What’s up, dudes? It’s one of the greatest Christmas songs ever written and recorded, but most of us Americans have never heard of it! Adam Parker Sibun from Merry Britsmas is here with me to talk all about the Shakin’ Stevens classic “Merry Christmas, Everyone!”
In the summer of 1984, composer Bob Heatlie wrote and recorded his demo for the song in sweltering heat. The song was written specifically for Shakin’ Stevens whom Heatlie had worked with before. Heatlie told the Guardian that: “I wrote the song in summer, during a heatwave. It was so hot I was wearing shorts, dripping in sweat, standing there recording with jingling bells, thinking, ‘This is crazy!'”
In order to avoid competition for the coveted Christmas No. 1 position from Wham’s “Last Christmas” and Band Aid’s “Do They Know It’s Christmas,” the decision was made to release the song in ’85, despite being completely recorded and produced the prior year. The gamble paid off, and the song reached #1.
The music video features a young girl catching a flight to Santaworld, where she meets Shakin’ Stevens in a now-famous red and black Christmas sweater. She’s also greeted in Lapland by a barbarous Santa, a shack-ful of kids breaking child labor laws, and a snowman. Merry Christmas, everyone indeed!
Early rock ‘n roll/rockabilly arrangement? Yep. Upbeat tempo? Of course! A very murderous looking Santa Claus? Why, indubitably! So grab your favorite Christmas sweater, have a party tonight, and share a kiss under the mistletoe to this episode!
Merry Britsmas
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Author: Gerry D / Adam Parker Sibun
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