by Ian Parker • • Comments Off on FFS Advent Calendar | Bob Dylan – Must Be Santa
This one needs no introduction, but sure as heck needs including. Dylan’s 2009 album Christmas In The Heart was as unexpected as it was utterly joyous in its fresh interpretations of classics, and this rambunctious version of ‘Must Be Santa’…
by Ian Parker • • Comments Off on FFS Advent Calendar | Sam Airey – In The Bleak Midwinter/Lonely This Christmas
Today we rewind to the very first FFS Christmas album, which came together as if by magic in a few short weeks back in 2010. It’s full of too many good things to mention, so we’ve once again chosen a…
by Ian Parker • • Comments Off on FFS Advent Calendar | Charlotte Carpenter – Cheer
Anyone fancy a free Christmas song? Because that’s what you can get from Charlotte Carpenter, who is giving away downloads of her new festive song Cheer here. “As a thank you, for all of your encouragement and support this year,…
by Ian Parker • • Comments Off on FFS Advent Calendar | Alessi’s Ark – Joy To The World
Alessi Laurent-Marke will return in the new year with single ‘Wives‘ and an album to follow. She’s docked the Ark, but for behind today’s door of the advent calendar, we rewind to 2013 and her appearance on our fourth Christmas…
by Ian Parker • • Comments Off on FFS Advent Calendar | Darren Hayman – Christmas In The Boiler Room
Christmas In Hayworth was something of a souvenir Darren Hayman brought back from spending Christmas 2010 in the Yorkshire village of Hayworth – with four of the six tracks written and recorded there and others added later. Hayman’s Christmas EP…
by Ian Parker • • Comments Off on FFS Advent Calendar | Billie Marten – White Christmas
Billie Marten has had quite the year. The 17-year-old released her debut album, broke into America, supported Carole King, and made her debut UK headline tour – which sold out. To give a little back, here’s her Christmas gift to…
by Ian Parker • • Comments Off on FFS Advent Calendar | Bing Crosby & David Bowie – The Little Drummer Boy/Peace on Earth
The death of David Bowie in January, two days after his 69th birthday, got 2016 off to a start from which it never really recovered. To remember the great man, today we pick out a real Christmas oddity – his…
by Ian Parker • • Comments Off on FFS Advent Calendar | The Leisure Society – Christmas Mistakes
A wee trip down memory lane today to the second FFS Christmas album, released in 2011. Jam-packed full of treats it was, so much so we couldn’t pick a song for today and had to pluck a name out of…
by Ian Parker • • Comments Off on FFS Advent Calendar | The Haywains – Who Needs Summer?
The fine people of the Snowflakes Christmas Singles Club have been pumping out seasonal treats every year since 2013. Amongst this year’s batch is the explosion of festive joy which is the Haywains’ ‘Who Needs Summer?’ – because what fun…
by Ian Parker • • Comments Off on FFS Advent Calendar | Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings – Ain’t No Chimneys In The Projects
We don’t need to tell anyone that 2016 has been a brutal year for so many reasons. Soul great Sharon Jones was taken from us too soon last month after a battle with cancer, but her spirit will live on…