Chris Eaton

Yep, all based on those interviews.

I listened to the most recent episode of the podcast, at least at the time of this recording, and it was an interview that you did a few years ago with songwriter Chris Eaton.

That was really good.

Chris was amazing to speak to.

All the songs that he's written, forklift like Golden and Joanna.

It's been really good being able to hear their own comments on the songs.

Well, I'm anxious to get Chris Eaton on this podcast, too.

That's if we're all still alive by the time I start covering the period when he began writing songs for Cliff.

While he had recorded festive tracks for albums before, this November 1982 release marked his debut entry into the competitive UK Christmas singles market.

The origins of the track lie with a young songwriter from Birmingham named Chris Eaton.

Eaton took the lyrics of the traditional 1868 carol O Little Town of Bethlehem, written by Phillips Brooks, and completely threw out the traditional hymn melody.

He wrote a brand new contemporary melody explicitly designed for modern airplay.

While a number 11 peak meant it just missed the top 10, the track established a lucrative template.

The song became a personal favourite of the artist, who stated in a December 2006 interview that out of all his holiday recordings, Little Town remained his absolute favourite.

Its structure paved the way for his massive Christmas number one hits later in the decade, specifically Mistletoe and Wine in 1988, and then Saviour's Day in 1990, the latter also written by Chris Eaton.

Next up, if you've ever wondered where this country's brief fascination with panpipes came from, well, you're in for a treat.

It's off now.

Chris Eaton, he was a figure in those same eras as a singer, a background singer.

You've got to add him to the

list.