A Christmas Wish

I Would Like To Wish Everyone A Very Merry Christmas Time. Hope You All Have A Great time And See You All In The New Year.

From Michael.

Bear Force One - Christmas Is Here - Video

Here is a bit of fun video from a couple of years ago

A Very Special Christmas - Album

'A Very Special Christmas' is the title of an ongoing series of Christmas music compilation albums that benefit Special Olympics. It features songs performed by artists from a variety of genres, such as U2, Stevie Nicks, Bon Jovi, Madonna, No Doubt, Whitney Houston, Run–D.M.C., Willie Nelson and Bruce Springsteen.

The first album was released iin 1987 and was the brainchild of music producer Jimmy Iovine, who wanted to produce a Christmas album as a memorial to his father. The idea of the record benefiting Special Olympics was suggested by Iovine's wife Vicki, as she was a volunteer for the organization.

Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss, the founders of A&M Records, along with Bobby Shriver, helped the Iovines realize the project. Since the release of the first album, the series has raised over $100 million for Special Olympics, more than any other benefit series. The album cover art is designed by artist Keith Haring.

Tracklisting:

01 - The Pointer Sisters - Santa Claus Is Coming to Town
02 - Eurythmics - Winter Wonderland
03 - Whitney Houston - Do You Hear What I Hear?
04 - Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band - Merry Christmas Baby
05 - The Pretenders - Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas
06 - John Cougar Mellencamp - I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus
07 - Sting - Gabriel's Message
08 - Run D.M.C. - Christmas in Hollis
09 - U2 - Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)
10 - Madonna - Santa Baby
11 - Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band - The Little Drummer Boy
12 - Bryan Adams - Run Rudolph Run
13 - Bon Jovi - Back Door Santa
14 - Alison Moyet - The Coventry Carol
15 - Stevie Nicks - Silent Night

Click the link below to download the album:

http://www.mediafire.com/?sharekey=2ccb7d0cd98a6267aaca48175a79d1c32851e5e3364dbd8761390143435ec59c

Band Aid - Do They Know It's Christmas

Band Aid were a British and Irish charity supergroup, founded in 1984 by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure in order to raise money for famine relief in Ethiopia by releasing the record 'Do They Know It's Christmas?' for the Christmas market. The single surpassed the hopes of the producers to become the Christmas number one on that release. Two subsequent re-recordings of the song to raise further money for charity also topped the charts.

The original was produced by Midge Ure. The 12" version was mixed by Trevor Horn. The name 'Band Aid' was chosen as a pun on the name of a well known brand of adhesive bandage, also referring to musicians working as a band to provide aid and alluding to the fact that any help stemming from their efforts is likened to a band-aid on a very serious wound. The group has formed on three occasions, each time from the most successful British and Irish pop music performers of the time, to record the same song at the same time of year.

The original 1984 Feed The World logo was based on a pencil sketch by Bob Geldof after watching a BBC television news report by Michael Buerk from famine-stricken Ethiopia. Geldof was so moved by the plight of starving children that he decided to try and raise money using his contacts in pop music. Geldof enlisted the help of Midge Ure, from the group Ultravox, to help produce a charity record.

Ure took Geldof's lyrics, and created the melody and backing track for the record. Geldof called many of the most popular British and Irish performers of the time (Kool & The Gang and Jody Watley were the only Americans present at the original recording), persuading them to give their time free. His one criterion for selection was how famous they were, in order to maximise sales of the record. He then kept an appointment to appear on a show on BBC Radio 1, with Richard Skinner, but instead of promoting the new Boomtown Rats material as planned, he announced the plan for Band Aid.

The recording studio gave Band Aid no more than 24 free hours to record and mix the record, on 25 November 1984. The recording took place between 11am and 7pm, and was filmed by director Nigel Dick to be released as the pop video though some basic tracks had been recorded the day before at Midge Ure's home studio. The first tracks to be recorded were the group / choir choruses which were filmed by the international press. The footage was rushed to newsrooms where it aired while the remainder of the recording process continued. Later drums by Phil Collins were recorded, including the memorable opening 'African Drum' beat. But in reality, the introduction of the song features a slowed down sample from a Tears for Fears' track called 'The Hurting', released in 1983.

Tony Hadley, of Spandau Ballet, was the first to record his vocal, while a section sung by Status Quo was deemed unusable, and replaced with section comprising Paul Weller, Sting, and Glenn Gregory. Paul Young has since admitted, in a documentary, that he knew his opening lines were written for David Bowie, who was not able to make the recording but made a contribution to the B-side (Bowie performed his lines at the Live Aid concert the following year). Boy George arrived last at 6pm, after Geldof woke him up by 'phone to have him flown over from New York on Concorde to record his solo part. (At the time Culture Club was in the middle of a US tour.)

The following morning, Geldof appeared on the Radio 1 breakfast show with Mike Read, to promote the record further and promise that every penny would go to the cause. This led to a stand-off with the British Government, who refused to waive the VAT on the sales of the single. Geldof made the headlines by publicly standing up to Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and, sensing the strength of public feeling, the government backed down and donated the tax back to the charity. The record was released on 29 November, and went straight to No. 1 in the UK singles chart, outselling all the other records in the chart put together. It became the fastest- selling single of all time in the UK, selling a million copies in the first week alone. It stayed at Number 1 for five weeks, selling over three million copies and becoming easily the biggest-selling single of all time in the UK. It has since been surpassed by Elton John's 'Candle In The Wind 1997' (his tribute to Diana, Princess of Wales) but it is likely to keep selling in different versions for many years to come.

