Ever since I was a young boy, I had the desire to collect "out-of-the-box" Christmas songs. It all started with an AM radio station playing Elton John's "Ho Ho Ho (Who'd Be A Turkey At Christmas)" during the holiday season. I had albums and singles kept very neatly in sleeves. While I have since sold off most of my collection, the fond memories still live on as I download music on my Amazon Prime account. While listening to the songs are still fun, it is not the same as when I used to hold them in my hand.
One of my favorites is still Jona Lewie's "Stop The Calvary." He also happened to be on one of my favorite record labels back in the day, Stiff Records. I still remember their slogan: "If it ain't Stiff, it ain't worth a f**k!" Lewie mentioned in an old article around the time the record came out that he never intended for the song to be a Christmas single, even though the soldier in the song kept wishing he was home for Christmas. It was just meant to be an anti-war song. As far as which war is a topic that is still being debated because there are references to World War One and others to a more modern war.
An English singer songwriter, as well as playing a variety of instruments, Lewie signed with Stiff Records in 1977. His first hit came in 1980 with "You'll Always Find Me In The Kitchen At Parties," which was also on an album in my collection. "Stop The Calvary" was his biggest hit in the UK, however. A 2017 poll conducted by the Irish Times named the song as the fourth most popular Christmas song in Ireland.
Between the bells and the horns, there is no way that I wouldn't have this number on my Christmas playlist. I had this song on a 45rpm record with a picture sleeve. It is the picture sleeve, not the generic one, that increases the value of a single. In 2010, Lewie joined Captain Sensible's band, who was famous for being a member of The Damned.