Chosen by Saint Etienne’s Bob Stanley, whose 1993 Christmas single declared, truthfully, I Was Born on Christmas Day

Dancing with Strangers (UK CD album booklet). Chris Rea. Magnet Records. 1987. CDMAG 5071. {{ cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) ( link) Joys of Christmas" was inspired by Rea's own experiences of growing up as a child in Middlesbrough. Rea recalled for the liner notes of the 2019 re-issue of Dancing with Strangers,David Myles is a Canadian guy who made an album called It’s Christmas a couple of years ago. Someone sent me a link to the YouTube animation of this song and I just totally fell in love with it. My husband and my dad are both banjo players, so it connected. It’s quirky and funny, with a bluegrass twang, and tells the story of a young boy, probably Myles, who never gets the requested banjo, every year. “And I never knew the reason why. Every Christmas I see it in my dreams, and every Christmas morning I cry.” In the song, we never hear whether he finally gets one, but in the animation there’s one from Santa right at the very end, with a little note saying: “Not too loud.” Royal Philharmonic Orchestra Troika from Lieutenant Kijé (2005) The Story Of... 'Driving Home for Christmas' by Chris Rea - Smooth". Smoothradio.com . Retrieved 15 October 2021. Chosen by Alan Sparhawk of Low, whose 1999 EP, Christmas , is a classic. Their latest festive single, Some Hearts (at Christmas Time), is out now. Christmas Wrapping is one of those Christmas tunes that tells a story. The girl is on her own making a Christmas dinner and she forgets cranberries, so she goes to the all-night supermarket and bumps into some guy she has fancied for ages and he’s looking for something. It’s a lovely little tale, but I love the madness of the tune itself. It’s all over the place, but there’s something really joyous about it. While you might hear Slade or Wizzard 100 times over Christmas, you might hear the Waitresses once, but it has become a slightly more selective Christmas standard. It’s not a contrived Christmas song at all. There’s this mad, syncopated brass riff that almost sounds as if it’s from another record, and a bass part that sounds if someone’s tied the bass player’s fingers together. The oddness makes it great. XTC (AKA the Three Wise Men) Thanks for Christmas (1983)

British Hypermarket was founded on the idea of offering high quality British food products combined with the highest levels of customer service.Chosen by Maizie Williams of Boney M, whose 1978 Christmas No 1 Mary’s Boy Child is the 10th best-selling British single of all time Stuart Eales - producer on "Driving Home for Christmas" and "Hello Friend", engineer on "Joys of Christmas" Chosen by Martha Wainwright, who sang on The McGarrigle Christmas Hour (2005) by Kate and Anna McGarrigle – her mother and aunt respectively – and performs in the annual Noel Nights shows with her brother, Rufus Our name is synonymous with service and our goal is to ensure that everyone who shops with us receives the highest levels of customer service possible and that they are completely satisfied with their online shopping experience. Metella, Helen (29 October 1987). "Melt-in-your-ear tunes sure winners for Rea". Edmonton Journal. p.E8.