"Xmas 93" is a Christmas-themed single by English

alternative dance Alternative dance (also known as indie dance or underground dance in the U.S.) is a musical genre that mixes alternative rock with electronic dance music. Although largely confined to the British Isles, it has gained American and worldwide expos ...

band Saint Etienne. It was released in the United Kingdom on 6 December 1993 by

Heavenly Recordings Heavenly Recordings is a London-based independent record label founded by Jeff Barrett in 1990. Heavenly released the first albums from Saint Etienne (band), Saint Etienne, Beth Orton and Doves (band), Doves, and early singles by Manic Street P ...

. The lead track "I Was Born on Christmas Day" features guest vocals from The Charlatans singer Tim Burgess, and peaked at number 37 on 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 ...

. The song's title is a nod to band member Bob Stanley, who was born on 25 December 1964. The music video for the single was filmed in the vicinity of

Kensington and Chelsea Register Office Kensington and Chelsea Register Office is an office for the registration of births, deaths, marriages and civil partnerships located in Chelsea Old Town Hall in Chelsea, London. It has hosted the weddings of many notable people. According to ''T ...

in London. The main B-side, "My Christmas Prayer", is a cover of the 1959

Billy Fury Ronald Wycherley (17 April 1940 – 28 January 1983), better known as Billy Fury, was an English singer, musician, songwriter, and actor. An early star of rock and roll, he equalled the Beatles' record of 24 hits in the 1960s and spent 332 week ...

original. The other two B-sides, "Snowplough" and "Peterloo", are both instrumentals. The B-sides "Snowplough" and "Peterloo" can be found in the ''

So Tough ''So Tough'' is the second studio album by British band Saint Etienne, released in 1993. It is their highest-charting album to date, reaching No. 7 on the UK Album Chart. ''So Tough'' is the first Saint Etienne album to feature Sarah Crackn ...

'' reissue bonus disc, while "My Christmas Prayer" and "I Was Born on Christmas Day" on the ''

Tiger Bay Tiger Bay ( cy, Bae Teigr) was the local name for an area of Cardiff which covered Butetown and Cardiff Docks. Following the building of the Cardiff Barrage, which dams the tidal rivers, Ely and Taff, to create a body of water, it is re ...

'' reissue bonus disc.

Critical reception

Tim Sendra from

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

described "I Was Born on Christmas Day" as a duet between

Sarah Cracknell Sarah Cracknell (born 12 April 1967) is an English singer-songwriter and lead singer of the electronic music band Saint Etienne. Career Cracknell's career started with the Windsor-based indie band The Worried Parachutes in 1982. Following the d ...

and Tim Burgess "set to a

house A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...

beat." He added, "The melody is very sweet and the vocals blend together nicely, Burgess displaying a healthy (and unusual) dose of restraint." In his weekly UK chart commentary,

James Masterton James Masterton (born 2 September 1973) is a music writer and columnist, his work focusing on the UK Singles Chart having been an online fixture on various sites since the 1990s. Masterton is also a producer for talkSPORT, and has worked on air ...

stated, "It wouldn't be Christmas without at least one seasonal record in the charts. Saint Etienne have spent the entire year missing out on the success they so richly deserve." Martin Aston from ''

Music Week ''Music Week'' is a trade publication for the UK record industry distributed via a website and a monthly print magazine. It is published by Future. History Founded in 1959 as '' Record Retailer'', it relaunched on 18 March 1972 as ''Music W ...

'' gave it four out of five and named it Pick of the Week in the category of Alternative, calling it a "seasonally-challenged" duet and "a catchy, if lightweight, slice of pop, with daytime radio appeal and press potential galore." Jim Wirth from ''

NME ''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 ...

'' noted the "join-the-dots

ABBA ABBA ( , , formerly named Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Anni-Frid or Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Frida) are a Swedish supergroup formed in Stockholm in 1972 by Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, and Anni-Frid Lyngstad. The group's ...

-isms" of the song. Leesa Daniels from ''

Smash Hits ''Smash Hits'' was a British music magazine aimed at young adults, originally published by EMAP. It ran from 1978 to 2006, and, after initially appearing monthly, was issued fortnightly during most of that time. The name survived as a brand fo ...

'' wrote, "This starts off like a

disco Disco is a genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the 1970s from the United States' urban nightlife scene. Its sound is typified by four-on-the-floor beats, syncopated basslines, string sections, brass and horns, electric pia ...

classic in the making. But then the weedy girl vocals of Sarah Cracknell come in followed by the weedy boy vocals of Tim Burgess from The Charlatans. And the whole disco classic is out the window." She added that "it's dead catchy and instantly singable".

Music video

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

was produced to promote the song. It was later published on YouTube in May 2012. In 2020, Sarah Cracknell talked about making the video, saying "We had such a laugh making the video for ‘I Was Born On Christmas Day’ and Tim was a real star. We shot the whole thing in sequence on a Sunday which ended up in a massive party. I’m sure I accidentally broke the hearts of many Charlatans fans who thought the wedding was real."

Track listings

All tracks produced by Saint Etienne.

Charts

References

{{Saint Etienne 1993 singles Heavenly Recordings singles Saint Etienne (band) songs Songs written by Bob Stanley (musician) Songs written by Pete Wiggs