Two of the classic festive tunes of the 1970s grafted together into some sort of grotesque monster.
We’re used to seeing great records ruined by tone-deaf cover versions, but there’s always something startling about seeing people murder their own recordings. Back in 2000, Roy Wood of Wizzard and Mike Batt – the man behind The Wombles and their frankly baffling pop career of the mid-1970s – decided for some bizarre reason to blend their two festive hits into one frankly shocking effort. Wizzard’s I Wish It Could be Christmas Every Day and The Wombles’ Wombling Merry Christmas are crowbarred together with no regard for musical decency, and the results are very much what you’d expect.
Batt wasn’t expecting the record to be a hit. He told the BBC
“The old days of silly, holly, Wombley Christmas songs seem to be numbered. The problem with Christmas songs with holly on and mentioning Christmas is that radio stations won’t play them until two weeks before Christmas. I am not blaming them; it’s only natural.”
Indeed, he was correct, and the record failed to make the charts. It now exists as a fading memory for the few people who have heard it. And so we bring it to you with the best of festive greetings. Enjoy!
And here’s a ‘live’ Top of the Tops performance:
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