Thank you to all who have emailed, left messages or contacted some other way. Genuine gratitude to those who've pointed out the typos - I do really appreciate it - and a big titfer touch to those mad enough to ask me if I can suggest a Christmas record for their wife! I hope it worked for you.
Please visit the blog over Christmas as it helps the whole endeavour, but feel free to listen on Spotify and pass it on to your friends and family - whether you like them or not!
The Lifters are Ron Preyer, Terrence Brannon and Clarence Metheny and, following the toll of the bells, they are praying for love and peace and understanding for the world.
'Cos my time is your time and Yuletime is my time, baby!
It's time for love, not only now but beyond December. And why not?
December 24th. Another Christmas Eve. That noise is either one of two things; it's the sound of a man traipsing the West End hand-in-hand with the Ghost of Christmases Past but equally, this year, it could be me chewing on some humble pie.
On Day 7 of last year's Calendar was a version of 'Santa Baby' by the usually excellent Wolf Alice. I was very dismissive of it, saying 'File under Must Do Better' but actually it was me that needed to improve, because had I searched more thoroughly, I could have ignored the dull seven-year-old Eartha Kitt cover that I went with and replaced it with this dreamy, shimmering gem from December 2022.
With Christmas Eve falling on a Sunday this year I needed a Carol of substance, and though I try to avoid putting artists on the Calendar who've appeared the previous year I just couldn't leave this majestic, haunting rendition off.
Have a Peaceful Day and be with the one you love - wherever they are.
A gorgeous, gospel-tinged, festive tour-de-force - that voice! - that will have you reaching for the brandy and Christmas pudding flavoured crisps. If you get chills at four minutes odd when the strings and gospel choir come in, it might not be because the cat has pushed the door open.
A seasonal heartbreaker from Bear's Den - an Indie folk/country outfit from London - telling of how she left in '99 and nobody knows where she went but every year he hopes she'll return. Did he love her? Probably not, but he'll think of her this and every Christmas and wonder where she went and what he did 'cos that's what December is for.
An affecting video of a London street and a suspiciously empty pub make this an enchanting experience, and since we've all moved on apace from when this Calendar used to go out on a C90 cassette, I suppose this immersive audio - listen on your headphones! - stops only just short of a time when I will beaming this directly into your brain. Perhaps next year? Who can say?
I'll confide in the quiet Winter light gathering / Hoping to find / Some peace of mind / This Christmas, hopefully
There's nothing like a driving home for Christmas song and Ms Hackman has managed to capture the essence of a Winter's night on the road, snow in the headlights, heater up full, festive music on the radio, looking forward to getting home for a festive kummel and a bag of Tesco Finest Maple Nut Selection.
Echosmith were originally a quartet of siblings Sydney, Jamie, Graham and Noah Sierota from California - now a trio after the eldest Jamie left - and this is from a three-track Christmas single called, not unreasonably, 'An Echosmith Christmas' that features an Indie version of 'Happy Xmas (War is Over)' - better than you might have expected - and 'I Heard The Bells On Christmas Day' which is also worth a listen.
...Because it's Christmas in Hawaii but, seemingly, not in the West End, where yesterday I witnessed Christmas Trees being taken down in The Conran Shop in Marylebone High Street to accommodate the store sale. There's another week to got! I hope their tinsel has mites in and they escape and find solace in their furniture. No fate is too bad.
K.T Tunstall's version of the old Bing Crosby song is a pure delight and features a wonderous kazoo solo - and who doesn't want that? The Xylophone Union must have been happy when they got the call for this one too. But I realised as I was searching for K.T's version that there is also one by Jimmy Buffett who we sadly lost back in September and this Calendar does not want the loss of the man who gave us the wonderous 'Margaritatville' or who was half-responsible for the equally joyous 'It's Five o' Clock Somewhere' to go unrecognised so Jimmy's is being attached here too.
