Christmas tunes are like blues songs; they are almost public domain, open to reworking and reinterpretation, so bands and artists can, and indeed frequently do, put their own spin on them. In my mind, there are only two sacred seasonal songs that should not be touched – The Pogues and Kirsty MacColl‘s majestic “Fairytale of New York” and Jona Lewie‘s oft-overlooked “Stop the Cavalry.” After that, it’s fair game.
Bad Mary has opted for Wham!‘s evergreen, “Last Christmas,” so they are good in my book. They proceed to punk up, rock out, and have fun with it. There is even room for a nice Mariachi trumpet blast halfway through, a neat twist.
But what I love is the video. Okay, it’s a pretty straightforward riff on the “oh, socks for Christmas, again” vibe, but I can’t be the only one who sees a The Osbournes parody series in the making…or even a bona fide At Home with Mike and Amanda! TV executives, take note.
There is only so much you can do with such a cover, and Bad Mary gets it right. They don’t take it too seriously, they don’t overthink it, they don’t overplay it; they add a nice twist to a song we all know and a funny video satirising a situation we all recognise. Everything a Christmas song should be.
Right, all we need now is for Noddy Holder to give us the green light and announce, “It’s Cristmaaaaaaaas!” and the fun and festivities can begin.
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