Christmas Hits of the 80s and 90s

Part 2 of the Christmas lyric quiz - answers next week, and the ones for last week at the end of this post.

A) Let the Christmas spirit ring, later we'll have some pumpkin pie.
B) You know that sweet Santa Claus is on the way.
C) Hallelujah, Noël, be it Heaven or Hell The Christmas we get, we deserve
D) Soon the bells will start and the thing that'll make 'em ring is the carol that you sing.
E) So this is Xmas and what have you done.
F) Look to the future now, It's only just begun.
G) He's making a list, And checking it twice; Gonna find out Who's naughty and nice.
H) Here we are as in olden days, Happy golden days of yore.



And here are the year-by-year Christmas hits from 80s, 90s and beyond

1980s
1980 – Jona Lewie – Stop The Cavalry
1981 – The Waitresses – Christmas Wrapping
1982 – David Essex – A Winter’s Tale, Shakin’ Stevens – Blue Christmas, Cliff Richard – Little Town, Frank Kelly – Christmas Countdown
1983 – Paul McCartney – Pipes Of Peace, Pretenders – 2000 Miles
1984 – Band Aid – Do They Know It’s Christmas?, Wham! – Last Christmas, Queen – Thank God it’s Christmas
1985 – Shakin’ Stevens – Merry Christmas Everyone, Bruce Springsteen - Santa Claus is Comin' to Town, Aled Jones – Walking In The Air
1987 – Pogues featuring Kirsty MacColl – Fairytale Of New York
1988 – Cliff Richard – Mistletoe And Wine, Chris Rea – Driving Home for Christmas, Freiheit – Keeping the Dream Alive
1989 – Band Aid II – Do They Know It’s Christmas

1990s
1990 – Cliff Richard – Saviour’s Day, John Williams – Carol of the Bells, Whitney Houston – Do you Hear What I Hear?
1991 – Shakin’ Stevens – I’ll be Home for Christmas, Cliff Richard – We Should be Together
1992 – Darlene Love – All Alone on Christmas
1993 – Dina Carroll – The Perfect Year, Kate Bush – Home for Christmas
1994 – Mariah Carey – All I Want For Christmas Is You, East 17 – Stay Another Day, Bon Jovi – Please Come Home For Christmas
1995 – Luther Vandross – Every Year, Every Christmas, Michael Jackson - Earth Song
1996 – The Smurfs – Your Christmas Wish
1999 – Cliff Richard – The Millennium Prayer, Tom Jones & Cerys Matthews – Baby, It's Cold Outside

2000s
2003 – The Darkness – Christmas Time (Don’t Let The Bells End), Billy Mack – Christmas Is All Around
2004 – Band Aid 20 – Do They Know It’s Christmas?, Celine Dion – O Holy Night
2007 – Kylie Minogue – Santa Baby, Michael Bublé – Have Yourselves a Merry Little Christmas 2008 – Status Quo – It’s Christmas Time, Alexandra Burke – Hallelujah
2009 – George Michael - December Song (I Dreamed of Christmas), Sir Terry Wogan & Aled Jones – Silver Bells
2011 – Michael Bublé – All I Want for Christmas is You, Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)
2012 – Michael Bublé – It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas, White Christmas


 



Answers for last week:
1. Pogues featuring Kirsty MacColl – Fairytale Of New York 87
2. Wham! – Last Christmas 84
3. Chris Rea - Driving Home For Christmas 88
4. Mariah Carey – All I Want For Christmas Is You 94
5. East 17 - Stay Another Day 94
6. Shakin’ Stevens – Merry Christmas Everyone 85
7. Kate Bush – Home for Christmas 93
8. Band Aid – Do They Know It’s Christmas? 84
9. Kylie Minogue – Santa Baby 07 (Eartha Kitt 53)

Christmas Hits of the 60s and 70s

I used to run a lyric quiz on my last lesson before Christmas every year. Nothing to do with maths, but we'd do 3D initials on Isometric paper, or Christmas co-ordinates - basically a colouring in lesson with lots of Christmas music playing. See how you get on - answers next week.

