November 1975.

Well of course it’s another Christmas song. It is Christmas after all! What’s more, the inner jukebox seems to be lining them up nicely ahead of the main event with one of my all-time favourite seasonal songs.

Written by Greg Lake and Peter Sinfield, founding members of prog rock giants King Crimson, this was never intended to be a typical Christmas song. Lake always claimed it was a protest at the growing commercialisation of Christmas, whilst Sinfield believed it was nothing more than an observation on the loss of childhood belief and innocence.

On its release the song was a huge commercial success in the UK, spending seventeen weeks on the chart and peaking at number two. It was held off the top spot by Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody but Lake himself was quite magnanimous about it and was quoted as saying  “I got beaten by one of the greatest records ever made. I would’ve been pissed off if I’d been beaten by Cliff.”

Can’t really argue with him on that one.