Santa Claus and the Christmas Trees was a novelty band created by Polydor Records in 1981.
Santa Claus & the Christmas Trees | |
|---|---|
| Genres | Novelty/pub rock |
| Years active | 1982–83 |
| Labels | Polydor Records |
History
editIn 1981, a Stiff Records novelty band, The Snowmen, had a Christmas hit single.[1] For the following year, Polydor A&R agent and occasional producer, Dennis Munday, whose main work was promoting post-punk groups such as The Jam,[2] put together a bunch of session musicians to record a similar 45, this time as a medley of traditional Christmas songs in a pub singalong style. The song reached the top 20, and the musicians appeared on Top of the Pops on 16 September 1982.[3] The band also recorded an X-rated version of the medley, under the same catalogue number (IVY 1), and with the same b-side, but with no identification on the sleeve or label.[4]
Polydor also commissioned the same musicians to produce a single for Valentine's Day in 1983, a medley of love songs[5] under the name Valentino and the Valentines;[6] it was not a hit. Undaunted, Polydor released a second Christmas medley, also accompanied by an X-rated version,[7] at the end of the year, and it also made the top 40, but there were no further releases from the concept.
Discography
editSingles
edit| Year | Song | UK [8] |
RoI[9] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1982 | "Singalong-A-Santa (Medley)" | 19 | 30 |
| 1983 | "Singalong-A-Cupid (Medley)" | – | – |
| 1983 | "Singalong-A-Santa (Again)" | 39 | – |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart. | |||
References
edit- ^ "SNOWMEN". Official Charts Company.
- ^ Bridge, Jon (2 September 2012). "Dennis Munday, first generation Mod and Polydor A&R who signed the Jam and other stories : an interview". Louder Than War. Retrieved 10 February 2024.
- ^ "Santa Claus & The Christmas Trees - Sing-a-Long-a Santa". youtube. 11 December 2017. Retrieved 10 February 2024.
- ^ "Record details". 45cat. Retrieved 10 February 2024.
- ^ "Valentino And The Valentines – Singalong-A-Cupid (Medley)". Discogs. Retrieved 10 February 2024.
- ^ Creagh, Liam (5 February 1983). "Rock". Belfast Telegraph: 11.
- ^ "Record details". 45cat. Retrieved 10 February 2024.
- ^ "SANTA CLAUS AND THE CHRISTMAS TREES". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 10 February 2024.
- ^ "Irish Charts". Irish Charts. Retrieved 24 January 2024.