TV Cream

Pop

‘Merry Xmas Everybody’ by Slade

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H6YbLZf8i5I

Thus it was that with 1973’s trial run for the Winter Of Discontent hovering on the horizon, the man in the mirrored top hat decided he was having non of yer namby pamby glumness and with the aid of an old unfinished Slade song, an Harmonium borrowed from John Lennon, and some raucous shouting from the corridor outside the recording studio, crafted TV Cream’s Official Favourite Christmas Single Of All Time. With its you’re-going-to-Church-instead-of-playing-with-Stop-Boris opening, Glam Rock-refracted take on time-honoured Christmas preparations, droll Peter Kay-trouncing observations on having your relatives round for dinner, and ludicrously crowbarred-in pun on the band’s name, it’s more or less a three minute musical encapsulation of Christmas Like It Used To Be In The Cream Era, when cheap-and-cheerful crackers jostled for emblematic status with garish Glam-esque decorations, ITV sitcom specials, and Rowntree Macintosh selection boxes with those big chunky stylised snowmen and spiral-eyed reindeer on the front. As Cream-era clarion calls go, they don’t come much more iconic – or indeed much louder – than Noddy Holder bellowing “IT’S CHRIIIIIIIIST-MAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAS”. And, frankly, it never really is Christmas until you’ve heard it.

1 Comment

1 Comment

  1. Mark

    January 10, 2014 at 5:19 pm

    73 was a great year for music-period-and a bit mad, see Dandy Livingstone’s reggae effort ‘Big City’ with the mad synth noises, as reggae tried to wax with ‘modern’ music in vain.
    Funny i love this website because i thought it was only me that thought everything post 1980 was pure bollox and boring and soul-less (like the modern football ‘Lego identikit’ grounds of 2day in text speak…vomit)

    I sort of knew the 70’s were great, but was ‘in it’ so couldn’t see just why, till i was an adult (LOL) and could cherry pick why?..ok the power cuts were a pain (torch in the airing cupboard) but it was generally a SO HAPPY time…
    Al Martino ‘Spanish Eyes’ anyone?……maybe not THAT good then..

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