It has been a shitty year hasn’t it? Global pandemic, movement curtailed, holidays cancelled, jobs lost, and presiding over the whole mess, a flailing and nakedly corrupt government. Still at least there’s always a pub or a club to go to. Oh wait, no, can’t go to those either. What everyone needs is cheering up! We need to escape from reality (at least temporarily) and return to better times to preserve our sanity! Happily, Mr Bristow, is on hand. As readers will know, he’s one of the few people allowed to get a mixtape onto monkeyboxing and especially when it’s as full of good feeling and opens, as this does, with…hang on…is that Donald Trump!? Ah – it’s ok – Danny Dyer’s arrived to put him back in his box – now to the music. Christ! Is that The Goodies!? They sound like a festively-themed cross between Goldie Lookin Chain and Rufus Thomas. Only in the 70s. Four minutes of that’s nearly enough to have you begging Trump to…ahhhh – that’s more like it, Smokey Robinson’s sublimely funky version of Jingle Bells – now we’re cooking! Bit of Vernon Garrett, yeah, oohh hello – Alton Ellis too – now we’re having an early reggae Christmas, won’t find the monkey complaining about that, and then it’s back to the soul. Lovely. Pass the mince pies, this has cheered me right up – might go down the pub…what? Oh yeah. Balls. Stick it on again, will you…
Mr Bristow’s Xmas Mix 2020 Track List
Make a Daft Noise for Xmas – The Goodies
Jingle Bells – Smokey Robinson
Christmas Groove – Vernon Garrett
Christmas Coming – Alton Ellis
Christmas Tree – King Stitt
Collins Greetings – Owen Gray
Place On Earth – Hopeton & Prime
Wishing You A Merry Christmas – Doreen Schaffer
Christmas Feeling – The Maytals
Christmas Jamboree – Sugar Minott
Sound The Trumpet – The Wailers
Tit for Tat – Ain’t No Talking Back – James Brown
Here’s To Christmas – Chris Kamara
Tell Me – Funky DL (Instr) & Blue Christmas Elvis Presley (Acapella)
One Little Christmas Tree – Stevie Wonder
Merry Christmas, I Love You – James Brown
White Christmas – Bunny & Skully
Jam Down Christmas – Charlie Fresh
Christmas Day – Detroit Jr
Merry Christmas – Velle Scott/All I can Say – DJ Hazard
Black (Soul) Christmas – Timi Terrific and The Redheads
Pearl Bailey – Jingle Bells Cha Cha