WHAT MAKES CHRISTMAS ‘CHRISTMASSY’

EX MONKEE DAVY JONES ASKS 'THREE WISE MEN

Santa is still #1

‘Chestnuts roasting on an Open Fire’ or ‘Jack Frost nipping at your nose’? What makes Christmas ‘feel Christmassy’

(MMD Newswire) December 19, 2008 -- From Credit-Crunched Toy retailers keen to sell their goods to devout Christians wanting to increase their flock for the Christmas Services, marketing men and academics have argued for years over the icons and tokens that surround Christmas. Is it a pagan Festival or a Christian time to think of others? Or just an excuse to drink and eat too much and argue with the in-laws

Davy Jones, one-time boy singer with The Monkees, decided to make a new Xmas song for ‘the terrible year of 2008’, he sought the help of the men in white coats

Three songwriters dubbed ‘three wise men’ researched the themes and ideas that surround the holiday period with the help of the public, academics, scientists and composers of previous hits, and now they claim to have found the twenty things that really make Christmas so ‘Christmassy’

Their results were not an idle academic study, because they have put the top twenty ‘Christmassy things’ in a rocking new Xmas download by Davy Jones of the Monkees, released worldwide on i-tunes and other download sites on Monday 15th December 2008. A Limited Edition three track CD is available on the UK site of Amazon
 
The writers, Rikki Blue, Paul Clark and Stephen Irvine, used Google, Yahoo, ‘hits’ on websites, themes of popular tv specials and a specially commissioned poll of music fans, and were surprised that the twenty most popular aspects of Christmas included kids, Reindeer and parties- and Religion.
 
“We wanted to create the ultimate Xmas song that would chime with kids from London, Moscow, Washington, Tokyo and Sydney- a real rock number that combines what makes us feel good during the coldest most miserable part of the year.”

 
The song features the classic and the clichéd from sleighbells to a kid’s chorus. 10% of the profits from the song will be going to help sick children in UK hospitals.
 
Having created ‘the most annoyingly Christmassy Christmas song ever’ we needed to throw in the twenty most popular Christmassy things and began a search to see what makes Santa Rock’n’ Roll.”
 
“We found that, despite becoming a more Secular society, at the heart of the twenty most Christmassy things we found the core ingredients for a fun time- from sweets and Carol singing to Bing Crosby.” Said Paul Clark, one of the lyricists.
 
Before we all rush to condemn the list as yet another cynical nail in the coffin of the traditional Christmas of old, Davy Jones says to take it all with a pinch of salt. “It’s a fun song and a real Christmassy thing. If people ‘get it’ and it lifts them up at the end of a horrible year that’s great. We’re just having a good time and reminding everyone that Christmas is about laughter and family. Hopefully it will sell enough for us to donate a decent sum to a UK children’s hospital, so it’s in a good cause. It’s only rock ‘n’ roll – It’s Christmas!”
 
The results of the study show the twenty most popular things that we think are ‘Christmassy’ -
 
1.Santa/ Father Christmas/ St Nicholas
2. Reindeer/ Rudolph
3. Toys
4. Sweets and Xmas food and drink
5. Games with the family
6. Cheer – including alcohol
7. The Party of the Year
8. Xmas Rock’n’Roll
9. Church Bells
10. Sleighbells
11. Children singing Carols
12. Bing Crosby and White Christmas
13. Tinsel
14. Cards
15. Gifts
16.Being with someone we love
17. Xmas or Yule Tree
18. Nostalgia- turning back the clock
19. Religion- Christianity
20. Scrooge from Dickens ‘A Christmas Carol’
 
The composers, who have released the song by Davy Jones as a worldwide download for Christmas, incorporated the entire list into the lyrics- in the order of popularity.
 
“We start with Santa and his Reindeer and end with the ending of A Christmas Carol. It’s a list of Christmassy. Now that’s my idea of a modern ‘It’s A Wonderful Life’” said the composers.
 
LYRICS TO ‘IT’S CHRISTMAS’ BY DAVY JONES
 
Santa’s tuning up his band
Reindeer’s revving up as planned
It’s here, It’s Christmas time
Let’s make this Christmas fine.
 
