The death of the Christmas single?

Ghost Buster

Have we seen the death of the traditional Christmas single? The last commercial Christmas songs which get repeat plays year after year have been Maria Careys "All I want for Christmas" and Chris Rea "Driving home for Christmas". I honestly cannot think of any more recent than that which can sustain repeat plays every year.
Am I right and why is this?


Oh but a special mention to South parks "Mr Hankey the Christmas Poo"

The death of the Christmas single came once X-Factor started releasing manufactured pop bollox in an attempt to get Christmas #1.

fergiesfolly

While trying its best to destroy the music industry, X Factor has inadvertently destroyed the traditional Christmas single market. So... silver lining and all that

ScumLord

It deserves to die.

Mint Sauce

This year, buy Nirvina.

Nerdkiller1991

irish-stew wrote: »

This year, buy Nirvana.

I'm way ahead of ya.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gc4G0eP84iE

mike65

The X Factor is to blame for this, not that things were great just before with ****e from Boyzone, Spice Girls, Westlife etc clogging up the charts at this time of year.

The actual Chrimbo No 1 is often not any good. Its the songs which didn't top the chart that are the best - Pretenders - 2000 Miles, Jona Lewie - Stop the Cavalry, Greg Lake - I Believe In Father Christmas and so on.

Dotrel

Ghost Buster wrote: »

Have we seen the death of the traditional Christmas single? The last commercial Christmas songs which get repeat plays year after year have been Maria Careys "All I want for Christmas" and Chris Rea "Driving home for Christmas". I honestly cannot think of any more recent than that which can sustain repeat plays every year.
Am I right and why is this?


Oh but a special mention to South parks "Mr Hankey the Christmas Poo"

Pop music died several years ago (and with it the Xmas #1). X-factor just put the final nail in the coffin. Hard to believe the xmas #1 was an anticipated event once. Nowaday's everyone is more media savvy and they realise it's all just a load of bollocks.

Ellis Dee

There hasn't been a decent Christmas single since Shane McGowan and the late Kirsty MacColl did "Fairytale of New York".:D

And that must be 20 years ago.:)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HwHyuraau4Q

F*ck Nirvana, buy local - buy the Saw Doctors

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ItVEhL-T7qQ

Dotrel

Ellis Dee wrote: »

There hasn't been a decent Christmas single since Shane McGowan and the late Kirsty MacColl did "Fairytale of New York".:D

And that must be 20 years ago.:)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HwHyuraau4Q

Here's a list
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_UK_Singles_Chart_Christmas_number_ones

Whether you liked the act or not it seems like the Xmas #1's were all fairly genuine attempts .... up until Mr.Blobby 1993. It's like a light went off in some PR's head that people will buy any old crap.

razorblunt

Coldplay's Xmas lights isnt too bad.

razorblunt

razorblunt wrote: »

Coldplay's Xmas lights isnt too bad.

Coldplay?

Might as well listen to paint dry.

Dotrel

Deleted User wrote: »

F*ck Nirvana, buy local - buy the Saw Doctors

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ItVEhL-T7qQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=np-6kh0S7J8

I prefer Groundskeeper Willie's version.

ancapailldorcha

I wouldn't soil my hard drive with that Saw Doctors Sh!te.

razorblunt

Deleted User wrote: »

Coldplay?

Might as well listen to paint dry.

Agreed but as recent Xmas songs go it isnt bad.

brummytom

Deleted User wrote: »

F*ck Nirvana, buy local - buy the Saw Doctors

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ItVEhL-T7qQ

I'm seeing them in a few hours, but I can't listen to that song without the Groundskeeper Willie version popping into my head!

razorblunt

brummytom wrote: »

I'm seeing them in a few hours, but I can't listen to that song without the Groundskeeper Willie version popping into my head!

Duuuuuuuuunnnnnnntooooooooooooooooooooonnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn!

Nerdkiller1991

razorblunt wrote: »

Duuuuuuuuunnnnnnntooooooooooooooooooooonnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn!

NEXT!

Micky Dolenz

I like Galway

cruizer101

Cliff Richards christmas time is recent enough too.

But even ignoring the christmas number 1 slot, don't even think Mariah's All I want for christmas got there, there is a lack of good christmas songs at all. Pretty much all the chrismas songs I can think of are from years ago. Maybe its just that the sound of pop years ago was much more suited to christmas songs.

kelle

Ghost Buster wrote: »

Have we seen the death of the traditional Christmas single? The last commercial Christmas songs which get repeat plays year after year have been Maria Careys "All I want for Christmas" and Chris Rea "Driving home for Christmas". I honestly cannot think of any more recent than that which can sustain repeat plays every year.
Am I right and why is this?


Oh but a special mention to South parks "Mr Hankey the Christmas Poo"

That Christmas single by Darkness was more recent, 2003

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQhuoY5h2kE

Dotrel

kelle wrote: »

That Christmas single by Darkness was more recent, 2003

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQhuoY5h2kE

Any top selling xmas song that can sneak "Bell end" into its lyrics deserves praise .

