'Lonely This Christmas'

Talking of this blog serving as a Christmas Hits Jukebox I'd like to start off the festive hit selection with this No 1 single from MUD from 1974.  For a number of years in the late 70's and early 80's (typical me to go mad on someone or something when their/its most successful days were over) MUD were my favourite band. I used to love Les Gray especially and used to dream about being a singer like him. The strange thing though was the fact that I never really considered MUD to be a Rock N' Roll band but more of a rock group. Hits like 'Dyna-Mite' and 'Rocket' seemed more rocky to me that Rock N' Roll  but then I always have been an awkward git who sees and feels things other people don't (or simply wouldn't bother to!).

However I remember the band, there is no denying that MUD's performance of this song on the Christmas TOTP where its snowing and Les Gray has a ventriloquists dummy on his knee has to be one of the most memorable TOTP performances of all time. The decapitation job Les performs on the poor little guy Tommy Cooper would have been proud of! But then that is what I love so much about the 70's Glam Rock era. Bands/artists did not take themselves so seriously as they do today. There were a lot of 'charachters' in the charts (Alice Cooper, Roy Wood (more about him later), Alvin Stardust, Mark Bolan, David Bowie, and my idol (O.k. I made a bad choice but its true!) Gary Glitter and along with bands like The Sweet, Slade, the aforementioned Glitter Band and others musicians had real identities then. Today, I would not recognise most of the most popular musicians if they sat down next to me in a bar and offered me a drink? I mean, how many people in the 70's would have recognised Dave Mount - the drummer with MUD but can you even tell me who plays the drums for Coldplay?
I met Les Gray's brother, Pete, once but thats a story for another day - now on with the music...