Toys and Sweets and Games and Cheer
For the Party of the year
 
This year we’re really gonna have a ball
It’s Christmas
Come on it’s only Rock ’n’ Roll
It’s Christmas
 
The Church Bells ring out ding-a-ling
The sleighbells ring out ting-a-ling
The children sing Bing sing-a-ling
It’s Christmas
 
It’s more than tinsel, cards and gifts to me
There’s someone special sitting under Yule Tree
 
This year we’re turning back the clock
It’s Christmas
Come on- Are you ready to rock?
It’s Christmas
 
 
“And so, as Tiny Tim observed….
God Bless us, every one”
 
Lyrics © 2008 Blue/Clark/Irvine (P) 2008 Formative Records – used with permission
 

BACKGROUND

IT’S CHRISTMAS BY DAVY JONES

The short version: The new single by Monkees legend Davy Jones, ‘It’s Christmas’, brings us wide-eyed Christmas cheer.

The long version: ‘It’s Christmas’ is a Christmas present to this mad, sad world, direct from Monkees legend Davy Jones.  A Christmas single, it’s filled to the brim with the raffish mischief and bonhomie that has so long been Davy’s trademark, and it’s just plain good fun.  As Davy says,
 
‘It's been a dreadful year in some ways, but this song is full of hope for the future. It's about the true meaning of Christmas, and having a good time with those who matter most to us. Christmas has always been ‘more than tinsel, cards and gifts.'  If it lifts people that's enough.’
 
The start of the song is a none-too-subtle nod to the classic spoken word introduction to ‘Daydream Believer’.  ‘What day is it Skip?’ Davy asks.

A dozen children shout in reply.  ‘It’s Christmas Day!’ ‘Oh right!  No need to get excited, it’s because… I'm sure you know.’  At this point Davy is interrupted by a sudden thwack on a snare, and we quickly find ourselves rollicking through the first verse. ‘Santa’s tuning up his band, Reindeer revving up as planned…’

‘It’s Christmas’ is that most glorious of things, a ridiculous Christmas single, fully adorned with sleigh-bell solos, children’s choirs, and vast quantities of Christmas cheer.
 

FACTSHEET

Who:                   Davy Jones

What:                  ‘It’s Christmas’ single release

At radio:             From November 15th

For download:    From December 15th, available from iTunes [worldwide], Rhapsody, Napster, Amazon MP3, Lala, Shockhound, Groupie Tunes and Amie Street

Physical sales:    A limited edition CD is available only from Amazon’s UK store, www.amazon.co.uk , from December 1 (featuring the radio mix along with two Christmas cracker remixes)


A little more about Davy Jones and the Monkees

Born and bred in Manchester, Davy Jones began entertaining at 11 years old as Ena Sharples' grandson on Coronation Street.  Theatrical agents rushed for his signature, and he quickly found himself starring in the West-End as Oliver’s The Artful Dodger.  By 16, he was playing this role on Broadway, and it was for this role that Davy was nominated for the prestigious Tony Award.  Soon he found himself on the legendary Ed Sullivan Show – and his debut there was the very episode that introduced The Beatles to the US.  From this moment Davy was infected with a desire for pop-star adulation.  He says:

‘I saw those guys [The Beatles] on Ed Sullivan.  They’re from the North too, you know.  Well, there they were performing in the US, and everyone was going crazy.  That just changed my life, I guess.’

A miraculously short time later, Davy found himself with all the adulation he could handle, bobby-sox tumbling all over the world as his made-for-TV band The Monkees enjoyed hit after hit.  Davy compares The Monkees TV show to legendary pseudo-documentary A Hard Day’s Night:

‘There was no plot to The Monkees – it was just A Hard Day’s Night all year long.  They were great times, the Monkees days.  It was crazy, but we had so much fun!’

Four handsome boys with clean hair and irresistible smiles, the band (and the show) brought happiness to everyone who came across them during their flight through teenybopper stratospheres in the mid-60s, and have continued to do so ever since.  Their hits, ‘Daydream Believer’, ‘Last Train to Clarksville’, ‘A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You’, and ‘Pleasant Valley Sunday’, all sold in the millions.  The biggest hit of all was ‘I’m a Believer.’

‘And then I saw her face,
And now I’m a believer!
I couldn’t leave her if I tried…’

These simple lyrics, delivered over a beat backing with energy and joy, proved irresistible.  The track eventually spent an incredible 7 weeks at no. 1 in the US, along with a four week stint atop the UK charts.

Following the demise of The Monkees in 1970, Davy has observed entertainment fashions as they come and go, whilst still sneaking out for occasional forays such as featured performances as Fagin in Oliver, occasional music releases, and his many live performances.  Lately, he’s also tried his luck with the pen, writing a successful memoir, Daydream Believin’.


ENDS
 
NOTES FOR EDITORS NOT FOR PUBLICATION:

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