November 1974.

Let me take this opportunity to wish you all a Merry Christmas, actually, let’s make that a Wombling Merry Christmas shall we? Just for good measure.

Yes, it seems rather strange playing host to the Wombles on Christmas morning, but why the frilly heck not eh? I mean, this is far from your average Christmas Day so why shouldn’t it start with something a little different?

Written by Mike Batt, Chris Spedding and Richard Kelly this was recorded by The Wombles. No really, it was! Oh, okay then, it was a group calling themselves The Wombles and dressed up in costumes. You couldn’t let me just believe it was the real Wombles, could you?

On its release the song was mocked by some and yet it was still a popular release, spending eight weeks on the UK chart and peaking at number two. It was kept off the top spot by Mud’s Lonely This Christmas and some have claimed this was down to poor marketing on behalf of The Wombles themselves. (Let’s be fair here, they pick up litter, they don’t know about marketing!)

In 2000 it was re-released as a medley with Wizzard’s I Wish it Could be Christmas Everyday, and titled I Wish It Could Be A Wombling Merry Christmas Every Day…a catchy title indeed. That time around it spent three weeks on the chart and peaked at number twenty-two.