1) You were handsome, you were pretty, Queen of New York City.
2) This year, to save me from tears I'll give it to someone special.
3) I sing this song to pass the time away, driving in my car.
4) I just want you for my own. more than you could ever know
5) Baby if you've got to go away, don't think I could take the pain.
6) Snow is falling all around me.
7) You know that I'll be waiting to hear your footsteps saying.
8) At Christmastime we let in light and we banish shade.
9) Think of all the fun I've missed Think of all the fellas that I haven't kissed.

It's no good looking for clues below - all but one were released after 1979.

And now for the year-by-year Christmas hits.
This is not a comprehensive list by any means, but it includes many of my all-time favourites.

Early Hits
1942 – Bing Crosby – White Christmas
1951 – Perry Como – It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas
1952 – Bing Crosby – Silent Night, Jimmy Boyd – I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus
1953 – Eartha Kitt – Santa Baby
1957 – Harry Belafonte – Mary’s Boy Child, Frank Sinatra – Have Yourselves a Merry Little Christmas
1958 – Johnny Mathis – Winter Wonderland
1959 – Max Bygraves – Jingle Bell Rock, Dean Martin - Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow

1960s
1960 – Ella Fitzgerald – Frosty The Snowman, Adam Faith - Lonely Pup (In A Christmas Shop)
1961 – Nat King Cole – The Christmas Song
1962 – Brenda Lee – Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree
1963 – Johnny Mathis – Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas, Andy Williams – It’s The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year,
The Beach Boys – Little Saint Nick, Bing Crosby– Do you Hear What I Hear?, The Crystals – Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer,
Dora Bryan – All I Want For Christmas Is A Beatle
1964 – Burl Ives – A Holly Jolly Christmas, Elvis Presley – Blue Christmas
1966 – Elvis Presley – If Everyday Was Like Christmas, Dean Martin – A Marshmellow World
1967 – Barbra Streisand – The Christmas Song, The Beatles – Christmastime Is Here Again
1969 – Engelbert Humperdinck - Winter World Of Love

1970s
1970 – José Feliciano – Feliz Navidad, The Carpenters - Merry Christmas Darling, Jackson 5 – Santa Claus is Coming to Town
1971 – John and Yoko and The Plastic Ono Band - Happy Xmas (War Is Over)
1972 – Mud – Lonely This Christmas
1973 – Slade – Merry Xmas Everybody, Wizzard – I Wish It Could Be Christmas Every Day,
Elton John – Step into Christmas, Steeleye Span – Gaudete
1974 – The Wombles – Wombling Merry Christmas, Showaddywaddy – Hey Mr Christmas, Mud – Lonely This Christmas
1975 – Greg Lake – I Believe In Father Christmas, Chris de Burgh – A Spaceman Came Travelling, Mike Oldfield – In Dulce Jubilo,
The Four Seasons – December, 1963 (Oh, What a Night), Dana – It’s Gonna be a Cold, Cold Christmas,
Love Unlimited - It May Be Winter Outside (But In My Heart It's Spring
1976 – Johnny Mathis – When A Child Is Born, Jethro Tull – Ring out Solstice Bells
1977 – Donna Summer – Winter Melody
1978 – David Bowie and Bing Crosby – Peace On Earth/Little Drummer Boy, Boney M – Mary’s Boy Child
1979 – Paul McCartney – Wonderful Christmas Time, Kate Bush – December Will Be Magic Again

Your 1970s Memories

The Calamity Chicks books are set firmly in the seventies and are loosely based on things which happened to me - especially the dancing, sailing and skating. And even the bits set in recording studios or featuring bona fide Hell's Angel bikers.
Yep, I had full-on teenage experiences which inevitably find their way into many of my series, one way or another.