There needs to be room in your heart for both of them this Christmas. Unlike stores that take down their decorations a week before Christmas Day!
"I'll slide down your chimney and bring you lots of joy / What I got for you mama it's not just a toy"
Well, that certainly sounds exciting, doesn't it? I wonder what he has for her? I'm guessing one of those Air Fryer things. I'll be at the Royal Albert Hall tonight for Trevor Nelson's Soul Christmas so I need to be in a funky mood, and this seasonal stormer is guaranteed to get me doing my thang. I hope it gets you doing yours too.
Here's one for all geeks and nerds. Remember when Windows 95 came with an installation CD that had Weezer's 'Buddy Holly' song on it? The video where the band perform the track blended into scenes of TV's 'Happy Days' with the Fonz, Ritchie, Ralph and Potsie at Arnold's Drive-In?
Whaddya mean 'No, how old are you Grandad?' Cheeky *****! If you've not seen it then you need to.
Watching a video on a PC was rare then and the popularity of the song - and more significantly the video - was seismic. You could barely find anyone who had Windows 95 who hadn't watched it what seemed like a hundred times. It catapulted Weezer into the mainstream, landed them with a hit on both sides of the Atlantic and gave them a career they still have today.
Anyway, I mention this as Weezer have a six-song Christmas CD where every track sounds vaguely like 'Buddy Holly'. Want to hear 'O Come All Ye Faithful, 'The First Noel' or 'Hark, the Herald Angels Sing' and be reminded of Windows 95? Then 'Christmas With Weezer' is for you. It only lasts just under 15 minutes and is the record you didn't know you needed.
'We Wish You A Merry Christmas' is a Carol that's not been on the Calendar before and at 1' 24" it doesn't outstay its welcome either. Play it while you convert some MS-DOS files.
Well, if it's not the Bopping Elf himself on something of a festive rarity.
Mooted for release as a Christmas single in 1975, it was eventually pulled just as T-Rextasy started to wane. With that curious Glam / Soul hybrid that was permeating his output by then, had it been released it might just have provided Bolan with one last top-ten hit.
Meanwhile, our Marc implores us to:
Get out your silk jeans and your space shoes
And you know I would, but mine are still at the Dry Cleaners.
"The Orchids? Again, Blagg? Won't it mess with your latent OCD to have the same group on the same calendar?"
Well, au contraire mon ami because this isn't the same Orchids. Nearly 3,400 miles from Coventry comes this US version of the group of the same name with a lovely Christmas song just right for Friday party night.
I can't tell you much of interest about this group but what do you care? It's 2' 30"'s worth of opportunity to shuffle along with Tracy from HR.
A brilliant quote from the wonderful 'Nothing Compares', Kathryn Ferguson's documentary film about Sinead O' Connor that was made available on Netflix this year. It's well-worth watching.
Sadly, O'Connor died in July of this year, and though the documentary only scratches the surface of what a complex, fascinating and brave individual she was, it does underline her astonishing musical legacy and made me go back and listen to some things I'd missed.
In Calendar terms, I'm pleased to report that Sinead was on the very first edition of this nonsense back in 2007 and I'd link to the day (12) but, because the page was created on MySpace - Can you imagine such a thing? - you can only see the whole page and not the one day (Not that that should stop you, mind).
The song posted there was her version of 'Silent Night'. I've listened to a lot of versions since then (you can imagine!) but Sinead's breathless, sparse and haunting renitin is still my favourite by some distance. If you've not listened to it yet, then you must.
'When a Child is born' isn't a song that's appeared on the Calendar before and I suppose it should, so this version with Sinead accompanied by Danny O'Reilly from the Coronas and the full weight of the RTE Orchestra is probably the way to go, particularly as I can match it up on Spotify.
If the lush orchestration isn't for you though - and I could fully understand why - several live versions available on YouTube highlight Sinead's beautiful voice with sparse accompaniment. Many of those are taken on mobiles and capture the warmth and humour of someone who was taken far too early.
