Picture from Bio

I imagine that for a songwriter there comes a certain point when you finish writing a song unaware (or possibly cynically aware) of the fact that they have just created a song that is going to continue to make money long after the initial chart success is over. Robbie Williams probably knew that his 1998 hit 'Millennium' had a potential future resurgence on New Year's Eve the following year, although Prince might not have written '1999' with the same intentions but it did get dragged out again. The big pay day of course is the Christmas hit, even the shit ones get shown every year on the music channels and the big hitters such as Slade, Wizzard, Shakin' Stevens and George Michael (not to mention Irvin Berlin's estate) pulling in royalties worth an estimated half a million pounds a year. 

Aside from Christmas songs there is also the occasional bit of good luck such as a piece of music being used in an advertisement or film, especially if the film is regularly on television. Football is another good earner, especially if used as the theme for competition coverage ('Bitter Sweet Symphony' by The Verve must have been a pisser for the band given that all the money from that song goes to the Rolling Stones), and a good World Cup song will always return to radio during the tournament ('Three Lions' and 'World in Motion' being the most obvious ones that spring to mind). 

While we might be jealous of those songwriters clever enough to strike it lucky as far as the royalty cheques, maybe we should spare a thought for those who might have rubbed their hands in anticipation only to have those hopes of a boost to the coffers cruelly snatched from them. 

The 2016 Olympics were held in Rio and the BBC used 'Not Gonna Break Me' by Jamie N Commons in the trailers, I can't remember what ITV used or even if they broadcast the competition. There is one band who have every right to be thoroughly pissed off and that is Duran Duran. Okay so the lyrics to 'Rio' don't exactly match, but they could have used the instrumental version as everyone knows the name. BBC1 is currently broadcasting Planet Earth 2, the sequel series to the original from 2006. Another kick in the teeth for Duran Duran who jointly take the writing credits and could have had turkey for Christmas. Perhaps there is someone at the BBC who hates Duran Duran (or one of the individual members) and gets a sick thrill out of depriving them of a payout. 

I've just checked the TV listings and I am going to keep an eye out for the upcoming nature programme Hungry Like the Wolf and see what happens. 

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 This week's edition of The Sunday Alternative is here. 

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I took the above picture this afternoon in Hyson Green, what’s weird is that you could almost be forgiven for forgetting about some window stickers (assuming you aren’t in the habit of cleaning or looking out of your windows, they’re the main two things you do with them), but if you look closely you can see Christmas lights on in the flat. Maybe the flat belongs to Roy Wood from Wizzard and he is simply fulfilling his wish?

My usual hope that I am at the station by noon and able to set up my show in peace went a little bit better than it normally does, I arrived at half past twelve today having woken up at eleven and had a record breaking combination of preparation in a short space of time. It can be achieved by making your tea before getting in the shower so it has cooled sufficiently to drink when you get out before getting dressed and picking up the case that should have already been packed. It doesn’t always work like that, but all the signs today were pointing to a good show. Unfortunately I was without Gary again, but I was joined by Simon Waldram who I’d booked via Twitter to perform on the show.

Read all about the show here.

The above pictures were taken this afternoon when thankfully there was nobody looking to wonder why I was taking photographs of wheelie bins. It was in a fairly untidy looking part of Nottingham, not rough and dangerous but an area that looks unloved and in need of at least a coat of paint. I love the fact that the householder seemingly decided to make the best of a bad situation by attempting to brighten things up a little. Maybe everyone should do a little something to brighten up their surroundings?

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Tuesday 17th December

To provide a festive background around the house, we tend to have one of the music channels on. In the run up to Christmas they run wall-to-wall ‘countdown’ programmes presented by pop stars and minor celebrities showing the same old Christmas videos that we all know. Alongside the likes of Slade, Wizzard, Shaky and Wham! they occasionally throw in something only children will have heard of such as the latest contrived Disney Channel starlet. I don’t personally think that there could ever be a real classic Christmas song again, as people take themselves too seriously nowadays.

Today is the third anniversary (to the day) of my Christmas show on Sherwood Radio, something I didn’t realise until this evening. It has become a tradition through Facebook (remember Facebook?) and Twitter that people download or stream the show at exactly nine o’clock in the evening, but this year the listening figures were down drastically due to me only remembering about forty five minutes beforehand. Having a look through the track list for that show again, I couldn’t believe how good a selection I had made. My reason for looking through this show again was mainly because I was sorting out the music for this Sunday. I didn’t get to do a Christmas special last year for The Sunday Alternative as I had walked out in November, so I’m looking forward to being able to do one this year.

