Sunday, December 25, 2022

Black Christmas

Cilla Black's Christmas Eve (All Night Long performance)
Noel. D. Greene, 1983
 

'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house, not a creature was stirring, not even our Graham. When Cilla Black's Christmas Eve was broadcast to British homes in the early eighties, it brought similar shock-horror to the unsuspecting public like Threads (1984), thanks to its awful rendition of Lionel Richie's All Night Long, featuring a bunch of kids rehearsing for one of George A. Romero's zombie pictures. Watching them body-poppin' and shuffling around what looks like a DFS showroom, while Cilla murders an already horrid song cements its legacy in TV Hell. Ardent Cilla Black nostaljacks would be hard pressed defending this eighties yuletide abomination to anyone with an ounce of common sense.

Thankfully, horror and Cilla Black managed to successfully align themselves more tastefully thanks to Edgar Wright's superb, time-travelling giallo, Last Night in Soho (2021). One of my favourite film highlights from last year and Wright's best film since Hot Fuzz (2007), in my humble opinion.

Last Night in Soho (Cilla Black's Your My World scene)
Edgar Wright, 2021

 
Dada Debser Bonus: 
The kid in a blue hoodie might seem like a familiar face. Surprise, surprise! It's none other than a young Jake Wood, better known as Max Branning from EastEnders (1985-∞) well before he appeared in that classic "French Polishers" Yellow Pages commercial.

4 comments:

  1. Edgar Wright should do horror movie starring the fake Cilla Black character with a soundtrack featuring all Faith No More songs.

    The movie's title? Surprise Surprise! You're Dead!

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  2. Loved hearing that Faith No More song in Gremlins 2.

    Belated Merry Christmas, by the way.

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  3. Right back at you like the Mobb Deep song.

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  4. I remember when it was all the rage to remix Jay Z's The Black Album after Danger Mouse did it and some poster on the UKHH forums mentioned doing The Cilla Black Album. Turned out the joke was on me since Cilla has form in Rap.

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