We've not had any Christmas Reggae for a while, so here's a great track from 1972 from New York-born Rupert. If this doesn't have you looking for the nutcrackers and trying to pick the end off the Sellotape then you probably need to see a doctor.
Plain White T's had a successful 2007 in the UK with a No:2 single 'Hey Dear Delilah' and a No: 3 album 'Every Second Counts'. In 1999, they released an EP called 'I'm Dreaming of a Plain White Christmas' which is a good title and I salute them for it. Feel free to seek that out, though this track isn't on it.
Instead, this offering from the Illinois four-piece outfit is a track from a Christmas sampler called 'All Wrapped Up' that features artists from the Hollywood Records label.
Christmas won't be the same without you. Ain't that the truth.
The Orchids could probably lay claim to being Britain's first girl group. Formed in the early 60s in Coventry and consisting of three 14-year-olds from Stoke Park Grammar School, Georgina Oliver, Pamela Jarman, and Valerie Jones found themselves with a Decca recording contract and in the orbit of people like Kinks manager Larry Page, who heard them at a talent contest and brought in top producer Shel Talmy - later to produce The Kinks, the Who and the Easybeats - to work with them.
Sadly, despite accumulating an enthusiastic following, the Orchids never made the big time, but despite some marketing techniques that would be considered unsuitable today - getting the girls to only perform in their school uniforms - their small legacy has endured mainly because their records owe a lot to early Tamla and 'Wall of Sound' Spector.
In 2016, the Orchids met up again as part of the celebration of the Coventry Music Museum providing us with a wonderful visual reminder of the passing of fifty years.
There's another reason I've added this to the Calendar though. When I found it originally, I was a bit puzzled by the quality of the video considering its age, but then discovered it's a clip from a film called 'Just For You' and I have a strong memory of my mum taking me to see this film when I was a small lad. So this is dedicated to anyone who hasn't got their mum with them this Christmas.
I'm thinking the Orchids should reform and tour with similarly-returning Girls Aloud and The Sugarbabes next year. Who wouldn't want a ticket for that?
"Every now and then an artist emerges whose vision is so unique that it creates an entirely new musical paradigm. Stretching the realm of technique by introducing harmonic or rhythmic contexts far removed from the norm, they're often unappreciated in their time, but the passage of years can ultimately bring recognition for their genius. Ornette Coleman was one such artist. Now we have singer Johnny "Bowtie" Barstow."
So says John Kelman back in 2005 on the allaboutjazz website. I assume those passage of years haven't yet reached fruition.
This comes from the album 'A Bowtie Christmas and More' and if you're 'unshackled by musical convention' and appreciate 'a truly emancipated harmonic approach' then you can enjoy other such Calendar favourites as 'O Come All Ye Faithful', 'Winter Wonderland' and 'Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer'.
The Blagg Advent Calendar: "He listens so you don't have to"
It's a Christmas shopping Saturday so time for one of Blagg's GOFGOF's (Get One Free, Get One Free) offers. This year I'm gong one better by adding another GOF. Hey! Times are hard, we need to help those without.
We sadly lost 96-year-old Harry Belafonte this year. Born Harry Bellanfanti and dubbed the 'king of Calypso' - even though his output also included blues, folk, gospel, world music and the American songbook - Belafonte can lay claim to being the first person to sell a million copies of an album with his 1956 'Calypso' LP.
Even had Belafonte just remained a recording artist his legacy would have been impressive, but as an actor and more importantly, a Civil Rights activist, the singer can rightly claim an extraordinary legacy that prompted U.S. President Joe Biden to declare that "Belafonte's accomplishments are legendary. He used his talent and voice to help redeem the soul of our nation" going on to say his "Compassion and respect for dignity will endure forever".
