It’s December, so naturally, as a big kid who adores this time of year, I’m breaking out the Christmas classics! For once, I’ll concede to another decade though – the 1970s definitely had the best Christmas tunes (Slade, Wizzard, Elton, Greg Lake, and Mike Oldfield help secure that crown), though the 80s is very close behind. This, and the next two posts, will feature classic 80s festive songs, and what a tune to start with, from the one and only Michael Barratt – better known to most of us as the one and only Shakin’ Stevens…
The artist
Born in Cardiff in 1948, Barratt’s recording and performing career began in the late 1960s. For someone so intrinsically linked to the 80s, that surprised me. Upon joining his first band, he adopted what he saw as being the slightly more rock & roll name which eventually brought him huge fame. In the late 70s, after years of constant touring and recording with his band Shakin’ Stevens and the Sunsets, he landed the lead role in a West End musical based on the life of Elvis. That role brough him to the attention of a number of record labels and he signed with a new manager who advised him to pursue a solo recording career – in hindsight, an incredibly wise move, which saw him become the UK’s biggest selling singles artist of the 1980s. Yes – you read that correctly – when it comes to UK singles, he outsold everyone else in the 80’s. No mean feat when you consider this was the era of Michael Jackson, Madonna, Prince, Wham / George Michael, Whitney Houston and many, many other iconic artists.
Shakey’s first solo single, Hotdog, reached number 24 in 1980, though he hit the top spot for the first time in 1981 with This Ol’ House, quickly followed by Green Door that same year. Oh Julie became the third of his four chart toppers in 1982 and he continued to have phenomenal success, certainly during the first half of the decade
Why I’ve chosen to write about this song
I’ll keep this one succinct! Because it’s December; because it’s one of my favourite Christmas songs of all time; and because it’s one of the most impossibly cheery, upbeat and positive festive tunes released to date.
The video
The video sees Shaky rocking a rather snazzy grey peacoat and red scarf combo, in what looks like a traditional Nordic setting, but was probably shot in the Yorkshire Dales. A particular highlight for me comes at the 30-second mark, when Shaky is given a sleigh-ride by a female elf who looks like she’s being held hostage and is wondering if she’ll get out of this alive – there is definitely a look of pure panic on her face as she glances from side to side, looking for an escape route. Then Shaky rolls up at the big man’s grotto, except the big man looks like a serial killer, the grotto is the scariest Christmas attraction on record (just take a look at those sinister mechanical elves…), and the kids look even more scared than the lady elf. Thank God for the more light-hearted snowball fight scene halfway through. It all ends with Jodie Foster turning up at the grotto and bumbling aimlessly around his pitch-black cellar whilst Santa stalks her whilst wearing night vision goggles. All in all, a classic 80s video, for all the wrong reasons.
* Disclaimer * Not all the facts listed here may be 100% accurate…
The stats
Thankfully, the great British public had sense and taste when it came to record buying in the 80’s. This song was originally recorded in 1984 though, in a thoroughly selfish (and completely understandable) way, Shaky delayed the release by a year, primarily as he saw how phenomenally successful Do They Know It’s Christmas and Last Christmas were going to be at that time. It’s a decision that paid off handsomely. Released a year later, the song charted at number 38 during the first week of December and hit the top spot two weeks later. It stayed at number 1 for a fortnight, claiming the coveted Christmas number 1 crown, holding off Whitney Houston’s Saving All My Love For You (a great song in its own right, but hardly a festive banger). The Christmas number one album was the magnificent Now – The Christmas Album, whilst the UK film charts at the time saw an ongoing battle for the top spot between Back to the Future and Santa Clause: The Movie. Have the UK charts ever been any more festive?!
The cover version
I’m trying not to use too many slowed down and stripped back cover versions within this blog, but when they’re as beautiful as this one, I can’t resist. Hannah Grace is an artist with incredible talent – you may know her better for her amazing cover of Fatboy Slim’s Praise You, which was used in a 2017 Lloyds Bank TV advert – and all her songs are well worth checking out, especially a good number of Christmas tunes she’s released. But please do give this a listen – grab a brew, find a comfy chair, and let yourself melt into the utter gorgeousness of this track.
The wrap-up
There are so many 80’s Christmas songs I could have delved into here – some very well known, some not so obvious – and I’m saving my favourite (which is also my favourite Christmas song of all time) for Christmas Eve – so it had to be Shaky, really. I don’t care that it’s saccharine sweet. I don’t care that the lyrics – when you look at them in isolation, without the music – could have been written by a 10-year-old. It’s just a bloody good Christmas song which always makes me smile, and that’s no bad thing…
Best wishes.
Mick