After Live Aid, 'Do They Know It's Christmas?' was re-released in late 1985 in a set that included a special-edition 'picture disc' version, modeled after the Live Aid logo with 'Band' in place of 'Live'. An added bonus, 'One Year On' (a statement from Geldof and Ure on the telephone) was available as a b-side. 'One Year On' can also be found in transcript form in a booklet which was included in the DVD set of Live Aid, the first disc of which features the BBC news report, as well as the Band Aid video.

The original Band Aid ensemble consisted of (in sleeve order):

Adam Clayton (U2)
Queen
Phil Collins (Genesis, solo)
Bob Geldof (The Boomtown Rats)
Steve Norman (Spandau Ballet)
Chris Cross (Ultravox)
John Taylor (Duran Duran)
Paul Young
Tony Hadley (Spandau Ballet)
Glenn Gregory (Heaven 17)
Simon Le Bon (Duran Duran)
Simon Crowe (The Boomtown Rats)
Marilyn
Keren Woodward (Bananarama)
Martin Kemp (Spandau Ballet)
Jody Watley (Shalamar)
Bono (U2)
Paul Weller (The Style Council)
James "J.T." Taylor (Kool & the Gang)
George Michael (Wham!)
Midge Ure (Ultravox)
Martyn Ware (Heaven 17)
John Keeble (Spandau Ballet)
Gary Kemp (Spandau Ballet)
Roger Taylor (Duran Duran)
Sarah Dallin (Bananarama)
Siobhan Fahey (Bananarama)
Pete Briquette (The Boomtown Rats)
Francis Rossi (Status Quo)
Robert 'Kool' Bell (Kool & the Gang, whose members were the only Americans to participate)
Dennis J. T. Thomas (Kool & the Gang)
Andy Taylor (Duran Duran)
Jon Moss (Culture Club)
Sting (The Police)
Rick Parfitt (Status Quo)
Nick Rhodes (Duran Duran)
Johnny Fingers (The Boomtown Rats)
David Bowie
Boy George (Culture Club)
Holly Johnson (Frankie Goes to Hollywood)
Paul McCartney (The Beatles, Wings)
Stuart Adamson (Big Country)
Bruce Watson (Big Country)
Tony Butler (Big Country)
Mark Brzezicki (Big Country)

Click the link below to download the following:
Video
Band Aid Story - 3 Part Documentary
Single Version
12 inch Mix by Trevor Horn
Standard Mix
Feed The World - B-Side
One Year On - Feed The World - B-side

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Band Aid - do They Know It's Christmas - Video

Band Aid - Band Aid Special - Album

Band Aid were a British and Irish charity supergroup, founded in 1984 by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure in order to raise money for famine relief in Ethiopia by releasing the record 'Do They Know It's Christmas?' for the Christmas market.

The single surpassed the hopes of the producers to become the Christmas number one on that release. Two subsequent re-recordings of the song to raise further money for charity also topped the charts. The original was produced by Midge Ure. The 12" version was mixed by Trevor Horn.

In 1985 a rare Japan only CD was released featuring some of the Prominent Names that were involved in the original 1984 Band Aid Project. The CD also features the full 12" Mix of 'Do They Kow It's Christmas' as well as the 'Single Version' and 'Feed The World' which were all featured on the original 12" Single.

Click the link below to download the album:

Tracklisting:

01 Band Aid Do They Know It's Christmas? - 12" Mix
02 Big Country In A Big Country
03 Marilyn Calling Your Name
04 Status Quo Marguerita Time
05 Boomtown Rats, The Tonight
06 Genesis That's All
07 Band Aid Do They Know It's Christmas?
08 Bon Jovi Runaway
09 Elton John Sad Songs (Say So Much)
10 ABC The Look Of Love
11 Tears For Fears Mothers Talk
12 Band Aid Feed The World

Link removed due to DMCA notice

Band Aid II - Do They Know It's Christmas

A new version was recorded under the name of Band Aid II in 1989, produced by the popular Hit Factory team of Stock, Aitken and Waterman and featuring a number of the year's most accessible artists, including Kylie Minogue, Jason Donovan, Lisa Stansfield and Bros. Bananarama also appeared, making Sarah Dallin and Keren Woodward the only artists to appear on both versions (although they couldn't be heard on the first). The song again reached #1 for Christmas, raising more money and also making it the final number-one single of the 1980s and it was final song to be played on Top of the Pops in the Eighties, whom of it was the original version of the song.

This version, released in 1989 was produced by British songwriting and production team formed of Mike Stock, Matt Aitken and Pete Waterman known as Stock Aitken Waterman. The only artists from the original Band Aid to be featured again on this version were Sara Dallin and Keren Woodward of Bananarama. This version topped the UK Singles Chart for three weeks, but ultimately achieved far less historical significance and status than its predecessor.

On Friday 1 December 1989, Bob Geldof called Pete Waterman to ask if he would consider producing a new version of the song featuring the big stars from that time. Waterman immediately cancelled his wedding (planned for that very day) and began calling up the artists. With just two days' notice, on Sunday 3 December, recording took place at PWL Studios in South London. Present in the studio was Bob Geldof, wife Paula Yates and six-year-old daughter, Fifi Trixiebelle, who was eager to meet Jason Donovan.

Production continued through the Monday, and by Tuesday 5 December the song was aired for the first time on London's Capital Radio. Advance sales of the record reached 500,000 and a number-one was inevitable. The song was released the following week on 11 December and spent three weeks at number one, becoming the 9th biggest selling song of the year, outselling Madonna's "Like a Prayer".

