As Kevin Wuench wraps up our first-ever Christmas Lost and Found Week, he notes that he has concentrated on songs about war and other sad affairs, so Kevin has decided to end on a very positive note with a delightful pop song by Shakin' Stevens who wishes us Merry Christmas Everyone.
Shakin' Stevens (born Michael Barratt) is mostly unknown in the states, but in the U.K. the Welsh native had 33 Top 40 hits including four number ones with the bulk of his success coming in the '80s. In 1984, Stevens was ready to release Merry Christmas Everyone, but delayed it until 1985 as he didn't want to compete with Band Aid's Do They Know Its Christmas that was coming out in 1984. The logic proved correct as in 1985, Merry Christmas Everyone was a No. 1 U.K. hit.
The video for Merry Christmas Everyone starts with Stevens and a young girl taking a trip to Sweden to visit Tomteland (Santaland), which is a Santa Claus theme park that started in 1984. While Santa looks sketchy, there is no denying the pop goodness of Merry Christmas Everyone or the great sweater that Stevens rocks in the video.
Every year, Merry Christmas Everyone re-enters the U.K. charts to spread its joy. Tomteland is still around and thriving but if you want to travel to Sweden and visit, you'll have to go in 2018 as 2017 is all booked up. It seems pretty affordable fun as the adult admission price is around $26 in U.S. dollar equivalent.