"Joys of Christmas" is a song by British singer-songwriter

Chris Rea Christopher Anton Rea ( ; born 4 March 1951) is an English rock and blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, fie ...

, which was released in 1987 as the third single from his ninth studio album ''

Dancing with Strangers ''Dancing with Strangers'' is the ninth studio album by British singer-songwriter Chris Rea, released in 1987. It became Rea's first major success in the UK, peaking at No. 2 behind Michael Jackson's ''Bad'', and spent 46 weeks in the charts be ...

''. The song was written and produced by Rea. "Joys of Christmas" reached No. 67 in the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

and remained in the Top 100 for two weeks.

Background

"Joys of Christmas" was inspired by Rea's own experiences of growing up as a child in

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area. Until the early 1800s, the a ...

. Rea recalled for the liner notes of the 2019 re-issue of ''Dancing with Strangers'', The single's B-side is the first version of "

Driving Home for Christmas "Driving Home for Christmas" is a Christmas song written and composed by British singer-songwriter Chris Rea. The first version was originally released as the B-side to his single "Hello Friend" in 1986. In October 1988, a re-recorded version ...

" that Rea recorded. The song was re-recorded for ''

New Light Through Old Windows ''New Light Through Old Windows'' is the first compilation album by British singer-songwriter Chris Rea, released in 1988. The album consists primarily of re-recordings of songs from Rea's earlier albums, as well as the new track "Working on It" ...

'' in 1988 and released as a single in its own right.

Critical reception

On its release as a single, Danny Baker of ''

New Musical Express ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

'' questioned "Joys of Christmas" as an A-side and felt that the "wee low-key gift tucked away on the B-side", "Driving Home for Christmas", was "the real winner". He added, "'Joys of Christmas' isn't even a seasonally recorded deal. It says here that it's from his last LP. How very odd." In a review of ''Dancing with Strangers'',

Robin Denselow Robin Denselow is a British writer, journalist, and broadcaster. Education Denselow was educated at Leighton Park School, a boys' Quaker boarding independent school (now co-educational) in Reading, Berkshire, followed by New College, Oxford, wher ...

of ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' described "Joys of Christmas" as a "bleak view of life in the North" and noted the song's "melodic bluesy feel" and "spoken pieces". Helen Metella of the ''

Edmonton Journal The ''Edmonton Journal'' is a daily newspaper in Edmonton, Alberta. It is part of the Postmedia Network. History The ''Journal'' was founded in 1903 by three local businessmen — John Macpherson, Arthur Moore and J.W. Cunningham — as ...

'' commented that the song "juxtaposes a modern hymn against the snapshots of out-of-work youth in north England". James Muretich of the ''

Calgary Herald The ''Calgary Herald'' is a daily newspaper published in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Publication began in 1883 as ''The Calgary Herald, Mining and Ranche Advocate, and General Advertiser''. It is owned by the Postmedia Network. History ''The ...

'' felt Rea had "penned a classic" with "Joys of Christmas" and noted its "cutting, Claptonish guitar licks" and "tales of hardship amid the season of supposed joy".

Track listing

7-inch single # "Joys of Christmas" – 5:04 # "

" – 4:34 12-inch single # "Joys of Christmas" – 5:04 # "Driving Home for Christmas" – 4:34 # "

Hello Friend ''Hello Friend'', sometimes written as ''Hello, Friend'', is a short comedy horror film directed by Graham Linehan and written by Linehan and Robert Popper. The film was Linehan's directorial debut. The film stars Martin Savage as a man, John ...

" (re-record) – 4:20 CD single # "Joys of Christmas" – 5:04 # "Yes I Do" – 3:21 # "Driving Home for Christmas" – 4:34 # "

" (re-record) – 4:20

Personnel

Credits are adapted from the UK CD single liner notes and the ''

'' booklet. Joys of Christmas *

- guitar, accordion, brass, harmonica, vocals * Eoghan O'Neill - bass *

Martin Ditcham Martin Ditcham is an English drummer, percussionist and songwriter. Ditcham is a prolific session musician, working with artists such as Henry Cow, Status Quo, Elton John, The Rolling Stones, Roger Daltrey, Sade, Mary Black, Nik Kershaw, Chris ...

- drums, percussion Production * Chris Rea - producer (all tracks), mixing on "Joys of Christmas" and "Yes I Do" *

Jon Kelly Jon Kelly is a British audio engineer and record producer, who began his career as an engineer at Air London Studios. He has produced albums and singles for Chris Rea, the Damned, Kate Bush (where he co-produced with Bush on her third album '' ...

- mixing on "Joys of Christmas" and "Yes I Do" * Stuart Eales - producer on "Driving Home for Christmas" and "Hello Friend", engineer on "Joys of Christmas" Other * Anne Magill - illustration * The Leisure Process - design

Charts

References

{{Chris Rea 1987 songs 1987 singles Chris Rea songs Magnet Records singles Songs written by Chris Rea