I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday
| "I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday" | ||||
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| Single by Wizzard | ||||
| from the album Wizzard Brew | ||||
| B-side | "Rob Roy's Nightmare (A Bit More H.A.)" | |||
| Released | 1973 | |||
| Format | 7" | |||
| Recorded | August 1973, Phonogram Studios, Stanhope Place, Marble Arch, London | |||
| Genre | Glam rock, Christmas | |||
| Length | 4:48 | |||
| Label | Harvest Records & Warner Bros. Records | |||
| Writer(s) | Roy Wood | |||
| Producer | Roy Wood | |||
| Wizzard singles chronology | ||||
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"I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday" is a popular Christmas song, first released in 1973 by the English glam rock band Wizzard.
It reached number four in the UK singles chart.[1] The song was famously beaten to Christmas number one by Slade's "Merry Xmas Everybody" which remained there for five weeks, from December 1973 to January 1974. As with most Wizzard songs it was written and produced by Roy Wood.
The song features the lead vocals of frontman Roy Wood but also contains backing vocals by "The Suedettes" as well as the choir of The Stockland Green Bilateral School First Year (arranged by pianist Bill Hunt, who was the brother-in-law of the school Maths teacher), with additional noises being produced by "Miss Snob and Class 3C", as credited on the sleeve. The single was actually recorded in the August so to create a wintry feeling, engineer Steve Brown decorated the studio with Christmas decorations and turned the air conditioning down to its coldest setting. Singer Roy Wood wore a woollen hat found in Lost Property.
The first issue of the single was on Warner Brothers, as they had signed with them at the end of 1973, but this single proved to be the last EMI single, so the single was immediately issued on Harvest with the same picture sleeve.
Although Wood had arranged for the members of the Stockland Green school choir to sing at the Top Of The Pops television recording, their place was taken by children provided by a local London stage school.
[edit] Re-releases
With the failure of its first release to reach #1 in 1973 - it was kept from number one by Slade's 'Merry Christmas Everybody' - it was re-released in 1981 (only reaching #41) and then again in 1984, this time with an additional extended 12" version and getting as far as #23.
As downloads as well as physical sales became eligible for the weekly Top 75 as from January 2007, and with the help of additional exposure thanks to an Argos television advertisement later in the year using an excerpt of the song for a soundtrack, it was one of several Christmas oldies to chart again in November and December 2007. This time it reached No. 16, despite the absence of a physical release in the shops In December 2008 it reappeared in the chart at No. 31. In the week commencing 14 December 2009 the song had returned to the chart again at No. 45.
In the week commencing 12 December 2011 the song had returned to the UK chart at No. 28, it highest position since December 2007.
[edit] Covers
"I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday" has since been covered by many artists including:
- Roy Wood Big Band in 1995, (UK #58)
- Die Toten Hosen in 1998 on Wir warten auf's Christkind...
- The A*Teens in 2001
- Girls Aloud
- Spice Girls
- Westlife
- El Vez in 2002
- Sam Nixon on Pop Idol 2 in 2003
- Ash
- All Star United on Happy Christmas Vol. 2 (BEC Recordings)
- Les Fradkin on his 2006 Holiday CD: Spirit Of Christmas
- Sarah Brightman in 2008 on her album A Winter Symphony
- Connie Talbot (2008)
- Eoghan Quigg also covered the song in 2008 on the final of The X Factor (UK Series 5)
- The Saturdays in 2009 performing it on GMTV
- Wilson Phillips in 2010 on their album Christmas in Harmony
- In 2010, Celtic Thunder covered the song for their Christmas album
The song was also spoofed in 2000 when it was re-released as "I Wish It Could Be A Wombling Christmas" by The Wombles with Roy Wood.
[edit] References
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