80s UK Christmas Singles #5: Queen - Thank God It's Christmas

Thank God it's extract number 5 from 80s UK Christmas Singles, and today it's Queen!

Queen - Thank God It's Christmas
Rock band Queen are acknowledged as one of the world's biggest music acts, with the golden era of their career spanning over two decades.  Best known for their 1975 classic Bohemian Rhapsody, the band would actually gain a whole new lease of life thanks to their blistering performance at 1985's Live Aid concert, so this Christmas single catches them in the calm before the storm.  Written by drummer Roger Taylor and guitarist Brian May, Thank God It's Christmas combines the band's anthemic abilities with a tender seasonal element.  With an arrangement mainly reliant on echoing staccato percussion and synth pads, the song is brought to life by Freddie Mercury's soaring vocals—with a little help from sleigh bells!  The sparse arrangement is bolstered by the backing harmonies from the other band members, though John Deacon's bass and Brian May's guitar make their presence known as the track continues.  It does not contain much in the way of the usual Christmas single adornments, but its starkness holds a certain appeal for the wintry climes of the season.  There were actually two tracks in contention for the band's 1984 Christmas single; this single, which was of course the victor, and a Brian May composition, I Dream of Christmas—though May later reused the track as a 1987 single for his partner Anita Dobson.

Written by: Roger Taylor & Brian May
Produced by: Queen & Reinhold Mack
EMI Records QUEEN 5 / #21

From my Kindle book "80s UK Christmas Singles" --  a bargain at 99p!

80s UK Christmas Singles -- out now on Kindle!

My new book 80s UK Christmas Singles has just come out on Kindle. Covering 81 pop singles released for the Christmas charts between 1980 and 1989, the book covers big hits, obscure curios and some downright bizarre releases.

Artists covered include: Kate Bush, Jona Lewie, Barron Knights, Darts, Jim Davidson, The Damned, St Winifred's School Choir, Chris Squire and Alan White, Holly & The Ivys, The Snowmen, Flogwell Flax, Hysterics, Johnny Mathis and Gladys Knight, Human League, The Waitresses, David Essex, David Bowie & Bing Crosby, Cliff Richard, Santa Claus & The Christmas Trees, Dizzy Heights, Peter Auty and the Sinfonia of London, Renee & Renato, The Pretenders, The Jingle Belles, Dennis Waterman & George Cole, Elton John, The Jets, Frank Kelly, Flying Pickets, Band Aid, Frankie Goes To Hollywood, Gary Glitter, Queen, Wham!, Captain Sensible, Alvin Stardust, Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton, The Bouncing Czecks, Paul McCartney & The Frog Chorus, Shakin Stevens, Weekend, Bryan Adams, Aled Jones, Keith Harris and Orville, Frank Sidebottom, Boris Gardiner, Spitting Image, Mini-Pops, Max Headroom, Jackie Wilson, Mel and Kim, The Pogues and Kirsty McColl, Run DMC, Chris Rea, Bad News, Anita Dobson, Phil Spector, Rick Astley, Pet Shop Boys, Chris Rea, Alexander O'Neal, Cliff Richard, Bros, Boney M, Star Turn On 45 (Pints), Freheit, Band Aid II, Jason Donovan, Coldcut, Jive Bunny, Ann Charleston & Ian Smith, Kevin Bloody Wilson, Jethro Tull and Max Bygraves.

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I'll be posting some extracts from the book (and some standalone 80s Christmas articles) in the run up to Christmas so please do check in!