With Aston Villa on a ten-game winning streak, third in both the Premier League and Europa League at Christmas, My Old Man Said and the Lovers Walk Unlimited Orchestra have released a festive musical offering to celebrate the feat – A Holte End Christmas EP.
The EP offers up a fun and festive snapshot of Aston Villa support at its most familiar, chaotic, and heartfelt. Providing you with a claret and blue alternative to the likes of Mariah Carey and Michael Bublé.
Rather than inventing novelty Christmas songs, this EP reinterprets chants, songs, and rituals that already define the Villa experience, filtering them through the atmosphere of winter evenings under the lights at Villa Park. From the choral weight of The Bells Are Ringing (At Christmas) to a family-friendly parody of My Old Man (Christmas Cringe Mix), the record balances heritage, Villa humour, and terrace culture.
The Bells Are Ringing (At Christmas)
An old Villa song that seemed to fade from the terraces in more recent decades, despite a resurrection attempt by Villa fans in 2011. It’s an anthem that is perhaps too old school to return to Villa Park in earnest, but works well in its new Christmas form as a scat-like jazzy number.
Allez Allez Allez (Claret Panettone Version)
The Italian flavour of Allez Allez Allez (Claret Panettone Version) nods to Villa’s European pedigree, but actually came about when My Old Man Said originally looked at making an opera version of the song. Opera sounds better in Italian and secondly, the song originates from the 1985 Italian disco-pop track “L’Estate Sta Finendo” (“The Summer is Ending”) by the duo Righeira. So, there’s a subtle homage to that.
The style of the song also is a throwback to the way Dean Martin used to occasionally sing in Italian and drop classic Italian songs into albums. Ironically, Martin starred opposite Judy Holliday in the 1960 film Bells Are Ringing.
My Old Man (Christmas Cringe Mix)
It just had to be on the EP, but also Christmas is a time for family and not expletives (well, apart from my family it seems… ). So, the aim was simple – swap any racy words with Christmassy ones. It was always going to be a little bit cringy, but there’s some fun word play to be had – “We hate the Blues and they elfing know it!’
Listen to the EP on Spotify
Emery Xmas Medley Bedlam
As chaotic as the Holte End after a last-kick of the game winner at Villa Park, the closing track lives up to its name of medley bedlam. It’s a controlled collision of chants, memories, rivalries, and Christmas excess, exactly as random as when songs spill out the stands of Villa Park.
Listening Options
Just search ‘A Holte End Christmas EP’ on all good music streaming platforms. Including:
A Holte End Christmas EP on Apple Music
A Holte End Christmas EP on Youtube
A Holte End Christmas on Spotify
A Holte End Christmas on Amazon Music