Attention: Please take a moment to consider our terms and conditions before posting.

Quirky British Christmas hits ?

13»

Comments

  • Bangkokaddick
    Bangkokaddick Posts: 4,295
    edited December 2024
    I just read the OP and had to check out Jasper Carrott's 12 Days of Christmas. This was originally done by a Scottish folk singer/comedian who I saw live a few times in the seventies, Bill Barclay, hence the Wee Heavy in the first verse. Give it a listen, it sounds better in a Scottish accent.

    A couple of my favourites:
    Frosty the Snowman by Leon Redbone and Dr John
    Back Door Santa by Clarence Carter
  • thetomahawkkid
    thetomahawkkid Posts: 763
    The twelve days of Christmas by the Spinners is a lively, fun classic. For an unusual one, I quite like Smith & Burrows When the Thames Froze.
  • red10
    red10 Posts: 834
    Hey Santa Clause you c@nt - Kevin Bloody Wilson (Ozzie tho)
  • IdleHans
    IdleHans Posts: 10,966
    https://youtu.be/h8ltx_orVFM?si=DtmMk5yxBfq36u-9

    Slf, white Christmas (live)
  • AddicksAddict
    AddicksAddict Posts: 15,783
    PragueAddick said:
    I found the Springsteen track: The Summit, Houston 1978, but Roger Scott must have got hold of the promo single that it first came out on, as it was only officially released relatively recently as part of his archive series. 

    Perplexity.ai tells me the  reference was really to the Subbuteo team  - and also that the song is a parody of "All I want for Christmas is my Two Front Teeth" - so we'll have to play them back to back! 
    Shame you can’t shoe in “I was a teenage, armchair Honved fan”. 
  • PragueAddick
    PragueAddick Posts: 22,145
     Keep em coming. I have to think about how the hell we follow this up next year 😉 the Greedies is on Apple Music, happy days, need to be legit. 😉
  • Redvaliant
    Redvaliant Posts: 514
    PragueAddick said:
    Everyone, thanks again for your suggestions, several of which are already on the playlist.

    I've got two follow-ups. One is re the lyrics of "Dukla Prague away kit" which I'm going to have to explain, live, on air, and probably in Czech😂. Is the away kit on the Subbuteo team, or is the kid himself wearing the kit while he's playing? 

    Now I've got another track I want to get hold of if possible. It's Springsteen doing "Santa Claus is coming to town', live. BUT not the version that's easy enough to find. The one I'm after starts with Bruce doing an opening monologue wherein he talks about "Me' n' Steve" (van Zandt) walking at night down a snowy street (I suppose Asbury Park), and then some kind of Christmas magic happens. It's pretty old - in my fading memory bank, I  heard it on Capital Radio back in the day,  played by Roger Scott, who was an early Springsteen champion. If this jogs the memory of any Springsteen fan, please lead me to it. Cheers!
    There is another Springsteen version recorded in December 1975 at the CW Post College Greenvale NY.
  • lolwray
    lolwray Posts: 4,900
    The little boy who Santa Claus forgot..Nat King Cole 
  • IdleHans
    IdleHans Posts: 10,966
    https://youtu.be/wH2umxtA_sc?si=MB3leuPvb54_i83W

    Make of this what you will
  • SuedeAdidas
    SuedeAdidas Posts: 7,741
    All I want for Christmas is a clean sheet win. 
  • Sponsored links:



  • PragueAddick
    PragueAddick Posts: 22,145
    Redvaliant said:
    PragueAddick said:
    Everyone, thanks again for your suggestions, several of which are already on the playlist.

    I've got two follow-ups. One is re the lyrics of "Dukla Prague away kit" which I'm going to have to explain, live, on air, and probably in Czech😂. Is the away kit on the Subbuteo team, or is the kid himself wearing the kit while he's playing? 

    Now I've got another track I want to get hold of if possible. It's Springsteen doing "Santa Claus is coming to town', live. BUT not the version that's easy enough to find. The one I'm after starts with Bruce doing an opening monologue wherein he talks about "Me' n' Steve" (van Zandt) walking at night down a snowy street (I suppose Asbury Park), and then some kind of Christmas magic happens. It's pretty old - in my fading memory bank, I  heard it on Capital Radio back in the day,  played by Roger Scott, who was an early Springsteen champion. If this jogs the memory of any Springsteen fan, please lead me to it. Cheers!
    There is another Springsteen version recorded in December 1975 at the CW Post College Greenvale NY.
    I’ve read about that one, but so far not heard it. But I found the one  I was talking about. Had to download and convert it  from a You Tube vid. They have released an album of the whole concert, but on this track they omitted the intro spiel, so I passed on that. Odd thing to do.
  • IdleHans
    IdleHans Posts: 10,966
    edited December 2024
    https://youtu.be/cxqQtUQErhQ?si=9Xvz70mh14SDdsfM

