Just to say a big thanks to everyone who has contacted me this Christmas via email, text or carrier pigeon. It really is very much appreciated and keeps me going when I wonder why the hell I'm doing this.
Merry Christmas and all the best for 2025 to you all.
Deity of choice depending, perhaps we can do it all again next year.
From the 1951 film 'The Lemon Drop Kid' comes the original version of 'Silver Bells', although the first recorded version was by Bing Crosby and Carol Richards. Once the song proved popular, Hope & Maxwell went into a studio to make their own recording.
This song has appeared once on the Calendar before, an excellent soul version by Wilson Pickett that you can hear here and I urge you to seek it out later today.
Anyone who thinks I'm running this on Day 25 this year just to crack a joke about this being the only Hope you can expect this Christmas or New Year should stop me if you see me in the street. We've probably got a lot in common and would get on well.
Enjoy your day and Merry Christmas!
The Staves are a Watford-based duo Jessica and Camilla Staveley-Taylor - though a third sister, Emily was in the band when this was recorded - and this sad, beautiful song is ideally suited to the seasonal weltschmerz. I'll be home alone too, but more likely to watch Wallace & Gromit.
The Fab Four are a Californian Beatles tribute band who perform Carols in a real Fabs style. They've been around the Calendar a number of times, but it's a good few years since we last heard them and here they are with another track from the wonderful 'Hark' album.
Want to hear 'Sleigh Ride' in a 'Lady Madonna' style? 'The First Noel' as 'Let It Be'? 'Silent Night' as 'Norwegian Wood'? If the answer is 'yes' then this is for you. If you answered 'No' then I beg you to reconsider as that is the wrong answer.
'It Came Upon A Midnight Clear' is the final Carol on the this year's Calendar. It's also 'Baby's In Black' - and who doesn't want that?
Of course, you've heard it a million times already this year but that's because some scurrilous holiday company have purloined it for their own hideous purposes. Andy hasn't appeared on the Calendar before but he got a mention earlier on this year (See Claudine Longet) and it seems churlish to leave him off any longer, and I need him onside to spearhead my campaign to reclaim this joyous song back for Christmas.
The fight starts here, Brothers & Sisters!
Taylor Swift's 'Eras' tour may not be something that interested everyone this year, but there is no doubting the staggering cultural and socioeconomic success of a world tour that started in Arizona in March 2023 and had made over $2billion at its conclusion on December 8th this year in Vancouver.
The resulting book of the tour sold over 814,000 copies in its first two days making it the most successful book launch of the year, while Swift was also the most streamed artist of 2024 and her 'Tortured Poets Society' was the top-streamed album of the year.
It's also worth recognising that Swift gave everyone connected with the tour bonuses totalling $197 million, and while a nod might be expected for the dancers, lighting and sound staff, the rewards were just as generous to the drivers, technical staff and even the Merchandise people. This was all on top of providing generous donations to all food banks in every city she played.
While here at the Calendar we like to nibble round the crusty edges of the Christmas pie, we're not beyond looking at the big hitters from time to time, although oddly Taylor Swift's 2019 Christmas single 'Christmas Tree Farm' was only a minor hit and got no further than a peak position of 44 in the UK despite being a lot better than most similar Christmas Fayre. I'd take it over Maria Carey any day of December.
Rumours that Taylor Swift is expected to be involved in discussions on world peace next year probably cannot be discounted.
Former War on Drugs lead guitarist Vile covering what he thought was a Dylan song from Bob's 'Christmas In The Heart' album, only to find it was actually written by Hal Moore & Bill Fredricks and was originally released in 1960, in fact early UK rocker Tommy Steele had a minor hit with it a year later.
If you want to hear Dylan's version - and you really should - you can find it here on Day 4. With his daughters accompanying him on vocals, Vile makes the song an oddly affecting synth rendition.
This is the opening track on a vinyl album that I actually own called 'Rockin' Christmas: The 60s'..
Written by Howard Kaylan and Chip Douglas of The Turtles, the track was recorded by the pair one day in 1968 under a pseudonym band name. When they arrived at the studio they found fellow Turtle Mark Volman there, he was working with Byrds alumni Gram and Gene Parsons (no relation), Linda Ronstadt, Gospel singer Bessie Griffin and two members of the Modern Folk Quartet who then all came into the Kaylan / Douglas session to help out on the record.
That's a prodigious amount of talent to produce something so dull, making it something of an festive oddity.
A little cracker from Leigh Indie band The Lottery Winners.
There's just one wish on my wish list / This year I won't be alone / There ain't no star / near or far / With the power to guide you home
The third Sunday Carol of this year's Calendar finds us with U.S duo Pomplamoose, a husband and wife duo Jack Conte and Nataly Dawn, performing a Carol that's not been featured before.
In the UK we'd know this better as 'Here We Come A-Wassailing', a traditional Carol from the mid-19th century. They don't wassail in California - more's the pity - and annoyingly the Video features an ad for upcoming shows so stop it after 2' 48" or better still head over to the BB Spotify page where you can listen to it unencumbered while you peel the sprouts.
...And rightly so. I think we can all appreciate Joe's intentions here but he doesn't really tell us how he is going to do it. I suppose if he buys her a present or massages her feet every day she'd be appreciative, but if he makes her eat a mince pie and baste a turkey then I think she's going to be looking for the exit by March.
We need more information.
The second Christmas Party nights of the season and if this doesn't get you on the dancefloor doing your funky stuff then you need to book in to see your doctor.
The Louisiana Blues Brothers are Tyree Neal, Pokey and Adrian Bager and here they promise that Santa is looking for those that are naughty 'he don't want no nice' so that's good news for most of us then.
Ghostface - or Dennis Coles as his mum shouts out when she calls him in for his tea - is a rapper with the Wu-Tang Clan so you might expect his X-mas might be a cynical denouncement of the season and include the type of Ho-Ho-Ho's you'll not hear from the Santa you saw earlier this week at the Co-op.
But you'd be wrong.
In fact, 'Ghostface X-Mas' might have the most seasonal sentiments of any song on this year's calendar. Set to a sample of 'Carol of the Bells', the whole thing sings with lines like 'Smell the pinetrees in the air', 'Snowmen, snowflakes, cinnamon cakes', 'Wooden soldiers and chestnuts' and 'Cookies and milk on the mantle / the mistletoe, that scent from the peppermint candles'. I mean, you could give this to Bing or Sinatra and they'd be happy with the emotion of it all.
Even when 'ol Killah says at one point 'Ghost knows when you be sleeping / Ghost knows when you awake' it sounds more of a promise than a threat.
In fact the only thing that might cause consternation is the line 'That warm French vanilla / Mean coat with zippers / Bearskin robe dragon with Versace slippers' as it might be confusing to those of us who get our dressing gown and slippers from Next.
Wu-Tang for the children? Well, perhaps.
Percy Sledge, who left this world in 2015, was of course, the man who brought us the classic 'When a Man Loves a Woman' and he's in fine voice here on a gorgeous song that implores 'May every man be your brother'.
That seems a decent wish any season of the year.
