'You Can't Take Christmas Away From Me'

Well folks, here it is! My Christmas video single for 2017.

It's an unusual kind of Christmas song in the respect that it is a sad one but the words in the chorus are positive and the tone of the whole thing is defiant - especially highlighted by the military drumming...

The song is dedicated to the two GREAT friends I have lost this year, Noreen Leach and Alan Gaywood and was inspired by Alan's total failure to know when he was beaten in life. Al suffered with epilepsy all of his life and was not expected to reach adulthood but in spite of everything he reached 50 and was self employed for most of his life. He was never a rich man nor was he lucky in love (because of his epilepsy) but he was ALWAYS a fighter and a very, very good friend to me. I miss him terribly and always will but no way will I let that stop me from remembering him!

This song is therefore a song about loss and how precious life truly is. There are no guarantees and things can change in a moment but what you have to do is appreciate what you have while you still have it and refuse to let sadness destroy you. In a way this song is like a 'Punk Anthem' to the universe in the respect that it is my way of sticking two fingers up to life and saying 'Screw you, I'm NOT going to let you spoil my Christmas'..

Alan and Noreen ( and all the others I have lost over the years) would want me to be happy this Christmas and I am going to be - for them if nothing else!!

The music here was composed by the VERY brilliant Mr. Harvey Summers (check out his GREAT new album 'Human' with Laura Cole) who continues to be an inspirational influence on me as well as another valued friend. Thanks mate for caring enough to make this one special.

Love to you all, be safe and HAPPY and have a MERRY CHRISTMAS xx

P.S.) I would also like to dedicate this song to my friend DALE SMITH in Michigan, U.S.A. who lost his mum this year. I'm thinking of you buddy - god bless...

'Zat You, Santa Claus?'

You know the more I listen to my copy of 'Cool Yule - A 50's Christmas' the more I love it! If I haven't convinced you to get yourself a copy yet then maybe this post will spur you into action. Louis Armstrong was a real enigma with his totally unique voice and with Jazz being all the rage in the 50's its amazing really that 'Satchmo' was only an occasional visitor to the U.K. charts during the decade.

'Zat You, Santa Claus?' (1953) by the great man is proving to be one of my favourite tracks from 'Cool Yule' and Louis sense of timing is just so brilliant on the track! Fun lyrics and that cool, groovy feel make the song the ultimate Christmas song. I have no idea whether the song was ever released here as a single but if it was it wasn't a hit. How often does that happen though? That an artists best work either fails to chart or is never released as a single, I mean? But then, in these days of downloads the 'single' format as we knew and loved it has been made redundant for now every track on any album is effectively a single and able to get into the charts if it sells enough copies...

Old fashioned me really HATES that, you know? There was something really exciting as a kid in the 70's about discovering your favourite artist or band had a new single out. The joys of discovering a great track on the 'b side' was all part of the fun as well and then, of course, there was the picture sleeve and (if the artist you loved was big enough) the excitement of seeing a new interview pop up in 'Record Mirror', 'Jackie', 'Popswap', 'Disco 45', 'Look-In' or other magazines/musical newspapers. Once the song was in the charts you could even delight in getting the lyrics in 'Disco 45' so you could sing a long yourself!

Sadly, all of that has now gone out of the window. Who really ever bothers putting together a CD single anymore? If they do chances are that it has only tracks on it from the parent album... There isn't anything for kids to collect anymore, tacky badges, sticker collections, picture discs have all passed away leaving only maybe a T Shirt or a 'Deluxe Edition' of an album to encourage anyone to take more than a casual listening interest in an artist.

So, I guess if I was able to get a message to old 'Satchmo' up in heaven today I would send him warm Christmas greetings and thank him for reminding me in 2013 of, the simple, innocent things in life and of my precious childhood. I know my inclusion of a Gary Glitter magazine cover is controversial here but I grew up loving Gary, his style and his music and however badly things have turned out since, I cannot simply re-write my whole life nor stop loving someone who is part of the very fabric of who I am. After all, as Christmas itself often proves to us all, loving someone does not always mean that you get on with them, understand them or can communicate with them, does it?
   

'December '73'

I had a great day yesterday in the recording studio with Harvey Summers and have now completed a decent demo of another Christmas song, 'December '73'. The song is not as Christmassy as some of my others in  traditional respect (there are no sleigh bells or church bells on the record) but it has got a bouncy, 70's pop feel about it and plenty of baritone sax blasts which give it a 'Wizzardy' feel a la 'I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday'. I am trying (over time) to record enough songs for a Christmas album but unemployment and dwindling savings will probably put paid to that project unless I can get back to earning decent wages again... Still, for now, I will just try to record the odd thing here and there to keep my hand in and see what happens.

My Youtube Christmas single (I 'release' one every Christmas) this year though is now likely to be a cover I did of David Essex' 'A Winters Tale'.

I have already put together a video for my version and will upload it to my Maybrick44 channel first week of Dec. Even though I love Christmas I do dislike the way all of the trees and decorations are put up in public places long before December. If those who currently say they hate Christmas hate it for one thing with a passion it is because the whole thing now starts earlier and earlier each year and has become so commercialised. I have to agree with them about that and think we really all ought to campaign more for Christmas to be confined to December.

Now, I know that is going to sound hypercritical seeing as I started this blog in the middle of October this year but I wanted to have plenty of festive musings here for those who catch on to this blog by the time Christmas actually comes. Christmas is as much about the build up as it is the BIG DAY and I just wanted to connect with a few like minded individuals to share in that build up.

I guess to be fair though that is the dilemma that faces most of the big companies and town councils as far as decorations go. I mean, if they leave it until the Christmas rush is beginning they don't have the time to put up the decorations or cope with it all, do they?

Oh well, ONE CALENDAR MONTH to the big one tomorrow! I hope you are doing well with getting all your presents in order early? I've only got two or three more to sort out so I'm relatively stress free! Hoping to spend next Sat in Battle, East Sussex enjoying the spectacle of Santa's arrival and the switching on of the Battle Christmas lights so Nov 30th will be when the official Christmas season starts for me this year!

Love to all. xx

'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!

'A Song For Christmas'

A project I am currently working on is the massive task of trying to collate a list of every U.K. Christmas hit single. As a lover of both music and Christmas I am loving the work and doing quite well so far. Some of the accepted Christmas hits like 'The Power Of Love' by Frankie Go To Hollywood I really cannot see the Christmas connection with but, hey, ho (or ho! ho!) if it jingles your bell then I guess its Christmassy! One of the best ever Christmas records (Sadly) not to make the chart was 'A Song For Christmas' by John Springate. The record was released twice in the early to mid 80's but failed to make the chart on either occasion. Rather than upload something universally popular to introduce the 'Christmas Video Jukebox' you can come to expect on here, I thought instead I would give you a chance to see the original video for 'A Song For Christmas'. From 1985, here John Springate himself, introduces the song and tells us a little about how the song came about and its history. John was of course a member of one of my fav Glam bands of the 1970's - The Glitter Band his sparkle for the festive season continues to brighten up my Dec 25th each year...