"I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday", sometimes written as "I Wish It Could Be Christmas Every Day", is a Christmas song recorded by British glam rock band Wizzard. It was first released in December 1973 and, as with most Wizzard songs, was written and produced by the band's frontman Roy Wood—formerly of The Move and a founding member of Electric Light Orchestra. Despite the song's strong, long-lasting popularity, it has reached no higher than number four on the UK Singles Chart, a position it occupied for four consecutive weeks from December 1973 to January 1974.[1][2] The song was beaten to the 1973 Christmas Number 1 spot by Slade's "Merry Xmas Everybody", which remained at the top of the charts for five weeks, from December 1973 to January 1974.
| "I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Wizzard | ||||
| B-side | "Rob Roy's Nightmare (A Bit More H.A.)" | |||
| Released | December 1973 | |||
| Recorded | August 1973 | |||
| Studio | Phonogram Studios, Stanhope Place, Marble Arch, London | |||
| Genre | Glam rock, Christmas, pop rock | |||
| Length | 4:55 | |||
| Label | Harvest, Warner Bros. Records | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Roy Wood | |||
| Producer(s) | Roy Wood | |||
| Wizzard singles chronology | ||||
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Wood sings lead vocals. The backing vocals for the single are by the Suedettes, augmented by the choir of Stockland Green School First Year.[3] The original sleeve of the single credits "Miss Snob and Class 3C" with "Additional noises". The basic track for the single was recorded in August 1973, so to create a wintry feeling engineer Steve Brown decorated the studio with Christmas decorations and turned the air conditioning down to its coldest setting. Wood wore a woollen hat found in lost property. The schoolchildren were brought down from the Midlands to London by bus during the autumn half-term to add their contributions.[4]
At the time of the single's release, Wizzard's contract with EMI was close to expiration. Promotional copies were pressed by Warner Bros., with whom the band had just signed for future releases. Only then was it discovered that EMI were legally entitled to the track after all, so the Warner Bros. Records pressings were halted and the record appeared on the Harvest label, but with the same picture sleeve.[4] In a UK television special on ITV in December 2012, the British public voted the song second (behind "Fairytale of New York") in The Nation's Favourite Christmas Song.[5]
Music video
editThe video shows the band dressed up in a winter-themed studio and then joined by a group of children who play instruments and join in with the singing.
Re-releases
editAs it was kept from number one by Slade's "Merry Xmas Everybody" it was decided to re-release the single in 1981. It was then found that the original tapes had been lost, so the song was re-recorded by the band and a new choir, from Kempsey Primary School in Worcester, was used (they had appeared on Roy Wood's solo single "Green Glass Windows" earlier that year).[6] The single reached number 41 on the UK Singles Chart, and was released again in 1984, this time with an additional extended 12-inch version, getting as far as number 23.
As downloads became eligible for the weekly Top 75 from January 2007 onwards, and with exposure thanks to an Argos television advertisement, the song charted again in November and December 2007, this time reaching number 16. In the week of 13 December 2008, the song peaked at number 31. In the week of 14 December 2009, it peaked at number 45. In the week of 11 December 2010, it peaked at number 46. In the week of 12 December 2011, it peaked at number 28. It has appeared in the British top 40 every Christmas since and in the top 25 every Christmas since 2017.