Participants
The line up for the Band Aid II project consisted of (in alphabetical order):

Bananarama
Big Fun
Bros
Cathy Dennis
D Mob
Jason Donovan
Kevin Godley
Glen Goldsmith
Rolf Harris
Kylie Minogue
The Pasadenas
Marti Pellow
Chris Rea
Cliff Richard
Jimmy Somerville
Sonia
Lisa Stansfield
Technotronic
Wet Wet Wet

Click the link below to download the following:
Video
single Version

Link removed by request from PWL Recordings

Band Aid II - Do They Know It's Christmas - Video

Chris Rea - Driving Home For Christmas

Chris Rea was getting success in the UK and throughout Europe.

In 1988, Rea released a Christmas EP entitled 'Driving Home For Christmas'.

Originally this single only made it to number 53 in the UK singles chart,. However, the single did re-entered at number 33 nineteen years later in December 2007, making it the first time the song had made the UK Top 40.

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Video
Single Version
Remix Version
Footprints In The Snow - B-Side
Joys Of Christmas - B-Side
Smile - B-Side

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Chris Rea - Driving Home For Christmas - Video

The Flying Pickets - Only You

'Only You' is a ballad written by musician Vince Clarke. He wrote it while with Depeche Mode, and offered it to them when he was leaving. They declined, and Clarke recorded it after forming the duo Yazoo with Alison Moyet. It was an instant success.

An a cappella version by The Flying Pickets was even more successful than the original on the UK Singles Chart by becoming the Christmas number one in 1983. It spent five weeks at the top. This made 'Only You' the first a cappella chart-topper in the UK. The Flying Pickets version went on to become a number one hit on the German Singles Chart in 1984 and charted in Canada as well, though it saw no chart action in the United States.

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Video
Single Version

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The Flying Pickets - Only You - Video

Paul McCartney - Wonderful Christmastime

'Wonderful Christmastime' is a 1979 Christmas song by Paul McCartney. It is one of McCartney's best known solo songs and it enjoys significant Christmas time popularity in the UK and other English-speaking countries.

Although the song did not chart on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, it reached number 6 in the UK Singles Chart. The video was filmed at the Fountain Inn in Ashurst, West Sussex.

Fellow ex-Beatles John Lennon and George Harrison had already released festive singles, and Ringo Starr made a Christmas album in 1999. Of all of the former Beatle christmas offerings, Lennon's 'Happy Xmas (War is Over)' and McCartney's 'Wonderful Christmastime' have become two of a large number of popular Christmas songs played year after year.

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Video
Single Version
Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reggae - B-Side

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Paul McCartney - Wonderful Christmastime - Video

John Lennon - (Just Like) Starting Over

'(Just Like) Starting Over' is a song written and performed by John Lennon for his Double Fantasy album. The B-side was Yoko Ono's 'Kiss Kiss Kiss'.

It was released as a single on 24 October 1980 and reached number one in both the USA and UK two weeks after he was killed. It is his biggest solo American hit, staying at number 1 for five weeks. (When Lennon was shot in New York City on 8 December 1980 the single was at number 3 in the US and the following week reached the summit.) In the UK it had peaked at number 8 in the charts and had fallen out of the Top 20 before Lennon's death propelled it to number 1, making an impressive number 21 to number 1 move. By 6 January 1981 there were 3 Lennon songs in the UK top 5, a feat never achieved before or since.

This was the first single released from Double Fantasy, and the first new recording Lennon had released since 1975. It was chosen by Lennon not because it was the best track on the album, but because it was the most appropriate following his five year absence from the recording industry. He referred to it during production as the "Elvis / Orbison" track, as he "tongue in cheek" impersonated their vocal styles. The uplifting bell at the intro of the song serves as the antidote to the morose bell sound which opens Lennon's first solo album, Lennon seeing it as him having come full circle.

Although its origins were in unfinished older compositions like 'Don’t Be Crazy' and 'My Life', it was one of the last songs to be completed in time for the Double Fantasy sessions. “We didn’t hear it until the last day of rehearsal,” producer Jack Douglas said in 2005. Lennon finished the song while on holiday in Bermuda, and recorded it at The Hit Factory in New York City just weeks later. The original title was to be 'Starting Over'. However, '(Just Like)' was added at the last minute because a country song of the same title had been released by Tammy Wynette.

Click the link below to download the following:

Video
Single Version
Original extract from the recording of the single
Yoko Ono - Kiss Kiss Kiss - B-Side
Kiss Kiss Kiss - Superchumbo Twisted Dub Version


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John Lennon - (Just Like) Starting Over - Video

St. Winifred's School Choir - There's No-one Quite Like Grandma

'There's No-one Quite Like Grandma' was a number one hit single by Stockport-based primary school choir St. Winifred's School Choir. It was the 1980 Christmas number one single in the United Kingdom, and remained there for two weeks. The song was written by Gordon Lorenz.

More recently, the song was used within the one off Channel 4 comedy by Peter Kay called Britain's Got the Pop Factor... which had Sally Lindsay in a small cameo role who was in the original choir of the song.

In October 2009 the song was re-recorded by 14 members of the original choir. It was released in the UK on November 23rd 2009 as part of food company Innocent Drinks' "Big Knit" campaign, to raise money for Age Concern.


Click the link below to download the following:
Video

Single Version
Pinocchio - B-Side
The Choir Reformed - TV Interview
The Innocent Big Nit Choir - Video to the New Version
Behind the scenes to the Making of the New Version Video

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St. Winifred's School Choir - There's No-one Quite Like Grandma - Video

John Lennon - Happy Christmas (War Is Over) - Video

'Happy Xmas (War Is Over)' is a Christmas song by John Lennon, Yoko Ono and the Plastic Ono Band. It was recorded at Record Plant Studios in New York City in late October 1971, with the help of producer Phil Spector. It features soaring, heavily echoed vocals, and a sing-along chorus. The children singing in the background were from the Harlem Community Choir and are credited on the song's single.

