b"Melancholic Elvis pastiche \\u2018Lonely This Christmas\\u2019, by glam rockers Mud, became the UK\\u2019s Christmas No. 1 hit on 21st December, 1974, beating off festive competition from top 70s popsters Gilbert O\\u2019 Sullivan, The Goodies, and The Wombles.\\xa0\\nDespite its continuing popularity in Britain, there remains a widespread misconception that the track was actually sung by Elvis Presley, rather than Les Gray doing an impersonation of him. Even though Elvis himself had a song in the Top 10 at the same time.\\nIn this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain Basil Brush\\u2019s role in making Mud true contenders; explain why the band appeared on \\u2018Top Of The Pops\\u2019 with a ventriloquist\\u2019s dummy; and consider the valuable role of downbeat pop in the Christmas charts\\u2026\\xa0\\nFurther Reading:\\n\\u2022 \\u2018Lonely This Christmas: Mud\\u2019s Fantastic Wallow In Festive Misery\\u2019 (Dig!): https://www.thisisdig.com/feature/lonely-this-christmas-mud-song/#:~:text=Lonely%20This%20Christmas%20wasn%E2%80%99t%20just%20iconic%20in%20terms,huge%20amounts%20of%20fake%20snow%20over%20the%20group.\\n\\u2022 \\u20181,000 UK Number One Hits By Jon Kutner & Spencer Leigh\\u2019 (Omnibus Press, 2010): https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/1_000_UK_Number_One_Hits/BwwLBaH9488C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=les+gray+%2B+lonely+this+christmas+%2B+number+1&pg=PT526&printsec=frontcover\\n\\u2022 \\u2018Mud - Lonely This Christmas\\u2019 (BBC Top Of The Pops, 1974): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a61sUu5rcu8\\n#Christmas #Music #70s #UK\\nLove the show? Join\\xa0\\U0001f334CLUB RETROSPECTORS\\xa0\\U0001f334 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!\\nPlus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.\\nJoin now via\\xa0Apple Podcasts\\xa0or\\xa0Patreon.\\xa0Thanks!\\nWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts:\\xa0podfollow.com/Retrospectors\\nThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.\\nTheme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.\\nCopyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022.\\n Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.\\nLearn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices"