FIRST HOUR
Magic (Pilot)
(1974) .... much played song which just missed out on the Top 10 in the run-up to Christmas. Thankfully Pilot more than made up for that slight disappointment with January, which topped the chart for three weeks early in '75
Rudi's In Love (The Locomotive)
(1968) ... band with a rock-steady ska sound which they would leave behind within a year or two, switching to prog rock
Me Myself I (Joan Armatrading)
... she had steadily built up a following during the '70s as a singer-songwriter, but with just the one big hit to her name, Love And Affection. After a four-year wait, that was finally about to change - in the first of today's featured years
Seasonal scenes indoors and outdoors
Deck The Halls (The Roches)
(1990) ... ...a trio of Irish-American sisters from New Jersey who had their first big break as backing singers on Paul Simon's 1973 album There Goes Rhymin' Simon. Fast forward to 1990, they released an album of Christmas standards We Three Kings which attracted renewed interest in the UK in the 2000s when BBC Radio 2 added a couple of tracks to its December playlist. * Deck the Halls (originally titled "Deck the Hall") is a traditional Christmas carol. The melody is Welsh, dating back to the sixteenth century and belongs to a winter carol, "Nos Galan", while the English lyrics, written by the Scottish musician Thomas Oliphant, date from 1862 * [ * W]
It's A Marshmallow World (Darlene Love)
(1963) ... a snow scene in a song from a much older seasonal standards album, A Christmas Gift For You, produced by Phil Spector and showcasing his roster of artists
Another song each from The Roches and Darlene Love in the second hour of the show
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Ring Out Solstice Bells (Jethro Tull)
(1976) ... quirky seasonal single in celebration of the Winter Solstice, the day with the shortest daylight hours, in the week before Christmas
Newsround Tameside: 42 years ago ~ 1980
Runaway Boys (The Stray Cats)
... first of a handful of hits by the band who made rockabilly cool again. Lead singer Brian Setzer, his bright blond hair topped by a quiff, played no small part in getting them noticed, with a memorable first appearance on Top of the Pops virtually guaranteeing a place in the Top 10
Feels Like I'm In Love (Kelly Marie)
... written by Mungo Jerry singer Ray Dorset, originally with Elvis Presley in mind. A decade on from In The Summertime, Feels Like I'm In Love gave him his second UK # 1 as a songwriter
Start (The Jam)
... second of their two Number Ones in 1980 - following Going Underground. Two more would follow ~ Town Called Malice and Beat Surrender, both in '82
December Will Be Magic Again (Kate Bush)
... who else could write a seasonal song which brings together a husky on the ice, Bing Crosby singing White Christmas and Santa (Saint Nicholas) up the chimney?! ~ and that's just the first verse...
(Just Like) Starting Over (John Lennon)
... lead single from Lennon's eagerly awaited first album for five years which became a posthumous No.1 as millions mourned the 40-year-old former Beatle, who was shot outside his New York apartment on the evening of 8th December and died a short time later
Stop The Cavalry (Jona Lewie)
(1980) ... a refreshing change from your typical happy-go-lucky, jolly jingle bells, sleigh riding Santa kind of Christmas song from the man who had recently charted with You'll Always Find Me In The Kitchen At Parties (1980, # 16) Stop The Cavalry made the Top 3, his biggest hit since 1972's Seaside Shuffle under the alias Terry Dactyl & The Dinosaurs
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In Dulci Jubilo (Mike Oldfield)
(1975) ... multi instrumentalist previously best known for the concept albums Tubular Bells and Hergest Ridge, re-working a traditional Christmas carol ~ English title: Good Christian Men Rejoice
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SECOND HOUR
Hello Goodbye (The Beatles)
(1967)... fourth and final Christmas No.1s by the Fab Four, none of which were the slightest bit festive, such was the way of the music scene and particularly the singles chart during the '60s
Good King Wenceslas (The Roches)
(1990) .... the sisters' version of the much-loved storytelling carol is one of the standout tracks on their album We Three Kings ( see Deck The Halls, first hour).