Although the song is a protest song about the Vietnam War, it has become a Christmas standard and has appeared on several Christmas albums.

The lyric is based on a campaign in late 1969 by John Lennon and his wife, Yoko Ono, who rented billboards and posters in eleven cities around the world that read: "WAR IS OVER! (If You Want It) Happy Christmas from John and Yoko". The cities included New York, Tokyo, Rome, Athens, Amsterdam, London, Paris, Toronto, and some others. At the time the US was deeply entrenched in the unpopular Vietnam War. The line "War is over, if you want it, war is over, now!", as sung by the background vocals, was taken directly from the billboards.

The record starts with a barely-audible whisper of Christmas greetings to their children: Yoko whispers "Happy Christmas, Kyoko", then John whispers "Happy Christmas, Julian". The lyric sheet from the 1982 release The John Lennon Collection erroneously gives this introduction as "Happy Christmas, Yoko. Happy Christmas, John".

The single was released in the US on 6 December 1971, but never charted on the Billboard Hot 100 charts; the UK release was delayed until the following November due to a publishing dispute. Upon release, it reached number 4 in the UK Singles Chart. The song was re-released in the UK on 20 December 1980 shortly after John Lennon's death on 8 December 1980, peaking at Number 3.

Click the link below to download the following:
Video
Single Version
Yoko Ono - The Snow Is Falling - B-Side

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John Lennon - Happy Christmas (War Is Over) - Video

Bruce Springsteen - Santa Clause Is Coming To Town

'Santa Claus Is Coming to Town' (sometimes with Coming changed to Comin') is a Christmas song. It was written by J. Fred Coots and Haven Gillespie, and was first sung on Eddie Cantor's radio show in November 1934.

The song became an instant hit with orders for 100,000 copies of sheet music the next day and over 400,000 copies sold by Christmas. The song is often used to tell children that Santa knows when they've been bad or good and that they should be good.

The song is a traditional standard at Christmas time, and has been covered by numerous recording artists. Bruce Springsteen recorded his version in 1985 and had a hit with it making it to number 9 on the UK Singles Chart, number 6 in Ireland and number 47 in Australia.

Click the link below to download the following:
Single Version
My Hometown - B-Side
My Hometown - Live Version

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David Essex - A Winters Tale

David Essex released his 16th hit with the song 'A Winter's Tale'. The song is not necessarily a winter song, but rather a lovesong about a relationship gone sour.

In the UK singles chart, 'A winter's tale' reached number 2 in 1982. In the Netherlands, where David Essex hadn't been in the charts in 1978, the single did not chart.


Click the link below to download the following:
Video
Single Version
Verity - B-Side

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David Essex - A Winter's Tale - Video

Abba – Super Trouper

'Super Trouper', at first called "Blinka lilla stjärna" (the Swedish title of nursery rhyme 'Twinkle Twinkle Little Star'), was a hit single for Swedish pop group ABBA, and was the title track from their 1980 studio album Super Trouper, written by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus. The song, with lead vocals by Anni-Frid Lyngstad, was the last to be written & recorded for this album. 'Super Trouper' is included on the ABBA Gold: Greatest Hits compilation, as well as in the Mamma Mia! musical.

The name 'Super Trouper' referred to the gigantic spotlights used in stadium concerts and such. It is widely known that ABBA were not always fond of performing onstage, preferring the confines of the studio to being on tour. This is reflected in the lyrics, which, in typical ABBA style, are presented as happy and upbeat, yet tinged with an underlying hint of sadness. On Frida - The DVD, Lyngstad explains how she and Fältskog developed as singers, as Abba's recordings got more and more complex over the years.

'Super Trouper' was yet another successful chart-topping single for ABBA, providing the group with their 9th and final number 1 in the UK, whilst also topping the charts in Belgium, West Germany, Ireland & the Netherlands. It also reached the Top 5 in Austria, Finland, France, Mexico, Norway & Switzerland. In the United States, where ABBA never quite managed to achieve the same sort of popularity experienced elsewhere, the single only reached number 45. However, combined with 'Lay All Your Love on Me' and 'On and On and On', it managed to top the U.S. Hot Dance Club Play chart.

The music video for 'Super Trouper' can be considered the largest numbers of artists that ABBA have ever used in their music video. Other than ABBA and their friends themselves, the rest were from a circus troupe based in Britain.

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Video
Single Version
The Piper - B-Side
The Piper - Blue Moon Remix

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Abba - Super Trouper - Video

Annie Lennox and Al Green - Put a Little Love In Your Heart

'Put a Little Love in Your Heart' is a song originally performed by Jackie DeShannon in 1968, who composed it with her brother, Randy Myers, and Jimmy Holiday. In the USA, it was DeShannon's highest-charting hit, reaching number 4 and rivaling the success of her signature song, 'What the World Needs Now is Love'.

In 1988 Annie Lennox and Al Green recorded a version that was released as the ending theme song to the 1988 film Scrooged. The single reached number 28 in the UK singles Chart while also reaching number 9 in the USA Billboard Hot 100. Although the song has been covered numerous times only this version was a charted hit in the USA.

Click the link below to download the following:

Video

Single Version

12 inch Version

Vocal Mix Version

Instrumental Version

A Great Big Piece Of Love - B-Side

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Annie Lennox and Al Green - Put A Little Love In Your Heart - Video

Queen - Thank God It's Christmas

'Thank God It's Christmas' is a Christmas single by British rock band Queen. It was written by guitarist Brian May and drummer Roger Taylor. The single spent six weeks in the UK charts during the Christmas/New Year period and reached number 21.

Though not released on any Queen studio album, the song appears on Queen's Greatest Hits III, released in 1999. The song was also released as the B-side of the single 'A Winter's Tale' from the 1995 album Made in Heaven.