Other versions by Roy Wood
editIn 1989, Wood re-recorded part of the song for Jive Bunny and the Mastermixers for use on their festive single Let's Party, which topped the British chart in December. In 1995, he recorded a live version and released it as a single on his own independent record label Woody Recordings.[7] The only release from a shelved live album entitled Alive, the single, credited to the Roy Wood Big Band charted at number 59 on the UK Singles Chart.[8]
In 2000, Wood re-recorded the song again for Mike Batt's Dramatico Records, as part of a medley with Batt's song "Wombling Merry Christmas". This novelty record was released as "I Wish It Could Be a Wombling Christmas Everyday" by The Wombles with Roy Wood and reached number 22 on the UK Singles Chart.[9]
On 16 December 2020, Wood appeared with his band on Dave's Meet the Richardsons at Christmas, singing "I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday" in Jon Richardson and Lucy Beaumont's garden. This version, which also played out over the end credits, was credited to the Roy Wood Rock & Roll Band.[10][11][12]
Personnel
editCredits sourced from The Guardian.[13]
Wizzard
- Roy Wood – lead and backing vocals, acoustic guitars, drums, cowbell, shakers, maracas, sleigh bells, glockenspiel, tubular bells, saxophone, woodwinds, cash register
- Bill Hunt – pianos, French horn
- Rick Price – backing vocals, bass guitar, coins
- Keith Smart – drums
- Mike Burney – saxophone, woodwinds
- Nick Pentelow – saxophone, woodwinds
Additional musicians
- Hilary Gunton – backing vocals
- Stockland Green School students – backing vocals
Charts
edit| Year | Song | Chart position | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK [14][15] |
IRL | SWE Heat [16] | ||
| 1973 | "I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday"[C] | 4 | 6 | — |
| 1981 | "I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday" (re-recording)[E] | 41 | 32 | — |
| 1984 | "I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday"[F] | 86 | — | — |
| 1984 | "I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday" (re-issue)[G] | 23 | 36 | — |
| 2007 | "I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday" (re-entry)[H] | 16 | 42 | — |
| 2008 | "I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday" (re-entry) | 31 | 42 | — |
| 2009 | "I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday" (re-entry) | 45 | 23 | — |
| 2010 | "I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday" (re-entry) | 46 | 28 | — |
| 2011 | "I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday" (re-entry) | 28 | 30 | — |
| 2012 | "I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday" (re-entry) | 29 | 37 | — |
| 2013 | "I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday" (re-entry) | 31 | — | — |
| 2014 | "I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday" (re-entry) | 35 | 68 | — |
| 2015 | "I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday" (re-entry) | 27 | 49 | — |
| 2016 | "I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday" (re-entry) | 23 | 60 | — |
| 2017 | "I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday" (re-entry) | 15 | 29 [17] |
— |
| 2018 | "I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday" (re-entry) | 12 | ? | — |
| 2019 | "I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday" (re-entry) | 10 | ? | — |
| 2020 | "I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday" (re-entry) | 13 | 44 | — |
| 2021 | "I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday" (re-entry)[18] | 15 | — | 20 |
| 2022 | "I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday" (re-entry) | 23 | 39 | — |
| 2023 | "I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday" (re-entry) | 25 | — | — |
| "–" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory. | ||||
- A^ Vocal backing by the Suedettes
- B^ Vocal backing by the Suedettes and the Bleach Boys
- C^ Wizzard featuring vocal backing by the Suedettes plus the Stockland Green Bilateral School First Year Choir with additional noises by Miss Snob and Class 3C[19]
- D^ Credited to Roy Wood's Wizzard
- E^ This is the new version with children from Kempsey Primary School, but released on Harvest Records the same catalogue number as the original.[20]
- F^ Credited by the Official Charts Company as Roy Wood and Wizzard[21]
- G^ Re-entry of re-issue with 12" re-recording
- H^ In the digital era of downloads and streaming, the record is credited simply to Wizzard, with the rights holder being EMI Records.