In terms of Christmas music, Belafonte can claim top spot for his festive classic 'Mary's Boy Child' that reached the No:1 in the UK charts in November 1957 and remained there for seven weeks. Written a year earlier by Jester Hairston, the song was originally composed as a calypso birthday tune before Christmas lyrics were added. Belafonte heard it and asked to record it.
The song remained a festive favourite and many recordings were made as it turned into something of a yuletide standard but it was Boney M who mashed it up superbly with 'Oh My Lord' and took it back to Number 1 in 1978, cementing it as a definitive Christmas song.
Meanwhile, back in 1962, traditional and folk singer Enoch Kent used the 'Boy Child' tune, called it 'Christmas Comes But Once A Year' and added his own denouncement of the season.
'Mary's Boy Child' has never appeared on the Calendar before so here are both versions together with Kent's other opinion on it. Incidentally, Belafonte's song is over four-minutes long, itself something of a ground-breaking venture at a time when 45 RPM's rarely lasted over 2' 30"
'Fairytale of New York' was on the very first Calendar. It resonates not only as the greatest Christmas song, but it means a lot to me for personal reasons. One of many, many brilliant songs in a staggering body of work, the loss is sad but the legacy is wonderful.
Yay! It's Friday and the first Christmas party night of the year and if this one is anything like the work Christmas parties I used to organise back in the 80s then by midnight this place will resemble the worst excesses of Roman bacchanalia.
I'm certainly going to be out jingling my bells later on, so here are Honey & the Bees with this joyous slice of festive Northern Soul to get you in the mood in case you want to join me.
A special word, by the way, to whoever was responsible for the bells on this. I hope he/she got a bonus.
Sixty years ago on November 23rd 1963 - the day after the Kennedy assassination - the very first episode of Dr Who aired. The series captured the imagination of children and adults alike becoming both a significant landmark in UK popular culture, and something of a national institution, this continues well into the second decade of the 21st Century where revealing the name of the next actor to play a newly regenerated Doctor is even announced on the main news.
The Daleks first appearance was just before Christmas 1963 in a seven-part story called 'The Dead Planet' and by 1964 there was barely anyone in the country who didn't know what a Dalek was.
What isn't as well-known is the fact the series also made a huge impact in L.A. prompting a young Belinda Carlisle and her friend Jane Wiedlin to join with Margot Olavarria and Elissa Bello to form the punk band the Go-Go's and release this monstrosity **
** Please don't email me to point out discrepancies in the above paragraph - it's just another example of my irrepressible festive humour.**
I saw Springsteen in Hyde Park in the summer and it reminded me that this track has never been on the Calendar and it really should be by now.
The song itself has only ever appeared once too, and that was the auspicious version by Joseph Spence (If you missed that one you should check it out at Joseph Spence ) so I think a more orthodox version is probably due.
Considering I've always said I'd walk a long way to see Springsteen live even if I wouldn't always walk to the back garden to listen to an album, it might seem odd to see I've decided to stick with the official audio version rather than pile through the live recordings available on YouTube, but I figure if you want to look then you can make the time for it.
Not the same song as Maria's, of course... or is it?
For Vince Vance aka Andy Stone aka Andrew John Franichevich Jnr is currently suing Carey for copywrite infringements as he believes his AIWFCIY - released in 1989 and so pre-dating Carey's by five years - contains certain chord sequences and a 'unique linguistic structure' that has been stolen from the song he composed with his writing partner Troy Powers.
Although it flew under the radar here in the UK, the Valiants song was a big hit on the Billboard Country chart for Vance, and was actually in the charts on re-release just 9 months before Mariah released her festive opus. Stone & Powers are claiming $20m in damages and, being as they are being represented by attorney Gerard P. Fox, who also represented the clients who sued Taylor Swift for infringement in the 'Shake It Off' case that ended in an undisclosed settlement, they may be feeling encouraged in getting a decent payday.
