Song 31 - Mistletoe and Wine - Cliff Richard

No Christmas jukebox mix could possibly be complete without Cliff Richard, especially if you grew up in the 1980s. Mistletoe and wine was Cliff's 99 hit and went to number one in December 1988 spending a total of four weeks there and selling 750,000 copies. However, but the song's beginnings was very different to how it is known today.

The track was written by Jeremy Paul, Leslie Stewart and Keith Strathan for Scraps, an musical adaptation of  Hans Christian Andersen's The Little Match Girl set in Victorian London in 1976. The song, first performed at the Orange Tree Therate, Richmond, was originally written to be an ironic Christmas Carol sung by the matchgirl whilst she is being kicked out into the snow. However, when the musical was transferred to television nearly ten years later in 1987, the song was turn into a lusty pub number to be sung by the local whore. Obviously with Cliff's own religious beliefs, the lyrics were altered to reflect this. My mind does wonder at what it would have been like to hear Cliff sing the unaltered version. 

The outstanding quality of this song is that it is a great sing-a-long song, with the choir boy part. (The choir boy in the original recording is James Rainbird, who has a very successful singing career in his own right). I know my sister and I used to sing it together, one being Cliff and one being the choir boy. Happy memories! Whether we were a delight to listen to well that is a question for our parents!

Cliff Richard has been on top of the charts at Christmas four times, twice as a solo artist and twice as part of the group. I know on one of my Christmas albums, he is one about four times but for me this is the song I associate with him. The other chart toppers were Saviour's Day, Do they know its Christmas and I love you. 

To relive Cliff Richard and James Rainbird listen here:
Mistletoe and wine by Cliff Richard

Written by Jeremy Paul, Leslie Stewart and Keith Strathan, 1976
Performed by Cliff Richard