Advent Calendar Day 12

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As today is Saturday I thought I’d do something a little different and make one of my rare forays into the pop charts (‘hi there, pop pickers’) for today’s two songs. I also couldn’t resist giving you a bonus song from the Department of the Obscure, too. Oh, and do you remember what I said yesterday about not theming these posts? Fake news – I’m taking a more serious route today.

First up is one that I expect everyone will know:

That reached #4 in the UK in December 1972 (though its best rating was #2 in 1980 – see below), and was a hit single in many other countries. It had previously been released in 1971 in the US, and has charted there on several occasions, as indeed it has here too.

The second song today is often regarded as a novelty Christmas hit, but underneath its jaunty tune lie some serious words:

That wasn’t a US hit, but it reached #3 here in 1980, and was a big chart hit in Australia, New Zealand, and in many European countries. It is a regular Christmas favourite here, and has reached the lower reaches of the charts a further seven times since its original release. I’m guessing that it will be new to most American readers, though. There is a kind of odd link between these songs: for one of the five weeks he spent at #3 Jona Lewie was held off the #1 spot here by two John Lennon songs, which hit the top again after he was murdered on 8 December of that year – one of them being Happy Xmas (War Is Over), the other was Imagine. Forty years on (and forty nine years) there is, sadly, still a relevance to both of these, which we shouldn’t ever forget, even at a time of celebration.

I would imagine that many of you are familiar with the story of the unofficial truces between German and British troops on Christmas Day 2014, during which gifts were exchanged and a game of football was played in the no-man’s land between the trenches. English readers won’t be surprised to hear that Germany won the game, without having to go to penalties. Completing my theme of songs about the serious side of Christmas-time conflicts, I give you this:

That video was released in 2014, to mark the centenary both of the Christmas truces and the beginning of WW1, although the song itself dates back to 1977. Not to be confused with the New Zealand folk singer with the same name, Mike Harding will be known to some here as a radio presenter of folk and roots music programmes, but he has also had a long career as a folk singer and songwriter of some note, with a wide range of publications and TV broadcasts to his name, plus many albums. Amongst all the other strings to his bow he has also been a stand up comedian, and actually had a #22 hit here in 1975 with his song The Rochdale Cowboy. I saw him play live a couple of times at my university’s folk club – he was a regular visitor, and his shows were almost as much a collection of extremely funny anecdotes as they were of music. But he also has a sensitive side, as this song demonstrates. The video for it is as beautiful and heartfelt as the song. To complete the story, 50% of the proceeds from the re-release were shared between the Royal British Legion and the Help For Heroes charity.

I make no apology for bringing you a selection of serious songs: just because it is nearly Christmas we shouldn’t forget the harsher side of life. But, as always, I’ll leave you with a little something to lighten the mood. It is our day for Strictly Come Dancing, after all:


Back again tomorrow 🎅

21 thoughts on “Advent Calendar Day 12”

  1. No apology needed, Clive. Life is full of serious and lighthearted times. As usual, you are right about your American followers. I was unfamiliar with the second and third selections. I found the images of the Mike Harding video to be perfect for the song. War is never glamorous, nor should it be portrayed that way.

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  4. Clive, I’ve decided your posts are the best Advent Calenders around! 😀😀I’m loving your music choices and today you featured one of my all-time favourite Xmas songs – Stop the Calvary! I still have the single – which was confiscated by my brother on the year of its release as I played it endlessly! Have a lovely weekend!

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  5. great selection of songs, I was only familiar with the John Lennon tune. It’s a shame that the messages behind these songs are still irrelevant.

    I am not too familiar with this truce for a football game (I assume you meant to say soccer 🙂 ) I’ll have to do some reading about it – sounds fascinating…

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