No promotional video was filmed for the track, hampering its future use on music TV channels. For that reason it is a lesser known Christmas single. It also appears on several Christmas compilation albums. One of them is the original Now That's What I Call Christmas compilation released in 1985 but deleted in 1989.

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Single Version
Man On The Prowl - B-Side
Man On The Prowl - Extended Version
Keep Passing The Open Windows - B-Side
Keep Passing The Open Windows - Extended Version
Keep Passing The Open Windows - Demo Version

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Spitting Image - Santa Clause Is On The Dole

Spitting Image was a British satirical puppet show which ran on the ITV television network from 1984 to 1996. It was produced by Spitting Image Productions for Central. The series was nominated for 10 BAFTA Awards, winning one, for editing, in 1989.

The series was notorious for featuring caricatured puppets of numerous celebrities who were famous during the 1980s and 1990s. The humour was usually controversial and bitingly sharp. British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, then American president Ronald Reagan, and The British Royal Family were the most prominent targets, although hundreds of other celebrities were spoofed in an equally disrespectful manner.

In 1986 Sitting Image had there biggest success with the number 1 single of 'The Chicken song'. Later that year they released 'Santa Clause is on the Dole b/w '1st Atheist Tabernacle Choir'. The single was not as successful as the prvious single as it spent 7 weeks in the charts making it to number 22 in the UK Singles Chart.

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TV Extract Performance
Single Version

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Spitting Image - Santa Clause Is On The Dole

Cliff Richard - Mistletoe and Wine

'Mistletoe and Wine' is a popular single by Cliff Richard.

Written by Jeremy Paul, Leslie Stewart and Keith Strachan, it was originally performed by Twiggy in a TV musical based on Hans Christian Andersen's The Little Match Girl in 1986.

As written, 'Mistletoe and Wine' had a different meaning to that for which it came to be known. The writers wanted a "satirical Christmas carol" for the scene in the musical where the Little Match Girl is kicked out into the snow.

Richard liked the song but wanted to change the lyrics to reflect a more religious theme, to which the writers agreed. Cliff's 99th single, it became his 12th UK number one single, spending four weeks at the top in December 1988 - selling 750,000 copies in the process. It was the best-selling single of 1988 in the UK.

It was also used in a British public information film about drink driving, with the intention of scaring motorists. In December 2007 the single entered at number 68 on the UK Singles Chart by virtue of downloads.

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Video
Single Version
Marmaduke

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Cliff Richard-Mistletoe and Wine - Video

Daryl Hall and John Oates - Jingle Bell Rocks

Hall & Oates are a pop music duo comprising Daryl Hall and John Oates. By the Autum of 1983, Hall & Oates were one of the biggest pop music acts in America.

They had five Number 1 singles to their credit, two consecutive Top 10 albums and were one of the biggest names on MTV.

A cover of the 1957 Bobby Helms classic 'Jingle Bell Rock' was recorded and released in time for Christmas 1983 in the US, complete with a humorous video of the band, that received extensive airplay on MTV. The single contained Daryl singing his version on one side and John's version on the flip side.

The sungle was released on Red and Green Vinyl as well as a 12 inch Picture Disc.

Thought I would add this to the blog as a bit of fun as the video is worth watching as it is so bad LOL. Enjoy.

Click the link below to download the following:
Video
Daryl Hall Version
John Oates Version

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Daryl Hall and John Oatesd - Jingle Bell Rocks - Video

Aled Jones - Walking In The Air

'Walking in the Air' is a song written by Howard Blake for the 1982 animated film of Raymond Briggs' 1978 children's book The Snowman.

In the film the song was performed by St. Paul's Cathedral choirboy Peter Auty. For the subsequent single release, which reached number five in the UK Single charts in 1985, the vocals were sung by Welsh chorister Aled Jones, who became a popular celebrity on the strength of his performance. Jones' version was not an official The Snowman tie-in though it was authorised by Howard Blake. 'Walking in the Air' has subsequently been covered by several different artists, in a variety of styles.

The song forms the centrepiece of The Snowman, which has become a seasonal perennial on British television. The story relates the fleeting adventures of a young boy, and a snowman who has come to life. In the second part of the story, the boy and the snowman fly to the North Pole. 'Walking in the Air' is the theme for the journey. They attend a party of snowmen, at which the boy is the only human. They meet Father Christmas and his reindeer, and the boy is given a scarf with a snowman pattern.

The song has remained so popular that a parody version of it was used in a British television commercial in 2006, for an Irn-Bru advert in which the slightly edited song tells the story of a boy and a snowman flying through Edinburgh, over Loch Ness, and over Glasgow. In the commercial, the snowman drops the boy into the snow near George Square after the boy refuses to give the snowman a taste of the drink

The Snowman is one of my all time favs over Christmas and one that I watch each year.

Click the link below to download the following:
Original Version feauring Peter Auty - Video
Original MP3 Version featuring Peter Auty
Aled Jones - TOTP Performance
Aled Jones - DJ Fluidz 2006 Club Mix
Aled Jones - Unohu Remix Version

http://www.mediafire.com/?sharekey=2ccb7d0cd98a6267aaca48175a79d1c3b92b738e1830397fb99f3f1679ee9294

Aled Jones - Walking In The Air - TOTP Performance



Original Version as performed by Peter Auty

Nat King Cole - When I Fall In Love

Since 1952 when the original version was recorded by Doris Day this song has been covered by many artists. the previous post had the version by Rick Astley. When that version was in the charts in 1987 Nat King Cole's version was also released thus ensuing a battle between then two versions. Here is the Nat King cole Version.