Certifications and sales
edit| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom (BPI)[22] | 3× Platinum | 1,800,000‡ |
|
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. | ||
The Big Reunion version
edit| "I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by The Big Reunion (Five, 911, Atomic Kitten, Honeyz, B*Witched, Liberty X and Blue) | ||||
| Released | 16 December 2013 | |||
| Recorded | October–November 2013 | |||
| Studio | London, England | |||
| Genre | Christmas | |||
| Length | 4:48 | |||
| Label | Universal | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Roy Wood | |||
| Producer(s) | Cutfather | |||
| Blue singles chronology | ||||
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| Five singles chronology | ||||
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| 911 singles chronology | ||||
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| Atomic Kitten singles chronology | ||||
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| B*Witched singles chronology | ||||
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| Honeyz singles chronology | ||||
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| Liberty X singles chronology | ||||
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| Music video | ||||
| "I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday" on YouTube | ||||
Background and release
editOn 23 October 2013, it was announced that the six 1990s and early 2000s pop bands who reunited for the ITV2 series The Big Reunion - Five, 911, Atomic Kitten, B*Witched, Blue, Honeyz and Liberty X - would be releasing a cover version of "I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday", with all proceeds split between six Text Santa charities: Age UK, Barnardo's, BeatBullying, the British Heart Foundation, CLIC Sargent and Help the Hospices.[23] The recording of the charity single, which was produced by Danish producer and songwriter Cutfather (the Saturdays and One Direction), was the subject of a behind-the-scenes documentary broadcast on ITV2 on 12 December 2013.[23] The song was released on 16 December 2013 and charted for 1 week in the UK Top 75 at Number 21, with the release credited to The Big Reunion Cast 2013.[24]
Music video
editThe official music video for the Big Reunion version of the song was uploaded to YouTube on 2 December 2013.[25]
Charts
edit| Chart (2013) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Ireland (IRMA)[26] | 82 |
| Scotland (OCC)[27] | 32 |
| UK Singles (OCC)[28] | 21 |
References
edit- ^ The four consecutive weeks include one for which no new chart was published; when this occurs, it is the usual practice to repeat the previous week's chart to fill the gap. The same two records - "I Love You Love Me Love" and "You Won't Find Another Fool Like Me" - intervened between the Slade and Wizzard discs both before and after the "gap" week.
- ^ "I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday — Wizzard". Last.fm. 29 December 2022. Retrieved 29 June 2023.
- ^ It has been claimed that the choir's participation was arranged by pianist Bill Hunt, who may have been brother-in-law of the school's maths teacher.[citation needed] But a familial connection has been disputed since Hunt's mother is claimed to have lived in nearby Queens Road, also within the ward of Stockland Green.[citation needed]
- ^ a b Van der Kiste, John (2012). Roy Wood: The Move, Wizzard and beyond. KDP.
- ^ "The Nation's Favourite Christmas Song". ITV. 22 December 2012.
- ^ "Missing tapes and mystery choirs: The making of a Christmas classic". BBC. 25 December 2013.
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2 August 2017. Retrieved 17 December 2020.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ "ROY WOOD | full Official Chart History". OfficialCharts.com.
- ^ "I Wish It Could-Be a Wombling Christmas | full Official Chart History". OfficialCharts.com. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
- ^ ""Meet the Richardsons" Christmas Special 2 (TV Episode 2020)". IMDb.com.
- ^ "Meet the Richardsons at Christmas: Jon Richardson and Lucy Beaumont open up their Hebden Bridge home for festive special with Johnny Vegas". Yorkshire Post. Retrieved 29 June 2023.
- ^ "Meet the Richardsons | Dave Channel". Dave.uktv.co.uk.
- ^ Black, Johnny (20 December 2011). ""The making of Wizzard's I Wish It Could Be Christmas Every Day – a classic interview from the vaults"". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 November 2024.
- ^ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 608. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
- ^ "Wizzard | full Official Chart history". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 28 December 2019.
- ^ "Veckolista Heatseeker, vecka 52" (in Swedish). Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved 3 January 2022.
- ^ "IRMA – Irish Charts". Irish Recorded Music Association. Retrieved 30 December 2017.
- ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100 | Official Charts Company". OfficialCharts.com.
- ^ 1973 Harvest/EMI Records Ltd cat no: HAR 5173
- ^ "Missing tapes and mystery choirs: The making of a Christmas classic". BBC News. 25 December 2013.
- ^ "Wizzard | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". OfficialCharts.com.
- ^ "British single certifications – Wizzard – I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 6 January 2023.
- ^ a b "The Big Reunion cast announce Christmas single in aid of Text Santa". itv.com. 23 October 2013. Retrieved 24 October 2013.
- ^ "BIG REUNION CAST 2013 | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". OfficialCharts.com.
- ^ "I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday". YouTube. Retrieved 4 December 2013.
- ^ "Chart Track: Week 51, 2013". Irish Singles Chart.
- ^ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
- ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.