    Surprised this isn't on the list yet (HMHB)
    (It probably is and I've just missed it)
  • aliwibble
    aliwibble Posts: 26,290
    Chizz, post 2 :)
  • HerneBayaddick
    HerneBayaddick Posts: 45
    Henry Irving said:
    Ring out Solstice Bells - Jethro Tull

    Guadete - Steeleye Span

    Must be Christmas - The Band (Canadian but it's brilliant)

    And if you want really quirky and very British how about this recording of an unknown homeless man from 1971

     Gavin Bryars - Jesus Blood never failed me yet (full, audio only, no visual) - YouTube
    Went to see Gavin Bryars perform Jesus Blood at Canterbury Cathedral earlier this year. Hasten to add it wasn’t the 12 hour version! 
  • ken_shabby
    ken_shabby Posts: 6,255
    Don't know if it qualifies as quirky, but the Mike Oldfield version of In Dulce Jubilo where he plays all the instruments is a favourite.
    Plus Smashmouth - Better do it Right.
  • Mr. Happy
    Mr. Happy Posts: 653
    The Damned - There ain't no sanity clause
  • killerandflash
    killerandflash Posts: 69,846
    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c7854rp9r1ro

    A BBC article about the Sunderland punk band Toy Dolls's version of Nellie the Elephant, which got to No 4 at Christmas 1984, selling half a million copies!
  • Gillis
    Gillis Posts: 998
    This may cross the line from quirky into surreal, but around 10 years ago, while in his early 90s, Christopher Lee recorded a few heavy metal Christmas songs.



  • aliwibble
    aliwibble Posts: 26,290
    edited December 2024
    I'm finding the concept of a heavy metal version of Silent Night a tad incongruous.
    ETA, gone to have a look on youtube, and that was deeply disappointing. Metal guitar noodling overlaid on a vocal of a completely different tempo. However, the filked version of Hark The Herald Angels Sing is quite fun:

  • PragueAddick
    PragueAddick Posts: 22,145
    So, thanks again for all your suggestions. If you have nothing better to listen to, you can find it on the web easy enough from the website of Radio 1 Prague or any internet radio app.

    It starts a bit early for UK listeners at 08.00, which is a pity because the third track in will be...The Red Red Robin, preceded by a fulsome shoutout to you lot (in Czech) from Tomáš. And btw on his Saturday morning show he was promoting this and Charlton got two mentions! And we all know what happened a few hours later😀. 

    We decided to do a straw poll on two songs. Inexplicably, Slade's "Merry Christmas " is in his view the best mainstream rock Christmas number. I forgive him since he's never had to endure a British Christmas. Anyway we are going to run it back to back with The Greedies track (thanks again @IdleHans), and then put it to the audience to  vote on.  So do please feel free to play them both and then send your vote in here - overseas voters can vote early and vote often :)


  • Sponsored links:



  • IdleHans
    IdleHans Posts: 10,966
    Slade every time. Hearing that signifies the start of the run in to Christmas for me.
  • Henry Irving
    Henry Irving Posts: 85,221
    Slade
  • Henry Irving
    Henry Irving Posts: 85,221
    Although still shocked you hadn't heard of The Band
  • Stuart_the_Red
    Stuart_the_Red Posts: 1,850
    It isn‘t Christmas umtil Noddy shouts “It’s Christmaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaasssss!”!
  • UEAAddick
    UEAAddick Posts: 512
    All I want for Chrismas is A Dukla Prague Away Kit
  • PragueAddick
    PragueAddick Posts: 22,145
    Henry Irving said:
    Although still shocked you hadn't heard of The Band
    You threw me off the scent with the Canadian thing. And you got the name of the song wrong! 

    But its on the list for next year :)
  • Gribbo
    Gribbo Posts: 8,484
    Got my own leather wallet gifted back to me from my mum once. 

    Not so much quirky, just shit
  • Stig
    Stig Posts: 29,023
    PragueAddick said:
    So, thanks again for all your suggestions. If you have nothing better to listen to, you can find it on the web easy enough from the website of Radio 1 Prague or any internet radio app.

    It starts a bit early for UK listeners at 08.00, which is a pity because the third track in will be...The Red Red Robin, preceded by a fulsome shoutout to you lot (in Czech) from Tomáš. And btw on his Saturday morning show he was promoting this and Charlton got two mentions! And we all know what happened a few hours later😀. 

    We decided to do a straw poll on two songs. Inexplicably, Slade's "Merry Christmas " is in his view the best mainstream rock Christmas number. I forgive him since he's never had to endure a British Christmas. Anyway we are going to run it back to back with The Greedies track (thanks again @IdleHans), and then put it to the audience to  vote on.  So do please feel free to play them both and then send your vote in here - overseas voters can vote early and vote often :)


    Got to be Slade, which is a real classic. I'd never heard of Greedies before this thread, tbh I wish it had stayed that way. Ever get the feeling you've been cheated?

Categories

“Marketplace”