What do I think? Who cares? I'm just here to spin the hits. But I can say without any hesitation at all that I prefer the Vance song - the sax break is spine-tingling - and absolutely adore Lisa Layne's vocal and would much rather share an ASDA hot buttered Christmas Tree crumpet with Ms Layne than Maria any day of Advent.
In support of Vince, I've also decided to style my hair in a Vance style for Christmas.
'A Christmas Gift For You from Phillies Records' was released 60 years ago on November 22nd 1963. Producer Phil Spector believed it would cement his status as a pioneering producer and become his magnum opus, as well as catapulting his roster of recording artists into stardom. It did eventually, but not in the way he envisaged.
For 22/11/63 is an infamous date in history, as the album's release coincided with the assassination of President Kennedy. America and large parts of the world went into mourning and nobody wanted Christmas songs, however well-crafted. Chart placings were disappointing, and though the songs were regularly played on the radio over successive Christmases, there was a sense that the album was unappreciated.
It was the Beatles - who had broken up by then - who brought the album the critical and commercial success it undoubtably deserved, when their Apple Corporation re-released it as 'Phil Spector's Christmas Album' on the Apple label in 1972.
Phil Spector's fall from grace later in life is well-documented and when he died, still in prison, back in 2021, I mentioned on that year's Calendar how hard it was to eulogise the work of a man who had revolutionised music production and was responsible for some of the greatest records ever made but who was, nonetheless a murderer, so I'm going to say no more on Spector but just praise this stunning version of 'White Christmas' by the incomparable Darlene Love and, controversially claim that this is second only to Otis Redding's version of the many, many versions of the song available. Bing gets the bronze?
It's the first Advent Sunday of the year, so time for the first Carol, and what better way to celebrate than with a track from William Shatner's Christmas album 'Shatner Claus' - seriously, I'm not making this up! - better still, this is a Carol that has never previously featured on the Calendar. I'll let you decide if it was worth waiting for or not.
The hymn is monastic and there is evidence of it being sung in Latin in the 8th and 9th Century, before it was given an English translation in 1851 and featured in Hymns Ancient & Modern. How wonderful that Bill should be boldly going where men went long before.
The Primitives were formed in 1984 in Coventry and had an international hit with the power pop / post-punk gem 'Crash' in 1988. After disbanding in 1992, The Primitives reformed in 2009 and still tour with three of the members from the 'Crash' line-up. Here singer Tracy Tracy asks the pertinent question 'What good is a fairy without wings?' in familiar style, adding just a smattering of bells to make the whole thing tantalisingly festive.
As if starting to search for Christmas songs almost as soon as the last over of the Cricket season has been bowled isn't madness enough, I also like to impose some utterly pointless rules here at the Calendar.
Sundays, for instance, always need to be a Carol and the first day is always more seasonal than an outright Christmas song. This gives all those who moan every year about it all 'starting too early' time to get up into the loft and start moving the excess rolls of carpet to find the tree and the boxes of baubles, and that God-awful moose head you swear you'll throw out every January but never do.
Not that I think we need a sweetener this year; I've noticed even the TV studios that usually only get decorated on the 1st, were all given the make-over a week ago. Probably time to scrap the rule.
But not just yet...
I have a box set called 'Midwinter - the folk music of Christmas & the Turning of the Year'; a four disc set that starts with a superb reading by American poet Robert Frost of his beautiful 'Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening' which then segues into folk singer Steve Tilston's version of the traditional song 'Roving on a Winter's Night' sung with his then-wife Maggie Boyle.
The traditional version can take many forms but the Tilston version is a sparse, bitter tale of lost and unrequited love; sad and haunting, it strikes just the right amount of chill for a freezing December night, enhanced as it is by Frost's equally bleak poem - What promises has he to keep and where does he have to go? Is he Snow? Or death?- meaning only this version and the segue will do for me. As soon as I play it, Christmas has started and I'm searching for the Eggnog and brewing the mulled wine.
Unable to find it anywhere else, I've loaded it up to YouTube myself with some personal - and pertinent - pictures.