Nat King Cole rcorded his version of 'When I Fall In Love' on December 28, 1956. It was issued by Capitol Records on an LP album, Love Is the Thing. The single was released in the UK in 1957, and reached number 2 on the UK Singles Chart. This recording was re-released in 1987, reaching number 4 on that occasion as it competed with the Rick Astley's version that was released at the same time.

Click the link below to download the following:
TV Performance
Single Version
Love Letters - B-Side
Ranblin Rose - B-Side

http://www.mediafire.com/?sharekey=2ccb7d0cd98a6267aaca48175a79d1c336a9cd87cf30d6014ad239450a8c1cf1


Nat King Cole - When I Fall In Love - Performance

Rick Astley - When I Fall In Love

'When I Fall in Love' is a popular song, written by Victor Young (music) and Edward Heyman (lyrics). It was introduced in the film One Minute to Zero. The song has become a standard, with many artists recording it, though the original hit version was by Doris Day.

Doris Day's recording was made on June 5, 1952. It was released by Columbia Records

Rick Astley recorded a version of the classic single which competed with the Nat 'King' Cole version in 1987. Astley did not want to record the song originally but was convinced to by the Stock, Aiken and Waterman team. The single was released as a Double A- side with 'My Arms Keep Missing You'. The single made it to number 4 in the Christmas UK singles Chart but had made it to number 2 eventually.

Click the link below to download the following:
Video
Single Version
My Arms Keep Missing You - B-Side


Link Removed by request of PWL Publications


Rick Astley - When Fall In Love - TOTP Performance

Level 42 - Love Games

'Love Games' was the first single to be released from the bands first self titles album.Released in 1981 the single became a successful jazz–funk and dancefloor hit for the band, reaching number 38 on the UK Singles chart.

In the UK the single was released in the cover oposite as a 12 inch but with no other picture cover. In Holland a proper picture cover was released in the same style of the album cover but with the words Love Games over it. This has become one of the first pictures covers to be released for Level 42's singles.

'Love Games' has figured in both Leve; 42's and bassist Mark King's solo live appearances to this day and is one of my fav's oon the band.

Click the link below to download the following:
TOTP performance
Rockpalast Performance
Single Version
Album Version
12 inch Version
Forty Two - B-Side

http://www.mediafire.com/?sharekey=2ccb7d0cd98a6267aaca48175a79d1c31488ee100ea6eb78292b492bd5edc68e

Level 42 - Love Games - TOTP Performamce

Kim Wilde and Mel Smith - Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree

'Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree"' is a Christmas song written by Johnny Marks and recorded by Brenda Lee in 1958. Although Decca released it in both 1958 and again in 1959, it did not sell well until Lee became a popular star in 1960; that Christmas, it hit number 14 on the US Billboard pop chart and turned into a perennial christmas favorite.

The single continued to sell well during the christmas time, hitting number 5 on the Christmas chart as late as 1984. Brenda Lee's recording still receives a great deal of airplay. Despite the song's title, its instrumentation also fits the Country genre which Brenda Lee more fully embraced as her career evolved.

Kim Wilde recorded this track together with Mel Smith in order to raise money for Comic Relief in 1987. Some extra comedy material was added to the track, written by Mel Smith and Griff Rhys-Jones. The duo named themselves 'Mel & Kim' after the then popular duo Mel & Kim.

Click the link below to download the following:
Video
Single Version

http://www.mediafire.com/?sharekey=2ccb7d0cd98a6267aaca48175a79d1c394229e6ad00fcbfea9a26c4ed87536eb


Kim Wilde and Mel Smith - Rokin' Around The Christmas Tree - Video

Wham - Last Christmas

'Last Christmas' is a song by British pop duo Wham!, released on Epic Records in 1984, on a double A-side with 'Everything She Wants'. The single was written by George Michael, one half of the duo.

Wham! had been a dominant force in the UK Singles Chart in 1984 and news that they were planning a Christmas single meant that a battle for the coveted Christmas number 1 spot in the UK seemed set to be between Wham! and the year's other big act, Frankie Goes to Hollywood, who had achieved a third number 1 in early December with 'The Power of Love'.


However, the Band Aid project, helmed by Bob Geldof, produced the number 1 single. Wham!'s offering peaked at number 2 for much of the period, although George's involvement in Band Aid meant that Wham! still had an input. Wham! subsequently topped the monies raised by Band Aid by donating all of their 'Last Christmas/Everything She Wants' royalties to the Ethiopian famine appeal. However 'Last Christmas' did make number 1 in various other countries.

The single sold well over a million copies and became the biggest selling single in UK chart history not to reach number 1. A year later, it was re-issued for Christmas again (this time without a billed flip-side) and got to number 6. A second re-issue at Christmas 1986 - by which time Wham! had split - stalled outside the top 40.

The song gradually sold in Japan, and finally became the best-selling single that did not reach that country's top-10 chart, selling more than 600,000 copies and peaking on the chart at number 12 in 1992.

Since 1997, the song enters the German Single charts every year and peaked at number 4 in 2007. In the airplay charts the songs enters every year the Top 5.

In 2007, the track re-entered the UK Top 20 and hit the UK iTunes Top 10.

In 2008, the song re-entered the UK Singles Chart again, this time at number 36 and peaked at number 26.

Due to perceived similarities between 'Last Christmas' and the song 'Can't Smile Without You' as popularised by Barry Manilow, an out of court settlement was reached in which the first year's royalties were donated to the one-year-old "Band Aid" charity.

