The Enduring Popularity Of Wizzard's I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday

Wizzard's 1973 single I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday is a true Christmas classic. Though some may want to scream - if they hear the song when they're trapped in a queue Christmas shopping.

One of the Great Christmas Song Choruses

With one of the greatest choruses to any Christmas song, I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday is skillfully arranged. It has an instrumental segment of typical Christmas music, followed by the winning factor of a children's choir.

I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday happily uses traditional Christmas elements, including Yuletide imagery, as well as the children's choir and sleigh bells. The tempo changes are clever, too. The song slows down towards the end, but then comes alive again, with sleigh bells and children singing before gently fading out. It's a nice touch, as the group allow the children to have the final word.

The Feelgood Factor

The song has a unabashed feelgood factor, that would get even Scrooge tapping his feet. There is no sob story about being alone at Christmas, but just a song that focuses on the positive aspects of Christmas, and a wish that every day could be like that. The combination of brass and bells help to give the song a strong, uplifting Christmas song sound. The saxophones are particularly prominent. There is also a magical, surreal element to some of the lyrics, notably about Santa travelling from the Milky Way.

Wizzard were one of the top groups in Britain in the first few years of the 1970s, and it could be argued that anything they released at Christmas would have been a hit. But that the song has endured for so long is a testament to the actual song itself. Unluckily for Roy Wood, Wizzard frontman, and composer and producer of I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday, another top glam rock group also had a Christmas hit that year. Slade's Merry Xmas Everybody reached number one, and has also become a Christmas staple.

Roy Wood famously sang I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday on BBC TV's cult chart show, Top of the Pops, dressed as a young and offbeat Father Christmas. Released at the height of glam rock, I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday is still one of the most popular Christmas songs in the UK. Like it or loathe it, it's virtually impossible to have a Christmas without hearing it!

England's 50 Greatest Footballers - Number 39, Cliff Bastin

My last book to be published in 2017 - England's 50 Greatest Footballers

Here's an extract from the book, a biography of Arsenal legend Cliff Bastin. Cliff is number 39 in the list.

39. CLIFF BASTIN

A precocious talent, Cliff Bastin made his League debut for his home town club Exeter City at just 15, and he was signed by Arsenal a couple of years later. Bastin was then to have a glorious 18 years with the Gunners.

Mainly a goalscoring left-winger, though also an effective inside-forward, Cliff Bastin's most fruitful season in front of goal was in 1932-33, when he scored 33 times - a League record tally for a single season by a winger. That season, Bastin also picked up a League winners medal, which he also achieved in 1930-31, 1933-34, 1934-35, and 1937-38. In addition, Bastin was in two FA Cup winning teams - in 1930 and 1936.

Cliff Bastin's career total of 150 League goals remained an Arsenal record until it was broken by Ian Wright, and Bastin also won 21 England caps. With Alex James, Cliff Bastin formed one of British football's great partnerships, and they had an understanding that bordered on the telepathic. While Bastin's trademark was to cut inside and unleash one of his renowned powerful shots, he was an expert penalty taker too - as in keeping with his calmness in front of goal.

England's 50 Greatest Footballers - Paperback

 

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https://www.amazon.com/dp/1981300767

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England's 50 Greatest Footballers - Kindle



Extract From Paul Rance's England's 50 Greatest Footballers - No. 47, Pompey Legend Jimmy Dickinson
https://footiearticles.blogspot.co.uk/2018/03/extract-from-paul-rances-englands-50.html

Radicalism In 19th Century Britain

The 19th Century saw a notable rise in status for the working classes. This was, in part, made possible by the working classes themselves and by Victorian philanthropists, who were appalled by the living conditions of some of the poor.

Peterloo Massacre

In the 1800s, workers in England stood up for their rights with a determination not seen since the Peasants' Revolt of 1381. The century was full of examples of a radical actions, which were often put down in a brutal way, as with the Peterloo Massacre of 1819, when cavalry troops used lethal force to cut down peaceful demonstrators in Manchester.

Luddites

19th Century England's first great radicals were the Luddites. In 1811, the Luddite riots affected major cities in Central and Northern England, as workers feared the financial impacts of the Industrial Revolution. Luddites destroyed machinery, which they feared would replace skilled manual labour. Riots led to executions and transportation for some of those involved, with the British Army used to quell the disturbances. The poet Lord Byron was a Luddite supporter and was an example of how some of the elite championed the cause of the working classes in the 1800s.

The 1830s were a turbulent time in Britain. 1830 saw another working class uprising, but this time disturbances began in the South and East of England before spreading to the Midlands and North. These were called the Swing Riots. Machinery was again targeted. With the advent of new machinery, wages for workers had actually decreased - because there was less need for manual labour. The years after the Napoleonic Wars had brought in a time of austerity and, combined with the effects of the Industrial Revolution, poverty was a fear of many.

Tolpuddle Martyrs

The six Tolpuddle Martyrs, in 1834, were an example of how desperate the State became in trying to suppress dissent. The Tolpuddle Martyrs were from Dorset and were the main inspiration for the eventual formation of trade unions in Britain. They sought better wages, and the support for them was so widespread that their original sentence of being transported to Australia for seven years was quashed.

Tolpuddle Martyrs Museum. Photo by Stephen McKay
[CC BY-SA 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3ATolpuddle_martyrs_museum.jpg

Rebecca Riots

In Wales, the Rebecca Riots, which took place from 1839 to 1843, were displays of anger by farmers and agriculture workers at what they claimed to be unfair taxes. Often male protestors would dress up as women, being inspired by a reference to Rebekah in The Bible.

Chartism and Anti-Corn Law League

Chartism was a movement that flourished from 1839 to 1848, and it was the first British working class movement to make an impact on government. The Chartists wanted six points to be agreed to and five were. Most notable was that every man over the age of 21 was allowed to vote - regardless of wealth or status. Also, working class men were to be given the chance to become MPs. The Chartists had organised a General strike in 1842 and many Christians were Chartists, which began a growth in philanthropy. Another strong working class movement at this time was the Anti-Corn Law League, which was formed to protest against higher bread prices and the resultant poverty enforced on the working classes.

Communist Manifesto, Trade Unions and Fabian Society

Europe in 1848 was in turmoil and it was the year that the Communist Manifesto was published by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. There were to be no more really major changes in British politics for the working classes until 1871, when trade unions in Britain were made legal. The socialist movement, the Fabian Society, was founded in 1884 and effectively spawned the Labour Party, which emerged in 1900. The London Dock Strike of 1889 was the last great working class protest of the 19th Century as the rights of the working classes became more respected.