This probably has limited appeal here but I’ve set myself a challenge to post a Del Amitri song every day on my socials (Dave!) in the run up to Christmas along with a very brief synopsis of an imaginary Christmas advert it could accompany.
I’ve found 25 Del Amitri / Justin Currie songs that are perfect for a Del Amitri Advent. Songs full of that festive melancholy that suit Christmas TV ads. Christmas songs that aren’t Christmas songs but work as such.
Day 1. Don’t Come Home Too Soon. As a World Cup song for Scotland 98 it’s unique. Used in my imaginary TV ad as a young soldier leaves his family for his first tour of duty on Christmas eve it beomes something devastatingly poignant.
Day 2. Not Where It’s At. A lyrical masterpiece perfectly relating how it feels to be uncool. A Christmas advert set at a school disco with a bespectacled young lad finally getting a peck on the cheek under the mistletoe.
Marvellous idea, and with each synopsis a marketing exec from Waitrose, M&S, or even Costco might be reading these pages and take inspiration
Sounds great so far 👍
Don’t Come Home Too Soon is an absolute perfect song. It only lacks in one area – that of geeing up a football team.
Agreed – a great song.
Day 3. Sleep Instead Of Teardrops. An absolute heartbreaker. All I need to say here is think Dogs Trust Christmas advert. The biggest soppiest dog being rescued as the snow falls. Zoom in to those eyes for the money shot.
This is the best song Del Amitri have ever released.
Asked them to play it at many gigs over the years but never heard it live.
I hope this link works. This from last week…
https://www.facebook.com/groups/429874957199023/permalink/2440432772809888/?mibextid=rS40aB7S9Ucbxw6v
Just signed up to the group.
Justin popped up for an encore with Lloyd Cole (playing bass on Forest Fire) when I saw him in October in Glasgow.
Day 4. This Side Of The Morning. Such a Del Amitri song. But an advert? At Christmas? How about McDonalds? You’ve had a crap party night but after a breakfast and coffee you couldn’t care less despite losing the girl.
Day 5. Cry To Be Found. A beautiful, dreamy Currie vocal. 3 beautiful, dreamy women glide across the TV. Wow! You just know they smell great. It costs a fortune but it’s Christmas and she wants it. Cry To Be Found by Dior
Day 6. Stone Cold Sober. Currie’s lyrical genius to the fore here. A pub full of revellers at Christmas. One guy is drinking Heineken 0.0. Later we see him get everyone safe into cabs while he drives home with the girl.
Day 7. Long Journey Home. A ridiculously good song that was a b side. It writes it’s own Christmas ad. Santa on his way back to Mrs S? A truck driver on her way home to her family? I’m sure John Lewis could use it.
Day 8. Tell Her This. Blimey Justin, these lyrics, we’ve all been there haven’t we? A Christmas advert for Three seems perfect. A selection of messages to a friend of a friend. I want to know what happens next….
This is terrific Dave! It’s what I pay my license fee for.
Here and Now must be 24th December?
It’s between that and one other…
Day 9. Whiskey Remorse. A night out of a song. You can smell the booze and taste the atmosphere. It’s a bar at Christmas full of real people having a real drink wasting wishes. If Glenfiddich did Christmas adverts…
Day 10. Just Like A Man. A change in gear with rockier ode to how badly men deal with relationships. An anti cologne advert for regular men at Christmas. No Johnny Depp style nonsense. Just Like A Man by CHANEL for normal men.
Day 11. Just Getting By. Possibly the saddest of all of Justin’s songs in a crowded field. How has it come to this? Of course we know they came back. How great if it was used in a National Lottery Christmas advert? It could be you..
Day 12. No Family Man. How many beautiful songs can one man write? A single Dad at Christmas doing his shop in Tesco then having a perfect day with his young daughter. The final lines to fade as she leaves with her mum..
Day 13. You Can’t Go Back. From 2021’s Fatal Mistakes an upbeat pop song about moving on. An Audi Christmas advert as a lady fondly remembers her old petrol car as she picks up her shiny new electric version
Day 14. It Might As Well Be You. A brutally honest, sad, pre Tinder song. The end of a Christmas party two lonely souls leave together in an ad for Durex. And it might as well be you that I wake up to tomorrow…..
*fingers crossed for ‘Sometimes I Just Have to Say Your Name’*
It’s coming @skirky…
Day 15. Last Cheap Shot At The Dream. I worried for Justin when I first heard Can You Do Me Good. Such melancholy. It could work as a tongue in cheek dig at M&S Christmas ad for Aldi and their “borrowed” cheaper products.
Day 16. Former Keeper. A gorgeous sign of what was to come from the eponymous first album. A youngster sadly agreeing to sell old toys on Ebay at Christmas. The ad closes with a toy being enjoyed by another child. Gulp..
Day 17. Always The Last To Know. A cover from Pasted Beyond Recognition by Jill Jackson. An imaginary advert at Christmas to raise awareness of Mind. If someone close is struggling you’ll be the last to know…
Day 18. Close Your Eyes and Think Of England. Currie does politics and he nails it. A Christmas advert for Visit Scotland.
“And close your eyes
and think of England
That boat afloat all alone
on the ocean is sinking”
Day 19. Be My Downfall. A remarkable song about a sliding doors moment just before infidelity moves from thought to action. The song plays as a couple dive into a giant tub of Cadburys Heroes in front of some Christmas TV
Day 20. If I Ever Loved You. A Currie solo that I had to include. The greatest break up song ever. A Boxing day sales ad for DFS as an old sofa is replaced by a shiny new one…
This performance.. Stay to the end 💔
Day 21. Kiss This Thing Goodbye. The first Del Amitri song that seeped into my soul. In my imaginary Christmas ad a family are upgrading their internet to Plusnet kissing goodbye high charges and slow connections.
Day 22. To Last A Lifetime. When life kicks you in the arse Del Amitri have a song for you. Lidl Christmas ad. The turkey’s burning, kids crying, guests car’s broken down but it all comes good in the end thanks to Lidl
Day 23. Sometimes I Just Have to say Your Name. A song of devotion and love. A story style Christmas advert of a uni girl travelling home for Christmas as the song plays to it’s climax she walks through the door and says “Mum” one for Sainsburys I reckon.
Day 24. Here and Now. A five minute epic that gave me the idea for this whole thing. Waitrose Marks and Spencer Lidl and Aldi should start a bidding war for Christmas 2024. Set in a homeless shelter as food is prepared for a very special Christmas dinner. Volunteers prepare turkey with all the trimmings and Christmas pudding as the ad assures us that the money we spend at Christmas will go towards helping those less fortunate. Merry Christmas.
Well that was fun. Here’s a Spotify playlist of all the songs chosen. I’ve added covers from Pasted Beyond Recognition. All perfect for Christmas adverts…
Have Yourself A Melancholy Christmas 🎄 🎸