‘Tis the week of Christmas, and it is time for the penultimate set in this year’s Advent Countdown. As there are so many songs I wanted to play I’m adding in an extra one for this week’s two final posts, giving you six tunes and, today, a conclusion to the Hafod Hardware series of ads. Almost all of the tunes are return visitors: a couple are ones I’d usually play on Christmas Eve, but as the calendar is against me you’ll just have to use your imagination for them!

Let’s get going with a modern day kind of take on the Nativity story:

Joe And Mary  was released in November 2019. There is so much to enjoy in that video, and the tune really rocks along. Like his 2021 single, So Happy It Hurts, this was co-written by Bryan with Gretchen Peters, who you may recall is one of my favourite singer-songwriters. Both songs are typical of Bryan, less so of Gretchen, but it’s good to see her rockier tendencies coming out! Joe And Mary appeared on an EP called Christmas: as far as I can tell its only chart placing was at #80 in Bryan’s Canadian homeland. I still think it’s fun, though.

Next I’m playing my two Christmas Eve songs, so pretend for a few minutes that it is tomorrow. This little gem is one that I have played every year since 2015, when I first started my seasonal song selections:

That is so utterly beautiful and charming, and I never tire of it. Tomorrow Is Christmas Day was on Snowed In, a five track EP that Mindy Smith released in 2013, comprising a couple of self-penned songs and some Christmas/New Year standards. Anyone who has ever been a parent can relate to this so much – it certainly brings back happy memories for me of the days when my two daughters were little and Christmas was a time of magic. Mindy isn’t the most prolific of performers, but she has been playing more gigs over the past few years, has released an occasional single, and last year gave us her first full album in twelve years: Americana. If you want to hear more of her lovely voice I can recommend it, and that EP I mentioned is worth a listen too.

A more recent video next, for a slightly older song:

As you might have guessed Blackmore’s Night is partially fronted by a certain Ritchie Blackmore. It is a British-American traditional folk rock band formed in 1997, consisting mainly of Ritchie on guitars, hurdygurdy, mandola, mandolin, and nyckelharpe, and of Candice Night on lead vocals and woodwinds. Their lineup has seen many changes over the years, but they are still releasing albums – their latest came out in March 2021, and there have since been two 25th anniversary re-releases too. Their lovely music is a million miles away from Ritchie’s days in Deep Purple and Rainbow: this is a song they wrote together, and it is typical of their repertoire. Despite the twenty-six year age difference between them (he is now 80, she is 54) the two were married in 2008, having been together for twenty years, since a year or two after they first met: she approached him for an autograph at a Rainbow gig. Christmas Eve was originally released in 2006 on their Winter Carols album, which has since undergone three reissues with various additions, culminating in a bumper 27 track version in 2022. This song was a revised version, originally issued as a single alongside the 2013 version, though this video was made especially for the most recent reissue. I think it is lovely.

I usually play this next one as part of my set of more serious songs, but saved it for today. Another retelling of the Nativity story:

As I have said previously, I’m not religious but the first time I heard this was while I was driving. I had to pull over, as it isn’t really safe to drive when tears are springing to your eyes. It still has that effect on me: even more so when I first played it in 2021, as I was nervously awaiting the birth of my second granddaughter – who celebrated her fourth birthday earlier this month. This was the closing track on Steve Earle’s third album, Copperhead Road: I’ve always loved the album, which is probably still my favourite of his, though it has some stiff competition! The harmony vocals are from Maria McKee, formerly of the band Lone Justice, who is best known in the UK for her 1990 #1 hit Show Me Heaven. A really beautiful song, I think.

In slightly different vein for my next two, both of which were UK chart hits. The first of them represents a late change in the programme, and is the one I’ve never played before. I am a huge fan of Chris Rea but this isn’t among my favourite Christmas songs, but in view of the sad news of his passing yesterday I think the least I can do is play this in his honour, with my thanks for all the enjoyment his music has given me for so many years:

From Wikipedia:

“Driving Home for Christmas is a Christmas song written and composed by the British singer-songwriter Chris Rea. The first version was originally released as the B-side to his single Hello Friend in 1986. In October 1988, a re-recorded version served as one of two new songs on Rea’s first compilation album New Light Through Old Windows. It was issued as the fourth single from the album in November 1988, where it peaked at #53 on the UK Singles Chart as the lead track of The Christmas EP.

Despite its original modest chart placement, the song has made a reappearance on the UK Singles Chart every year since 2007 when it peaked at #33, and is featured among the Top 10 Christmas singles. It reached a new peak of #10 on the UK Singles Chart in 2021.  In a UK-wide poll in December 2012, it was voted twelfth on the ITV television special The Nation’s Favourite Christmas Song.”

And from Chris himself:

“Speaking about the song during the 2020 Mortimer And Whitehouse: Gone Fishing Christmas special, he told comedian Bob Mortimer: “I was on the dole when I wrote that. My manager had just left me. I’d just been banned from driving, right. My now wife, Joan, she had to drive down to London, picked me up in the Mini, and take me home, and that’s when I wrote it.”

It stood at #30 in the Christmas Singles Chart published last Friday, but I suspect it may jump in the next listings, which will be out on Boxing Day. R.I.P. Chris.

And another favourite is up next:

2,000 Miles was released by The Pretenders in November 1983, and I’ve always liked it. In the UK it reached #15, while in the US it was the B-side to the band’s single of Middle Of The Road, which peaked at #19. It also appeared on their 1984 album Learning To Crawl, which was #11 in the UK and #5 in the US. Cover versions include Coldplay and Kylie Minogue but I much prefer the original, and I’ve never seen a Salvation Army uniform look that good on anyone else. I’ve pinched a bit of background to the song from Wikipedia for your edification and erudition:

“While many people believe the song’s title and lyrics refer to two long-distance lovers who miss each other over the holidays, it was actually written for James Honeyman-Scott, the group’s original guitarist, who died the year before the song was released. It frequently reappears in the UK Charts around Christmas time staying in the charts for a few weeks over the Christmas period.”

That makes the six songs I promised you, but as it’s Christmas here’s another little present for you. When your favourite covers band drops another video there’s only one thing to do – play it:

First To Eleven making their third appearance in this year’s Advent Countdown, but they are so good that they deserve it. This was a nice change from their usual style of video, and it was good to see them having fun together as friends.

That just leaves one more promise to keep for today. Here is the last of the Hafod Hardware ads, to complete the set:

When I first shared this it was hot off the presses. As with all four of their ads they had a very limited budget, most of which was spent on acquiring the rights to use the music. The reason I have played them all again in subsequent years is that I think they get right to the heart of what Christmas should be about, and they do it far better than the big retailers and their advertising agencies. The star of this video is little Arthur, who was 3 at the time. The music for all four ads has been by Andrea Von Kampen, and the beautiful simplicity of her songs is a perfect fit. The song in this one – Hard Times Come Again No More – is actually a real oldie, which has become a traditional folk song in the US. It was written by Stephen Foster (the ‘father of American music’) in 1854, and its message of asking the fortunate to consider those less lucky than themselves is just as true today as ever. It is so right for Hafod’s message of giving what you can, which is possibly even more relevant now than it was five years ago.

This has become a rather bumper edition of my Advent Countdown, but I hope you have found something in here to enjoy. I’ll be back on Christmas Day to round things off and hope to see you then – it will be the perfect way to escape those annoying family members you only see once a year! Until then, stay safe and well 🤶🎅

And remember,