I Love a 1980s Christmas Singalong: The Not So Perfect Ten

The ten greatest Christmas tunes from the 1980s

The 1970s and 1980s were probably the best decades for Christmas chart singles. So much so that Messrs Wood and Holder make a fair amount of their royalties in December. For this Not So Perfect Ten, I could have just focused on the 1970s and the 1980s. Instead, just the one decade, the one decade I remember fully of course.

Jason and the Argos Gnomes (Part Eight): The JP Luxuria Onyx Marble Smokers’ Set

Sexing up a dirty habit

It is hard to imagine how 20 years ago from today – let alone 35 years ago from now – smoking paraphernalia would be deemed an acceptable Christmas present. A cigar would have been as customary on Christmas Day as much as a celebratory drink at the pub.

Since the first Argos catalogue was published in 1973, smoking paraphernalia was sold (though this was contemporaneous with its rivals). Interestingly, our next item dates from the year when Argos was taken over by British American Tobacco. Today, we would also tut-tut at cigarette companies buying up retail chains. Back in 1979, BAT not only owned Argos, but also the International Stores chain which included its International Supermarkets offshoot (renamed that year as ‘Mainstop’). To mark today’s entry…