Beverley FM's Alternative Christmas Carols

John Brien from Beverley FM talks us through some of his favourite Alternative Christmas Carols. 

We all know the traditional Christmas carols and songs – from Jingle Bells to Slade’s masterpiece - and I have to admit that I do have a soft spot for ‘I wish it could be Christmas Every Day’ because I’ve seen Roy Wood play it a couple of times and joined in with a hall full of people singing along, but here I’m aiming to choose my Top Ten Favourite Carols You Won’t Know.

My first list was a list of fourteen - four songs too many for a Top Ten. So unfortunately something had to go. Three of the fourteen were arrangements of ‘Silent Night’ so two will have to be dropped. Which one though? I can’t decide!

And sadly, the beautiful Yorkshire carol, ‘Sweet Bells’ by Kate Rusby has also gone; this is because the lovely voice of Kate (who we will be seeing at Beverley Folk Festival in 2016) singing this carol is quite well known, although not a chart success. I have also dropped the Lower Light’s bluegrass arrangement of ‘Away in a Manger’ as I don’t have it in my personal collection. That leaves ten and here they are, in alphabetical order! 

‘The Coventry Carol’ by Alison Moyet

Her voice is just sublime. I have seen her three times in different circumstances and she is a very special talent. This version shows off her voice at its best over an electro-rock backing.

‘Ding Dong Merrily on High’ by The Cambridge Buskers 

I saw The Cambridge Buskers a couple of times -er -busking and they were outstanding! One plays recorder and flute (though not at the same time) and the other is on piano-accordion. This recording does have multi-tracking so we hear several recorders going on at the same time along with bass guitar and drums. Oh and there’s a magnificent key change in the middle.

‘Do You Hear What I Hear?’ by Mariah Carey

I remember this tune from when I was quite young sung by Bing Crosby, which the BBC used to play quite regularly. This is a typical Mariah Carey BIG arrangement and she, in an entirely different way to Alison Moyet, has an outstanding voice with a massive range. Pity she’s such a diva!

‘Have yourself a Merry Little Christmas’ by Rock Ya’ Christmas featuring John Sloman

I can’t remember where I found the CD Rock Ya’ Christmas. Basically it’s a mix of carols and Christmas songs played by some stars of the heavy metal music scene with an emphasis on electric guitars with over-drive. The lead vocalist, John Sloman sings with the band Lone  Star.

'The Holly and the Ivy’ by Steeleye Span

Steeleye Span are another act we will be seeing at Beverley Folk Festival in 2016. Their 1973 Christmas hit ‘Gaudete’ sung à Capella in Latin is very well known. ‘The Holly and the Ivy’ was the B-side of that 7” single.

‘I Saw Three Ships’ by St Agnes Fountain

I have to thank a couple of friends for introducing me to this band, who are named after a line in the carol ‘Good King Wenceslas’. They are four stalwarts from the world of folk-rock who get together at Christmas to perform their own versions of traditional music. There are some lovely syncopated guitars, banjos and mandolins going on here!

‘In the Bleak Mid-Winter’ by Nevada

I’ve come to realise that this is my favourite song in my Top Ten. Nevada were the nucleus of the prog rock band Renaissance and this tune, written by Gustav Holst, is one of the great tunes of British music, never mind Christmas music. Annie Haslam has a phenomenal voice and there is some fine synthesizer playing and some great electronic drumming.

‘Little Town’ by Cliff Richard

I’m not really a Cliff fan, thought the guy can sing and I was mad keen on The Shadows in the 60s. I certainly don’t like most of his Christmas songs, with the notable exception of ‘Saviour’s Day’, but I do like this. It’s another alternative tune to the one most of us learned at school and then it kind of edges into other things at the end with ‘Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star’ and a brass band blasting out. I know I said I was aiming for songs you won’t know but this is my only exception!

‘Silent Night’

Versions from 3 eras – Tamla from the 60s by The Shirelles, electro-pop from the 80s by Erasure and prog rock from the 2000’s by Mostly Autumn. Which would you drop? There’s also my boogie-woogie version which I will be playing at Toll Gavel Church at the Festival of Christmas on December 13th; it won’t get onto Beverley FM, though!

‘We Three Kings’ by Roller Disco Orchestra

This is from a really good album which I bought on vinyl and then CD. It’s disco, has some great synthesizer and reed solos and a woop-woop chorus of singers. So, that’s it! Trust me, these are all very good tunes, they have all had a lot of effort put into them and they all retain something that only Christmas music has.

I do hope you’ll be able to listen to my show on December 20th at 5pm on Beverley FM – 107.8FM or on-line at www.beverleyfm.com where you just click on the LISTEN NOW box.

Have a really good Christmas and, just for me, give these a listen!