Jovi ‘Please Come Home For Christmas’ in the chart. They missed a trick by forgetting to make the song actually sound Christmassy.

By: Andy M

Andy M — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 16:42:19 +0000

There is nothing wrong with “A Spaceman Came Travelling”. You’ll be having a go at “I Believe In Father Christmas” next.

By: Marcello Carlin

Marcello Carlin — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 16:31:12 +0000

I think you missed the “un” prefix to that “listenable” there Lex…

By: lex

lex — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 16:19:04 +0000

i like to think that it is actually because miss mariah’s song is the only even vaguely listenable ‘xmas’ ‘classic’ in existence

By: Marcello Carlin

Marcello Carlin — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 15:22:50 +0000

I don’t know that it’s anything to do with budget as such; more a case of the artist is not for licensing, which is why you never see the Beatles/Madonna/post-ThrillerJacko/etc. on Now compilations.

As far as the 2007 Xmas No. 1 is concerned I’m secretly willing Some Difference to win out over Rhydian next week since they are potentially the strangest pop group ever (if only Joe Meek were still here to sign up both).

By: a logged-out pˆnk s lord whatnot

a logged-out pˆnk s lord whatnot — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 14:45:19 +0000

SHEL WILL WIN CZ SHE IS STRANGER