Get me to a shopping mall in the run up to Christmas and within nanoseconds of entering the place I’ll be in touch with my inner brain-dead, snail-paced, zombie window shopper with absolutely no sense of purpose or direction. It’s not an ideal space to be in but at least I won’t notice the endless onslaught of repeated plays of those Slade and Roy Wood Christmas songs. Over the years they’ve become as much a part of Christmas as indigestion. I’m sorry, Roy, but thank God it’s not Christmas every day.
The Italian and I both love music as much as we love food. So the other day we compared notes on what music was likely to feature on our Christmas playlists. It’s a mix of jazz, carols and pop.
I’ll be kicking off with traditional carols on Christmas Eve; the carol service at St Paul’s Cathedral in London has become an annual trip for me.
The Italian will probably ease into Christmas Day and unwrap his pressies to something Italian, like Dean Martin’s ‘Christmas with Dino’.
We both agreed that preparing Christmas lunch just wouldn’t be complete without Nat King Cole crooning ‘The Christmas Song’ in the background. Some years ago a girlfriend and I drove to Tower Records in Piccadilly Circus late one Christmas Eve, the store used to be open until midnight in those days, just to buy a Nat King Cole album to play on Christmas morning. The girlfriend’s long gone but the important thing is I’ve still got the album.
Bing Crosby’s another favourite of The Italian’s, he says his dad used to sing ‘I’m Dreaming Of A White Christmas’, and he’ll also be giving Ella and Louis a spin, particularly ‘Baby it’s Cold Outside’.
I’ll probably get the Phil Spector Christmas album out at some point, unwinding with a large malt whisky with The Ronettes singing ‘Frosty the Snowman’ sounds like a plan.
Then again, I could get into the funky festive spirit with James Brown’s ‘Merry Christmas Baby’.
Let us know what music you’ll be playing over Christmas – a prize for the most interesting reply.
‘A Christmas Gift For You from Phil Spector’ – Various Artistes
‘Christmas with Dino’ – Dean Martin
‘Merry Christmas’ – Nat King Cole
‘Christmas with Nat and Dean’ – Nat King Cole and Dean Martin
‘White Christmas’ – Bing Crosby
‘Funky Christmas’ – James Brown
We'd love to know what you think