Gypsies Tramps and Thieves (Cher)
... teaser track for today's second featured year ~ her first US chart-topper which made the Top 5 here, in ireland, Australia and New Zealand
Absolutely Lyricless ~ the instrumental break
... two sleigh rides for the price of one, timelessly festive cheery tunes
Sleigh Ride (Ron Goodwin & His Orchestra)
(1967) ... a sparkling performance of one of those timeless tunes which are everywhere at this time of year, with or without vocals, wherever you go, as much a part of the festive season as mince pies and turkey. Sleigh Ride was written - and first recorded - by famous post-war American
composer Leroy Anderson ~ in the middle of a heatwave. Ron Goodwin pulls out all the stops with my favourite version of the many I've heard and played on the radio over many years - it was originally on a budget priced EMI Studio 2 album, Christmas Wonderland
Troika ** (Chicago Symphony Orchestra)
(1978) ... famous sleigh riding tune from the Lieutenant Kije Suite by Prokofiev. It's the classical work which inspired Greg Lake song I Believe In Father Christmas.(** Russian word which literally means 'three of a kind', referring here to a three-horse open sleigh)
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Bless The Weak (Daniel Takes A Train)
(2022)... another play for the bona fide '80s band stepping through the time tunnel once again with a brand new charity single for 2022. Echoes of REM and The Police - according to two of the positive reviews the song has had so far. For me, after several plays, I'm thinking Paul Heaton / Housemartins. The song is released in partnership with the leading housing charity Shelter - "every stream with help a great cause": https://open.spotify.com/track/7DRT8hD8vsqqjHXLoYHLiT?si=ed2c72b1315d4ed7
Newsround pre-Tameside: 51 years ago ~ 1971
Something Tells Me (Something's Going To Happen Tonight) (Cilla Black)
... the song which took over from Step Inside Love as the opening theme of her BBC telly show ~ and went on to be a Top 3 hit
Coz I Luv You (Slade)
(1971) ... two years before Merry Christmas Everybody (their sixth and final No.1) this was their first, kicking off a fantastic run of success which continued on and off into the '80s and early '90s
No Matter How I Try (Gilbert O' Sullivan)
... one of several singles which made Gilbert one of the biggest chart stars of the '70s. Since then, he has continued to write and record his own songs After more than 50 years, his fan-base remains as impressive and as loyal as ever
Run Baby Run (The Newbeats)
... Northern Soul favourite which finally became a big hit here, six years after its original US release. Bread and Butter (1964, # 15) was their only other chart placing this side of the pond
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White Christmas (Darlene Love)
(1963) .... side one, track one on the all stars' album A Christmas Gift For You (see It's A Marshmallow World, first hour). Darlene was given four songs, compared with three each for The Crystals and The Ronettes and two for Bob B Soxx & The Blue Jeans
A Christmas Song (Shawn Phillips)
(1972) ... he first had the idea for the song on a visit to Rome around Christmas 1969, but it was a couple of years later that he finally got round to recording it. Sounding very spontaneous and unrehearsed at the start, it's a very hummable folk song with a carnival atmosphere and a jazzy ending. The lyrics manage to link the biblical significance of Christmas and Easter with a general message of love and peace, and good will to all humankind which should last all through the year. And so say all of us.
A Merry Jingle (The Greedies)
(1979) ... one-off festive stomper by a short-lived supergroup featuring Phil Lynott, his Thin Lizzy bandmates Scott Gorham and Brian Downey, together with Sex Pistols Steve Jones and Paul Cook
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SHOW THEME:
Rhapsody In Blue (Rick Wakeman)
written by George Gershwin, arranged by Tony Visconti
from the album Rhapsodies (A&M Records, 1979)
[W]: Source: Wikipedia
If you missed any of the show, you can catch up online after 15:00 on Sunday 18/12/2022:
https://www.questmedianetwork.co.uk/on-demand/
