This is one of those songs that, without fail, makes me know that it’s getting near Christmas on some primal level. If you’re British and of my generation, this song was released every single holiday season, and made it onto Top of The Pops every single time, and to be fair, it deserved it each and every time, too. Roy Wood – who had been in The Move prior to this, of course, back when the band was worth listening to – has a ridiculously catchy way with a pop song, and there are all manner of fake-subversive additions that make the song even more fun (Starting it off with a cash register!) than the mix of doo-wop, the Beach Boys and kids choir already was. “When the snow man brings the snow… When the snow man brings the snow…”
Okay, you lot. Prove how great the original is with lesser cover versions. Take it!