01. Belle of St. Mark - Sheila E.Festive love sensations galore.
02. À quoi rêve une jeune fille - Alizee
Sultry pathos whispered like a pro.
03. Not Tonight Santa - Girls Aloud
Spector pop gets a council facelift.
o4. Maybe He'll Know - Blue Angel / Cyndi Lauper
Choose a version, any version. My fav is the Cyndi solo 'special version' (ie, the intended single edit).
05. Gold - Prince
Ar his 90s MOR best.
06. Winter Wonderland - Eurythmics
Ice-queen Annie's seethes 'season' like having a seizure.
07. Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) - Darlene Love
A blizzard of pathos and loving every second of it.
08. Oh Father - Madonna
She never ever did anything like this again. The finest lip-pursed 180 spin in the vdeio at the end.
09. One Wish - Roxette
Word-association brings this track - explosive like a cracker? - onto this list. A great Marie moment in the video: face in background looking strong and proud.
10. Merry Christmas (War Is Over) - Diana Ross
Diana has a nervous breakdown yelping 'war..is...over!' That's great Diana, now say the alphabet backwards whilst hopping backwards on one leg in a straight line.
11. Wonderful Dreams - Melanie Thornton
Underrated Christmas classic.
12. I Had A Dream - Alexia
Former euro-bopper gets her SUBO on. Not really, this is a new billingual composition.
13. Reveal (Kleerup Version) - Roxette
Overhelmed and overcome, tired eyes can rest listening to this. A thing of beauty in any of the edits (the teetering Attic remix and smokey original version).
14. Home On Christmas Day - Cyndi Lauper
Lauper's folky delivery is cute, sarcastic and utterly irresistable. The highlight from her patchy-but-barmy album Have A Nice Life.
15. I Was Born On Christmas Day - Saint Etienne
Bouncey rhythms and Cracknell's whispy voice wrapping around you like candy floss.
16. Christmas Just Ain't Christmas - SWV
The only thing worthwhile on their own stopgap Crimbo cash-in cracker.
17. 2 Become 1 - Spice Girls
Lush and heaven-sent.
18. It Must Have Been Love - Roxette
Get the 'winters day' version; M
arie's vocal bleeds into your ears. Defining 90s glamour.19. Stay - East 17
4 guys that would rough you up and put your ripped clothes back on afterwards.
20. Northern Star - Hole
Lyric-association qualification. I doubt Courtney had Christmas in mind - why not throw in Heaven Tonight as well if you're feeling generous. Maybe I will: 'here comes the horses galloping, I will never grow old' - oh Courtney, we all love you here.
21. One of Us - Joan Osborne
It says 'God' in the song for God's sake. Yes, it can be a Christmas song if I say it is.
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