This song was a hit at Christmas 1981 and was in the charts at the same time as ‘One of Us’ by Abba and ‘Wild is the Wind’ by David Bowie two other songs that I am also very keen on. As a result of this it always seems like a Christmas song to me and so I often include it on my itunes Christmas playlist!
In Dec 1981 I was a thirteen year old and a keen lover of the pop charts and would always listen to the radio in my bedroom on a Sunday evening to hear the latest songs and I can distinctly remember hearing this then. It was bitterly cold in my parents’ house even with the central heating on at full power and as a result of this my mother would often go to bed in her nightie, dressing gown, thick socks and a balaclava! Although this sounds ridiculous it is true! She also had an electric blanket as well but was still cold! As a compromise I had a paraffin heater in my room and I can remember the very distinctive smell of paraffin and watching the blue flame flicker in the dark as liked to lie on the bed and listen to the radio with the light turned low as I liked to listen to my music unencumbered by the harsh light of the 100 watt bulb in the room! Although we were into the 1980s the rise of purely electronic music was only lust starting and I remember being very excited by some of the sounds and textures that Vangelis (previously famous for giving us the theme from ‘Chariots of Fire’) had managed to weave into this song and in his other music as well.
I have this on my ipod today and play it regularly….
Now listen to the song….
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