20 December 1980
John Lennon had been shot dead on the street in New York by a crazed fan just a few weeks before, so maybe people were craving some cosy escapism. (The flood of Lennon solo number ones awaits us like a Chapman in early 1981.) I also suspect the dread hand of some ‘zany’ English radio DJ who would have thought it a jolly jape to play this on air ad nauseum and send it into the hit parade, and we know that often when the UK chart sneezes, the Irish chart catches Covid. Plus, it’s a no-brainer Christmas gift idea.
Also, don’t let the whole ‘school choir’ angle fool you. This shower had already sung (uncredited) on a UK and Irish number one in 1978, the equally-appalling ‘Matchstalk Men And Matchstalk Cats And Dogs’ by Brian & Michael, appearing on Top of the Pops and all. Somewhere behind the scenes there’s the machinations of a sharp impresario, pushy parent or coke-addled boy soprano.
Whatever about British grannies, the Irish nans of 1980 had lived through the Black and Tans, the Civil War, the Emergency (when some foreign war or other meant we had no tea or bananas), the restriction of their reproductive and employment rights, the mass emigration of their children, and the conversion to that confusing decimal money. They deserved a better Christmas present than this. Shame on you.
