'Goodies! Goodie Goodie Yum Yum'

Bar Monty Python, The Goodies 70's comedy shows must be about the most bizarre ever filmed. I was never a huge fan myself but there was something appealing about seeing Bill Oddie being chased by a HUGE version of Dougal from The Magic Roundabout!

The Goodies also managed to have a few hits in the mid 70's as well and 'Father Christmas Do Not Touch Me'  has to be one the least likely Christmas records to ever get played on the radio or get a sniff of a chance of appearing on a festive compilation these days because it would I venture be considered 'just a tad sexist'. It was actually really the lesser side of their 'Inbetweenies' hit single but I still think its a good laugh. I love the galloping hoof rhythm and the constant sleigh bells in the background and the 'song' itself is so 'gloriously 70's humour' I'd love to shut 'Harriet Harperson' in a room with it on constant replay for a few hours! (lol)

You'll NEVER get to hear this ancient Christmas tomfoolery anywhere else these days now so click on the link above and ENJOY!

'Christmas With A Dirty Old Man'

No, I'm not talking about me! The only stockings I get to play with over Christmas are the ones hanging from the end of my bed (should I have admitted that?) or on the end of the mantlepiece! (lol)

No, I'm talking about those annual 1970's Christmas episodes of 'Steptoe & Son' so brilliantly played by Harry H Corbett and Wilfred Bramble. As with a lot of 70's comedy a good deal of the jokes were either political side-swipes, about girls or making fun of 'foreigners'. Hardly PC at the best of times the humour may no longer be acceptable to a good few but I still think good, honest, 'say what you mean' comedy is far preferable to todays 'nicer on the surface of things' spiteful stuff thats full of swear words and obscenities...

What made Steptoe & Son so funny though was more to do with the visual comedy as much as the script. With its touch of slapstick, Bramble's characters DISGUSTING habits and lecherous tendencies and his BRILLIANT facial expressions you couldn't help but feel for the hapless Harold! I mean, who remembers the episode where the old man is having a bath in the kitchen sink! How many times does he drop food on the floor and then just put it back on Harold's plate - after giving it a good clean by wiping it on the sleeve of his ancient jumper!

As gross and UN PC as 70's comedies were swearing was never a part of the scene. There were no 'cheap laughs' every one had to be worked for and that meant having to put the hours into writing funny scripts. This festive episode from 1974 is a great example of the best and worst elements of the show depending on your point of view. Why not sit back and take another look?

'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!