Teyla Emmagan

Ghost Buster wrote: »

Have we seen the death of the traditional Christmas single? The last commercial Christmas songs which get repeat plays year after year have been Maria Careys "All I want for Christmas" and Chris Rea "Driving home for Christmas".

Mariah Carey's greatest hour.

mike65

Ah the Darkness, they need a revival.

Latchy

cruizer101 wrote: »

Cliff Richards christmas time is recent enough too.

Getting the christmas no 1 spot is an obsession with him .

Zebra3

Deleted User wrote: »

The death of the Christmas single came once X-Factor started releasing manufactured pop bollox in an attempt to get Christmas #1.

Nope, it was when mongs started buying the crap.

Insect Overlord

mike65 wrote: »

Ah the Darkness, they need a revival.

New album due out in 2012, I believe! They played a few gigs in Ireland earlier this month.

Ghost Buster

razorblunt wrote: »

Coldplay's Xmas lights isnt too bad.

Its ok but will it get played next year...or the year after?

WoollyRedHat

The Christmas single for the most part was a 70's fad... for the most part there hasn't been an genuine, orginal christmas tune in well over a decade.

Ally Dick

The Darkness "Don't Let The Bells End" was class. Imagine deliberately putting the words "bell end" into a song on purpose. Class

Jimoslimos

Teyla Emmagan wrote: »

Mariah Carey's greatest hour.

Favourite Xmas song guilty pleasure:o

Ghost Buster

Teyla Emmagan wrote: »

Mariah Carey's greatest hour.

I would have said puberty was her greatest hour..;)

Batsy

Why I was a kid I used to like Cliff Richard's 1988 Christmas hit "Mistletoe and Wine."

My mum bought it on LP and me and my brother often used to beg our mum to put it on - even if it was July! We used to lie in bed sometimes and listen to it.

Wattle

Batsy wrote: »

Why I was a kid I used to like Cliff Richard's 1988 Christmas hit "Mistletoe and Wine."

My mum bought it on LP and me and my brother often used to beg our mum to put it on - even if it was July! We used to lie in bed sometimes and listen to it.

I hate that fcuking song so much it makes me want to go on a christian killing rampage with an Uzi.

kelty

Wattle wrote: »

I hate that fcuking song so much it makes me want to go on a christian killing rampage with an Uzi.

Reminds me of a Christmas when I got the first title of the GTA (Grand Theft Auto) game on the playstation . The rampage bit in the game was very enjoyable. Hours of fun.

Ally Dick

Batsy wrote: »

Why I was a kid I used to like Cliff Richard's 1988 Christmas hit "Mistletoe and Wine."

My mum bought it on LP and me and my brother often used to beg our mum to put it on - even if it was July! We used to lie in bed sometimes and listen to it.

I could never stand the pious prick

Mike 1972

WoollyRedHat wrote: »

The Christmas single for the most part was a 70's fad... for the most part there hasn't been an genuine, orginal christmas tune in well over a decade.

Does anyone actually buy singles anymore ?

The decline of the single started around 1982/3 with the release of two albums -Michael Jacksons "Thriller" and the first of the "Now (thats what I call music)" compilation album series both of these started a trend whereby the general public had less and less reason to buy their music in the form of singles. Thriller reversed a longstanding industry practice by releasing songs on an album first and spending the following few years reissuing the songs as singles, On the one hand the airplay for the singles promoted sales of the (more profitable) albums from whence they came greatly extending the retail shelf life of said albums. on the other hand fans had little reason to buy the singles as they already had the songs on the album. While there were compilation albums before the "Now" series they tended to be the preserve of smaller labels like KTel (who licensed the music from the majors) who didnt have the resources to promote them as heavily. The "Now" series made the compilation album big business. For the consumer it seemed to represent a great deal (leaving aside the dirty little secret about songs being heavily edited on early editions of the now series) as a double compilation album cost far less than buying the music in the form of 30+ singles (even accounting for a few of the songs being crap/fillers)

By 1987 the record industry effectively regarded the single as nothing more than a promotional tool for the sale of albums. Some retailers even sold singles at a loss and single buying was often looked down as being the preserve of younger (and/or less affluent) "teenyboppers" By the early-mid 1990's (as the issuing of compilation albums hit a dizzying peak) the single was practically a dead format with even modest sales figures being sufficient for an artist to spend several weeks at the top of the charts. (in 1983 it took several million sales to spend three weeks at No 1 in the UK charts and any act managing to do so was regarded as hugely successful by the 1990's a run of ten weeks or more at the top of the charts was regarded as neither unusual nor a particularly big deal) By the same token topping the singles sales chart on the busiest week of the year for record sales was once a considerable achievement (and generally pretty lucrative for the act involved) but for a long time now it has become something that is patently undeserving of all the hype still lavished on it by the industry and the media.

( TL: DR ) "Christmas No 1" -why should anyone give a fuk ?

fryup

Batsy wrote: »

Why I was a kid I used to like Cliff Richard's 1988 Christmas hit "Mistletoe and Wine."

Ally Dick wrote: »

I could never stand the pious prick

:cool:did you know St. Cliff had four xmas hits...

Little Town, 1982
Mistletoe & Wine, 1988
Saviours Day, 1990
Millennium Prayer, 1999