December the three-th, and it will soon be time to put the sprouts on (a reference only British readers will get!). I’m getting into the swing of this now, and I’ve made the momentous decision that, having given you two videos on each of the first two days, I’ll keep on doing that. I have a fairly large library of these so there’s no danger of running out. Today’s first one is a long-time favourite of mine, from one of my favourite bands:

That one dates back to the period when just about every band was aiming for chart success with a Christmas song. Some were better than others, this being a case in point. This is described as a promotional video, and I’m pretty sure it was shown on Top Of The Pops back then. This was released on an EP containing four tracks, and reached the dizzy heights of #28 here. It also got to #78 on being re-released as part of another EP in 2004. The band has also recorded a couple of other Christmas songs, which were album tracks and B-sides until they were brought together in 2003 as part of The Jethro Tull Christmas Album. They also played several Christmas concerts in one of the medium sized London churches – I wish I’d been able to get a ticket! As well as being one of my favourite Christmas songs, this one comes with a lovely animated video.

My second song today also has a great video. I guess this counts as animated, too:

Chris de Burgh has been rather looked down on by ‘serious’ music lovers (e.g. me) since the execrable Lady In Red, but there is no denying that some of his earlier stuff is very good. The song was originally released on his 1975 album Spanish Train And Other Stories, and was a #1 hit in his half-native Ireland. A re-recorded version (this may be it, I’m not sure!) was released in 1986 to cash in on the success of the aforementioned vomit-inducer, and reached #40 here. On its original release the song was deemed blasphemous and was banned in South Africa – but only on the vinyl album, as the cassette version was allowed to slip through. Weird, or what? Another footnote: the video was the winning entry in a competition, and I think it’s rather lovely.

I leave you, as ever, with today’s public service announcement:

See you again tomorrow.