Sunshine Radio: Christmas Pop, FM Rock & AM Soul

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Let’s celebrate Christmas on Sunshine Radio!🌲😊

Princess Freesia recently released the single Do You Like It, but a few years back Rudolph came out:

"It's a playful and slightly naughty take on the renowned, risqué and raunchy reindeer that is Rudolph, or as Freesia likes to call him, "RUDEolph"!" (Bandcamp)

Probably one of the most tragic pop stars that has ever lived is now forgotten Scottish singer Lena Zavaroni. In 1974, at only ten years of age, she was the youngest person in history to have an LP in the top ten of the UK albums chart. Later she starred in her own television series, made numerous TV guest star appearances, and performed on stage. When she got older, she found it difficult to continue her singing career and she lost fun in life. She started to develop anorexia nervosa and became very depressed. Her success at a very young age seemed to hit her back like a boomerang. Following an operation to cure her depression, Zavaroni died at the age of thirty-five from pneumonia. I recently saw an interview with her in a BBC documentary. She was clearly someone at her wit's end. She said that she really tried, but she found it extremely hard to see some hope somewhere. I chose to play her version of The Air That I Breath, a song that was made famous by The Hollies a few years earlier.

Mud's Lonely This Christmas is on this cloudcast and it is one of the prominent songs in the exciting new Netflix series Black Doves, starring Keira Knightley and  Ben Whishaw. Recently a parody version of the song was released called Freezing This Christmas, performed by Dean Ager under the name Sir Starmer and the Granny Harmers. All proceeds are going to old people's charities. And to quote Mud for my last words:

"Merry Christmas, darling, wherever you are..."

Tracklist: 

Say She She – This Wintertime (2024)
Rapallo – Daryll’s On The News (2024)
Soulpersona & Princess Freesia – Rudolph (2019)
Mud ‎– Lonely This Christmas (1974)
Pearl Charles – Déjà Vu (2021)
Clifford T. Ward ‎– Wherewithal (1973)
Al Green ‎– Let’s Stay Together (1971)
Ben Moore – Get Closer (1979)
Fleetwood Mac ‎– You Make Loving Fun (1977)
Walker Brothers – We’re All Alone (1977)
Smokey Robinson ‎– Being With You (1981)
Eagles – Please Come Home For Christmas (1978)
Barry Goldberg – It’s Not The Spotlight (1974)
Lena Zavaroni – The Air That I Breathe (1978)
Bridget St. John – Some Kind Of Beautiful (1974)
Byrne & Barnes – Never Gonna Stop Lovin’ You (1981)
Marshall Hain ‎– Dancing In The City (1978)
Crosby, Stills & Nash – Just A Song Before I Go (1977)
Brief Encounter – Human (1977)
Barbara Dennerlein – Little Drummer Boy (2015)
Wizzard – I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday (1973)