The video to 'Last Christmas' saw George and partner Andrew Ridgeley accompanying girlfriends to see friends at their home in an unspecified ski resort, although the cable-car that can be seen in two shots is from Saas-Fee, Switzerland. It became clear early on, however, that Andrew's girlfriend had previously been in a relationship with George, and it was to her character the song was aimed. The video also featured the duo's erstwhile backing singers Pepsi and Shirlie and Spandau Ballet bassist Martin Kemp, the boyfriend and future husband of Shirlie Holliman.

'Last Christmas' has been covered by a number of artists. One that I have included here is by Billie Piper. After 'She Wants You' was released in late 1998, the cover of 'Last Christmas', featured as a B-Side on the single, received some airplay. Due to this, a CD Single was released in Europe and charted at number 47 in Sweden. The Single was also released as a promotional Single in the UK, limited to 500 copies and therefore could not chart there. It is one of Billie's most notable songs, although it was not included on The Best of Billie.

'Last Christmas' was also recorded in 2007 by Cascada. It was released on iTunes in November, 2007. The single had only a Digital release but 6 days later it was released on the single/EP 'What Hurts the Most' which was the first single from their second album. The download version made it to number 111 on the UK Singles Charts. However it did make it to number 10 as part pf the 'What Hurts' release. In the UK, despite it being a B-side track, the song is regularly played throughout music channels during the festive season.

Click the link below to download the following:
Video
Single Version
Long Version
Pudding Mix
Matt Mix
DJ Johny Spirit Mix
DJ T.I.M Remix
Benny Benassi Remix

Billy Piper Version
Cascada Singe Version
Cascada Video

http://www.mediafire.com/?sharekey=2ccb7d0cd98a6267aaca48175a79d1c375d340ef2d363ea4a7b01fe6e4055ae3

Wham - Last Christmas - Video



Wham - Everything She Wants - Video

Frankie Goes To Hollywood - The Power Of Love

'The Power of Love' is the third single from Frankie Goes to Hollywood, released in November 1984. It is taken from the album 'Welcome To The Pleasuredome'. The track was first featured during the John Peel Sessions the band performed on during 1983, which was slower and emphasized the track's original camp ironic content (such as the Hooded Claw being from cartoon The Perils of Penelope Pitstop).

'The Power of Love' followed its two predecessors, 'Relax' and 'Two Tribes', to the top of the UK singles chart, scoring the band an early December Number One, being pipped at the post by Band Aid for Christmas chart topper.

To commemorate the Christmas release, Godley & Creme directed a nativity themed video for the single, and the artwork for the single also used traditional Christian iconography. The original showing of the video on The Tube the nativity occupied the whole screen. The record company did not like this as they wanted the band to feature in the video so the borders of band members was added for later showings. This went against the bands wishes as they were happy with the original video.

The 12" mix of the song featured actor Chris Barrie's aping DJ Mike Read's banning of the single 'Relax'.

The single also featured a Christmas message from the band, entitled "Holier Than Thou".

On the cover it is reproduced the Assunta by Titian, a XVI century painting in the Basilica di Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari of Venice.

Click the link below to download the following:
Original Video - Without Borders
2nd Video Release - with Borders
2000 Video Version
Single Version
Extended Version
Instrumental Version
Rob Searle 2000 Club Version
The World Is My Oyster (Scapped) - B-Side
The World Is My Oyster (Trapped) - B-Side
Holier Than Thou - B-Side

http://www.mediafire.com/?sharekey=2ccb7d0cd98a6267aaca48175a79d1c304d81fb93307375fce018c8114394287

Frankie Goes To Hollywood - The Power Of Love - Original Video



Frankie Goes To Hollywood - The Power Of Love - Borders Version



Frankie Goes To Hollywood - The Power Of Love - 2000 Version

Wham - Everything She Wants

'Everything She Wants' was a song by British pop duo Wham!, released in 1984 on Epic Records on a double A-side with Last Christmas'. It was written by George Michael, one half of the duo.

Upon release, 'Last Christmas' took the majority of the attention and airplay as it was appropriate in early December as Christmas approached. However, the presence of an equally-billed flip side meant that radio stations had something else to play once 'Last Christmas' had lost its topicality.

A five-minute song (there also exists a six-and-a-half-minutes-long version with an added bridge), 'Everything She Wants' is written from the angle of a man rapidly approaching desperation at the material demands of his partner which seem to be coming to a head, despite the amount of work he does to keep them happy. In a twist, the second verse takes the story a step further by revealing that the woman is pregnant but the man cannot find any happiness in the announcement because of the extra pressure a baby will put upon him.

The presence of the Band Aid project meant that the double A-side peaked at number two in the UK singles chart, although in the process it became the biggest selling record not to get to number one. However, in the USA, the song did reach the summit of the Billboard Hot 100, and became the third number-one song in a row from 1984's Make It Big album.

Wham! would go on to have two more number-one hits in the UK before splitting at their height in 1986.

Although Michael bemoaned much of Wham!'s material as he began his solo career, 'Everything She Wants' remained a song of which he was proud, and he continued to perform it in his shows. Furthermore, Michael remarked in an interview (to promote 25 Live tour) that 'Everything She Wants' is his favourite Wham! song.

The song was remixed and re-released as 'Everything She Wants '97' for the greatest hits album If You Were There in 1997.

Cick the link below to download the following:
Video
Radio Edit
Long Version
Remix
12 inch Remix 1997
Hot Tracks Mix
Todd Terry Club Mix

http://www.mediafire.com/?sharekey=2ccb7d0cd98a6267aaca48175a79d1c3e67522b35aff474482e3a934329c7a5e

Wham - Everything She Wants - Video

Cliff Richard - Daddy's Home

Shep and the Limelites was a popular American doo wop group in the early 1960's. They recorded the original version of 'Daddy’s Home' on February 1st, 1961. 'Daddy’s Home' reached number 2 on the US Billboard pop chart in May - one of the highest charting doo wop songs of all time. It was later covered by Jermaine Jackson in 1972 and in 1981 in an outstandingly respectful rendition by Cliff Richard.

