It was initially black with white bits but now it’s grey with white bits. I think it’s a message and I’m destined for a Santa role. How did the recording for the Christmas album go? We planned to do a one-off Christmas song and then we had more time, so we did a couple of B-sides and it was good fun. We started in the first week of August and it was a gloriously sunny day. Every day in the studio, I’m in shorts and a t-shirt but of course, this is when all Christmas records are made. When Slade recorded theirs, it was in New York during a heatwave and you had these four mad English guys doing handclaps in the corridor! It’s great to think that even for a moment I experienced the same sort of thing as Slade did! I do love Slade. Is the album your chance to share your thoughts on Christmas? I’m an atheist, I’ve never been religious, and I’ve never had a religious background in my family but we’ve always celebrated Christmas. The last song has lyrics that I took from a story by Dickens. It’s not A Christmas Carol but what A Christmas Carol did was it gave everyone a text to reference that allows them to celebrate Christmas.
MUSIC “I THINK THERE’S SOMETHING DEEP WITHIN US THAT WE NEED TO CELEBRATE AT THAT TIME OF YEAR.” People have been having feasts in winter and December long before Christianity came along. In fact, Christians chose the date of Christ’s birth to coincide with the festivities that were already happening. There’s a big long story to the season that goes beyond that and I think there’s something deep within us that we need to celebrate at that time of year. Are you a Christmas or New Year man? When I was younger, I was more of a New Year person but as I get older, I enjoy Christmas more. Hogmanay is a young person’s game and the last Hogmanay I enjoyed was at a family house and we had a couple of drinks and watched TV. 10 to 15 years ago, I’d have been clubbing but I prefer a quieter one now. Does the process of writing Christmas songs differ from standard songs? It reminded me of when I was writing songs for the film Where You’re Meant To Be. There was source material and a focus before you even started. It’s not necessarily the most cheerful Christmas record you will ever hear but I can assure you it was great fun to write and make.
Music by Andrew Reilly Page 15