'Hey, Mr Christmas!'

One of the more enduring (for me at least) Christmas hits from my childhood years was 'Hey Mr Christmas' by Showaddywaddy. Its all festive sleigh bells and happy go lucky rock n' roll feel still sounds perfect to me at a Christmas party or blaring out of the radio on a cold and frosty day. Strangely, however, it has become rather a 'forgotten song' as far as Christmas hit compilations are concerned these days. Every year the 'Now, That's What I Call Christmas' compilation is re-released (often with only a few different tracks from before) and the 'old favourites' like 'Merry Christmas Everybody' by Slade, A Fairytale From New York' by The Pogues and Kirsty Mc Coll,  'Last Christmas' by Wham and such like almost always make the party but 'Hey Mister Christmas' does not...

I know the song was not as HUGE a hit as those hits (it reached no 13 in Dec 1974) but Showaddywaddy were one of the most popular bands of the 1970's so you'd think their hits would crop up on compilations more. Checking Youtube for a suitable video of the song to post a link to here, I came across the one below. Not only does it remind us that Showaddywaddy member, Buddy Gask, is no longer with us it contains a good few pics of the other band members (and I assume their families and kids) how they look now. Boy, how different do these guys look now than when I remember them on TOTP virtually every week...

As well as being a pleasant reminder to me of a wonderfully fun era in pop music history, I really do think 'Hey Mister Christmas' is a cracking Christmas record. The video above also serves to advertise just how time flies and life is incredibly short so the message is I guess if you love something or someone make the most of every precious moment - festive or not...

THANKS GUYS (Showaddywaddy) for such a timeless Christmas classic - you still get me 'Rockin' around my Christmas tree!