Sir Cliff Richard, a professed Christian, has had several hits with a Christmas theme. This one, backed by 'Shakin' All Over' does not specifically mention Christmas, but it gives you a nice warm fuzzy feeling and I loved it and still do all these years later. It was released at Christmas time 1981, and stayed at number 2 in the UK Singles Charts for 4 weeks, held off the top by the Human League 'Don't You Want Me'.


Click the link below to download the following:
Video
Single Version


http://www.mediafire.com/?sharekey=2ccb7d0cd98a6267aaca48175a79d1c3f7c533d8f5263a205be6ba49b5870170

Cliff Richard - Daddy's Home - Video

Jona Lewie - You'll Always Find Me In The Kitchen At Parties

Lewie joined his first group, The Johnston City Jazz Band, while still at school in 1963, and started earning money in the music industry in 1968 as a solo blues singer accompanied by his own blues & boogie piano playing.

Also, showing signs as a singer songwriter, early recordings of his early compositions are sighted on the compilation album 'I Asked For Water She Gave Me... Gasoline', just four months before accepting an invitation to join the already popular cult blues band Brett Marvin and the Thunderbolts. This acceptance would elevate Lewie's career, enabling him to play at bigger and better venues and afford more recording opportunities.

Jona stayed with the Bretts until 1973, their mainstream hit single being 'Seaside Shuffle' another early Lewie composition. Despite its roots firmly embedded in cajun and 12 bar blues culture, the band, though not Keef Trouble, felt it was unashamedly commercial and quite at odds with the Thunderbolts usual style, and it was released under the one-off nom de disque Terry Dactyl and The Dinosaurs. The record did little on first release in 1971 but a year later on re-release reached number 2 in the UK Singles Chart.

However, Lewie looked likely to remain a part of a one-hit wonder group until he was signed up by Stiff Records in 1977. Following appearances on the Stiff package tours, he scored a solo hit with the humorous synthpop number, 'You'll Always Find Me in the Kitchen at Parties' co written with fellow Thunderbolt Keef Trouble in 1980, which made it to number 16 on the UK Singles Chart.

Click the link below to download the following:
TOTP Perforance
Single Version
Bureaucrats - B-side

http://www.mediafire.com/?sharekey=2ccb7d0cd98a6267aaca48175a79d1c3055f0cde3c5097414ca8d2a77d7aad89

Jona Lewie - You'll Always Find Me In The Kitchen At Parties - TOTP

Paul McCartney - We All Stand Together

'We All Stand Together' (sometimes referred to as the Frog Song or the Frog Chorus) is a song by Paul McCartney and the Frog Chorus. It was from the animated film Rupert and the Frog Song and reached number three in the UK Singles Chart in 1984. However, the single was originally released in June 1983, McCartney re-released the single on the Christmas charts in 1984.
The song re-entered the UK Singles Chart one year later in 1985, one of three hits to do so, that originally charted in December 1984 ("Do They Know It's Christmas" by Band Aid and "Last Christmas" by Wham! were the other two).

Despite its relative success, the song attracted criticism for its light subject matter, and is sometimes cited as a sign of the decline of McCartney's talents after The Beatles. This I fing crazy as the song and single is just a bit of fun, a novalty.

The "Frog Chorus" backing on the song was provided by the King's Singers choral group and the choir of St Paul's Cathedral. The B-side of the single was "We All Stand Together (Humming Version)" performed by Paul McCartney and the Finchley Frogettes.

Two shaped picture discs were issued in 1984 and 1985, the only difference being a plain clear sleeve on the later version.

Click the link below to downloas the following:
Video - Short Version
Video - Full Version
Single Version
Full Video Version Audio Only
Humming Version - B-Side

http://www.mediafire.com/?sharekey=2ccb7d0cd98a6267aaca48175a79d1c399a9fe65e8600505f85d402b9fc3640c

Paul McCartney - We All Stand Together - Full Video Version

The Smash Hits - Christmas From The Stars 1982 Flexi Disc

Smash Hits - Happy Christmas From The Stars was a flexi disc given away free in a copy of Smash Hits magazine December 1982.

This is an edited version cutting out advertisements for Levis black denim trousers, sorry Levis. Mark Ellen is the host and the acts appearing are;

Duran Duran
Adam Ant
Bananarama
Fun Boy 3
Mari Wilson
Captain Sensible
Midge Ure
Bucks Fizz
ABBA
Madness

Click the link below to download the flext disc:

http://www.mediafire.com/?sharekey=2ccb7d0cd98a6267aaca48175a79d1c38f20c157560531e3d6f20ee4ff677d52

Smash Hits - Christmas From The Stars Flexi Disc - Fan Made Video

The Weather Girls - Dear Santa (Bring Me A Man This Christmas)

The Weather Girls are an American girl group that formed in 1982

As back-up singers for disco queen Sylvester, Izora Armstead and Martha Wash recorded under the name Two Tons Of Fun. They soon embarked on their own career as recording artists, and after recording what would be their biggest hit, "It's Raining Men", the girls rechristened themselves The Weather Girls.

Following on from their success the girls released their only Christmas single in the US. As with all their records this is camp fun and one that I love. Enjoy.

Click the link below to download the following:
Video
Single Version

12 inch Version

Instrumental Version

http://www.mediafire.com/?sharekey=2ccb7d0cd98a6267aaca48175a79d1c3863d7d8c9e059c579d4bfef7ef5beeff

The Weather Girls - Dear Santa (Bring Me A Man The Christmas) - Video