For Sunday I have decided to go a bit anti-Christmas in the spirit of my new found apathy for this time of year. We will talk about Christmas but I am going to make more of my point from yesterday’s blog about only celebrating it every two years.

Going back to the start, I wondered about pitching an alternative Christmas video show to one of the music channels. I would watch something like that for sure, at the moment it doesn’t look like one of Magic’s Christmas programmes is going to feature ‘There’s No Lights On The Christmas Tree’ by The Sensational Alex Harvey Band for example.

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Everybody Knows That The Bird Is The Word

On Sunday 20th December 2009, I was finally proved right after years of writing about the power of the download. In 2007, I wrote about how significant this was to the music business. The rules changed in January 2007 allowing songs downloaded legally to count towards a chart position. During the run up to Christmas that year, the official chart had all the classic Christmas songs in; Slade, Wizzard, Andy Williams etc. See for yourself. There was even a facebook movement, (possibly the first of the kind) to subvert the traditional domination by the winner of X-Factor by downloading ‘Fairytale of New York’ to Christmas number one.

The problem as I look back on it is that it was all too early. I was ahead of my time thinking that people would fully understand the concept of the download as a source of power. I have said it before and I will say it again; the download rule was THE most important thing to happen to music.

THE MOST IMPORTANT THING TO HAPPEN TO MUSIC.

This ruling should have ended the dictatorship of the Simon Cowells, Don Ardens and Colonel Tom Parkers of the world. The possibilities were endless, yet we the public have let them get away with it. What we had was the power to subvert. There should have been all sorts of delightful nonsense going on in the charts in the name of irony; ‘Agadoo’, ‘The Birdie Song’, Anita Dobson’s ‘Anyone Can Fall in Love’ or the entire back catalogue of Jive Bunny and the Mastermixers. On a more serious note, unsigned bands should have made more of this rule, especially given the rise in social networking websites in the last three years.

Well, everybody knows that the bird is the word!

The strongest contender for this years undermining of The X-factor is a song from 1963 that did not enter the British charts until 2008, when it hobbled up to number 50. the reason for the popularity of ‘Surfin’ Bird’ by The Trashmen is of course due to it featuring in four episodes of Family Guy, the most famous one (that everyone remembers) being I Dream Of Jesus. As someone who has always been a fan of this song from before the bandwagon came rolling into town, I do find it a touch irksome that it is now seen as ‘that song from that episode of Family Guy’. On the other hand, as it didn’t chart in 1963 then it is lovely to see a supposedly obscure song receiving the attention and accolades that it deserves.

At the time of writing, the facebook group devoted to this cause has 570,447 members. Providing that everyone downloads ‘Surfin’Bird’ once, then there is a good chance that The Trashmen will be this years Christmas number one.

So finally, the public have spoken up against The X-Factor and made a stand. Last year was remarkable as the nation gathered around the radio on that Sunday afternoon to listen to the charts, mostly people who hadn’t done so in years which made it all the more special. Even more special by the way that twitter and facebook kept the whole country in touch with each other, as we set about making a mockery of mainstream pop music. As soon as the opening DAAAANG! of ‘Killing in the Name’ kicked in, we cheered an event worthy of a street party.

As I wrote here, the history of the Christmas number one is a strange and varied one. The rose tinted glasses brigade tend to lament the lack of an actual Christmas song in the top position, but if you go through the list you see that non-Christmassy songs far outweigh the sound of sleigh bells.

The facebook campaign to choose an alternative Christmas number one has entered into our collective conscious as a festive tradition in its own right. Along with turkey, tinsel, trees, the Coca-Cola lorry and It’s A Wonderful Life, if you were to compile a book The I-spy Book Of Signs That Christmas Is On The Way, you have to mention facebook.

Now that my prophecy of 2007 has become true, and everybody now understands how the download rule works now, is it not time to have a Christmas song at the top? We have a lot to choose from after all, and not just the obvious ‘compilation album’ favourites of Slade, Mud and Shakin’ Stevens. Now that Doctor Who is big news (and appropriate given how the BBC rests the Christmas day schedule on it), why not ‘I’m Gonna Spend My Christmas With A Dalek'? Or how about Bing Crosby? Judy Garland? Something from Muppets Christmas Carol, such as this lovely song? Something from the legendary Phil Spector’s Christmas Album?

Or, a new song altogether? Surely, a Christmas song can be written to top the festive hit parade. Would that not work?

As long as it isn’t Cliff!