I'm hoping several of the things which happen to my beleaguered heroines will resonate - particularly with readers of a certain age brought up in the UK ;)


To give you a clue, here are some examples. Remember these are coming-of-age stories, so they start off young:

Tina's Torment
* Playing in a den in the park
* O-levels/A-levels
* Nasty bully
* School disco at lunchtime
* 6th form sports afternoon (sailing)
* Saturday afternoon shopping - Woolies!
* Cinema showing short film before main feature
* The stench of pot in the uni students union bars
* Dad moaning if a phone call lasted longer than ten minutes

Chloe's Chaos
* Playing British Bulldogs
* Being on the dummy tables
* Nasty homophobic bully
* Peer pressure to “do it”
* Leaving school after O-levels/CSEs
* Near-escape with “bad-lad”
* Saturday afternoon skating
* Dreadful misogynistic rules of biker gangs
* Reuniting with first ever love

Linda's Lament
* I’ll show you mine …
* 11 plus tests – weird brain wiring required to succeed
* Neurotic mother who gave up career when pregnant
* Nasty bullying nuns at convent school
* School musical productions
* Saturday job in recording studio
* Learning to drive – getting first car
* Working in pub – MC club baptism of fire
* Meeting “the one” at uni freshers disco

The next book, Helen's Hazard is now available to pre-order - released on 2nd January 2026.

Helen's Hazard
* Sibling favouritism – cuckoo in nest
* 11 plus test – the consequence of failure
* Gangs guarding gym entrance
* Seeking refuge in school library
* Unsavoury attentions of babysitter
* Discovering real father – life begins
* Falling in love with a different country - Greece
* Tackling a demanding psychology degree
* Taming an arrogant Greek restauranteur


I'd love to know if any of these resonate with you - let me know in a comment
And the first 5 people who add an experience of their 70s - in particular your top 3 songs from that decade - will get a code to download a free copy Tina's Torment.

Calamity Chicks 3.3

Linda
Linda’s childhood saw her stumbling from one disastrous scene to another, mainly due to bad choices of her parents. Her dad, Chris, a loveable rogue, was the leader of Granite’s road crew, but his boss, Uncle Teddy, had some unsavoury inclinations. But her mother Marcia’s neurotic hang-ups result in even more heartache.

Jack Thomas
Undoubtedly the best-looking boy in her junior school, Jack was also the brightest. And all the teachers loved him; even grumpy Mr Hotchkiss, the deputy. Despite this, he was the only person in her entire life who hadn’t made her feel fat, ugly or a nuisance. When they met again in high school, they partnered as leads in a couple of school shows, but the onstage chemistry between them fizzled out when she met his girlfriend.

Granite
Lin’s experience on tour with the band forced her to grow up faster than normal, but there were advantages – mostly in the shape of Mindy, the band’s seamstress who was married to the lead guitarist. The woman had a gentle compassion and generous nature – the exact opposite to Lin’s mother.

Convent

After a couple of vindictive mothers lock horns, Lin ends up in a strict convent to be subjected to casual cruelty from spoilt rich girls and nasty nuns alike. As ever, she finds some high points in a couple of sympathetic nuns and two wonderful friends. Violet teaches her some tactics to navigate the impossible rules, and Colleen brings music back into her life.

Studio
Her dad finally opens a recording studio, and Lin helps out, finding a knack for organisation and proving to be an inspirational muse to several bands. One in particular, Rogue, decide she’s their lucky mascot and she gets quite involved when the lead singer, Zac, takes a fancy to her.

Don
Studying his plain white tee-shirt, black leather jacket and flared blue-jeans, she thought he looked much more comfortable than in the sparkly gear the manager insisted they wore. As he followed her in, she realised the seriousness of her situation, alone in the house with a much older guy. Common sense prevailed – Don was a nice guy and if he had evil on his mind like the boy in Helen Reddy’s Angie Baby, he wouldn’t be afraid of people laughing. She narrowed her eyes. “Laugh at what?”

Nut
The VP of a rough MC, Nut has a softer side, teasing her to guess how he got his nickname. Working on the Battle of the Bands together, they got closer and she couldn’t help but notice his height and broad shoulders. But as ever, trouble isn’t far away as one of the biker groupies takes offence at Nut’s interest in Lin.