After a long and challenging year, we are all looking forward to being able to put our feet up and enjoy Christmas with the people we love; yet some are finding it difficult to get into the Christmas spirit, which is what I’m here for. Below I have listed the top 10 songs to help you feel more festive this time of year, some of them are to do with the holiday, others are just feel-good songs that are guaranteed to raise the spirits of even the people most opposed to Christmas!
‘Happy Xmas (War is over)’ - John Lennon
Released in 1971, this classic song which was voted in a UK-wide poll as Britain’s 10th Favourite Christmas song ever, a passionate message of protest is conveyed through the lyrics about our involvement in the Vietnam War, a topic that John Lennon found interesting and often talked about in interviews. There is no doubt that one listen to this tune is enough to make someone desperate for the holidays to roll around.
‘1999’ - Prince
Although it’s not about Christmas, Prince’s intentions when making this song were obvious. Good vibes. The energetic and catchy guitar and keyboard riff are what makes the song so catchy and likeable. It’s practically impossible to listen to without at least tapping your foot. It’s irresistible and makes a perfect addition to this list as the party song is commonly played as a crowd-pleaser, and an extremely successful one as well.
‘Bethlehem’ - Declan Mckenna
With no links to the holidays except its title, ‘Bethlehem’ is an unlikely favourite of most of my friends and we all agreed that it was one of Declan’s best and most meaningful songs. Although not the most well-known song from his first album “What do you Think About the Car?”, it’s the repetitive and catchy chorus makes for an interesting and enjoyable listening experience.
'Dancing in the Moonlight’ - Toploader (Cover)
Originally released by King Harvest, Toploader’s cover of this famous and ageless song is a firm favourite of mine and many other people I know. It’s impossible to listen to this song without singing along or dancing. It reached number 19 in the UK singles charts in 2000 until it was re-released 5 months later where it climbed to number 7. It is clear that this beloved song is associated with Christmas as it’s streams soar around this time of year.
‘Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas’ - Sam Smith (Cover)
Introduced by Judy Garland in 1944, Sam Smith’s sad but elegant cover of this famous holiday classic is the perfect addition to this list, even though the song evokes a string of sad emotions from the listener. Being one of my favourite Christmas songs, I am slightly biased, but nonetheless, I believe this may be one of the best Christmas songs to ever exist, topped only by a certain song by Wham…
‘Take A Chance On Me’ - ABBA
After the Swedish pop group rose to fame following their Eurovision win in 1974, their songs quickly became wildly popular. ‘Dancing Queen’ and ‘Waterloo’ were two of the most popular songs formed by the supergroup, yet this song trumps them all with it’s positive and empowering lyrics as well as a beat perfect for dancing. An extremely popular party song choice, some may argue overplayed, but for me, the more I listen to the song, the more I love it.
'December, 1963 (Oh What a Night!)’ - Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons
After its release in 1975, this song reached number one in the UK singles charts. It was received brilliantly by the public and stayed at the top for 3 whole weeks. The unmistakable introduction to the song featuring the drums is worthy of a foot-tap on its own, although the whole song is a huge success in terms of music and lyrics. This song is the one I would play after getting home after a rubbish day and it never fails to put me in a good mood.
‘P.Y.T (Pretty Young Thing)’ - Michael Jackson
This cheerful song currently has over 200 million streams on Spotify alone, making it one of Michael Jackson’s most played songs. Although not associated with Christmas, like the majority of the songs on this list, it is a classic good vibes tune and its upbeat nature never fails to get people singing and dancing.
‘Merry Xmas Everybody’ - Slade
Most people I know have told me that I shouldn’t add this song to the list because “it’s repetitive and annoying”. I’ve ignored them. This Christmas song, to me, is probably one of the very few that would have me shouting the lyrics at the top of my lungs. The famous aggressiveness of the song coincides greatly with the positivity the band were trying to convey with their music and I love the mix of the light (Christmas) and dark (the harsh rock and roll nature of the song).
‘Last Christmas’ - Wham!
Possibly the most famous Christmas song ever made, (apart from the abomination that is Mariah Carey’s ‘All I Want For Christmas Is You’) it had to make the list as every year without fail, this masterpiece is blasted through the homes of every family in this country, and indeed, the entire world. George Michael’s angelic vocals married with the distinct keyboard riff throughout the song is the perfect combination to create a song that everybody loves. I have not yet met someone who doesn’t like it, and in all honesty, I hope I never do.
If you’d like to access the songs listed, scan the barcode below on Spotify to access the playlist!
By Felix Wiseman
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