Post 401 - Kerri-Anne Kennerley - Sounds Of Christmas / Sounds Of Christmas (Instrumental)

Kerri-Anne Wright Kennerley was born on 22nd of September 1953 in Brisbane, she is an Australian television personality. She is one of Australia's most seasoned light entertainment hosts. She is noted for her very professional and personable hosting style, and her ability to handle awkward guests and situations with gentle humour and composure. In 1981 she landed her first adult role on Australian TV, as the dowdy Melinda Burgess in TV series The Restless Years, She hosted the breakfast TV program Good Morning Australia a role she held for 11 years. During the 1980s Kerri-Anne also performed as a singer, and released a self-titled album "Kerri-Anne" as well as a Christmas single in 1985 here for you to download. The single "Sounds Of Christmas" b/w "Sounds Of Christmas (Instrumental)" (K 9899) released on Festival Records was written by Geoff & Anne Hales.

Post 400 - Eurogliders - Christmas In Kings Cross

Eurogliders changed record labels from Polygram to CBS in 1983, At the height of the band's success, Grace Knight and Bernie Lynch reconciled their relationship and were married in 1985 but the union was short-lived. Despite their marital separation, they stayed together in the band for another four years. In 1988 they released the LP "Groove" one of the singles lifted from that LP was "Listen", to keep in the Christmas theme, for you to download is the non album track B side of the single "Christmas In Kings Cross" (652859 7) written by Bernie Lynch and recorded at CBS Studios in East Sydney. Eurogliders official website was shut down in September 2008.

Post 399 - Col Elliott - Merry Xmas / Don't Winge And Scream

Col Elliott is an Australian stand-up comedian who has since been active since the early 1970s, based mainly on character based comedy. He has released more than 20 albums. His first taste of the business was in his Navy days, moonlighting in the bars of Singapore and Hong Kong for drinks and tips. He left the Navy in 1972 and as Col puts it, he wasn’t quite prepared for Civilian life. He joined the Navy as a boy of 15. Col said “ I left the Navy with a basic knowledge of Bingo, I could ask for a beer in five different languages, and track a submarine, that didn’t exactly give me many options in the middle of Melbourne in 1972". Col said he stumbled into show business in 1973. He needed tyres for his clapped out old car and the coppers had put it off the road - “...they didn’t like my Angry Anderson tyres"!Here to download is Col's Christmas single released in 1984 " Merry Xmas" b/w "Don't Winge And Scream" (CES-1383). Alan Caswell and Mick Hamilton penned the A side with Col writing the B side, both song come from the "Move Over Rover" LP. Another version of this song can be found on post #192 by Sanity Clause.

Post 398 - Bjorn Again - Santa Claus Is Coming To Town / Little Drummer Boy

Björn Again was created in 1988 in Melbourne, by Rod Leissle and John Tyrell. After the first Björn Again show at a small pub in Melbourne called The Tote Hotel on May 6 1989 the show's popularity increased quickly, which took it Australia-wide then overseas to international acclaim. Björn Again has also occasionally covered songs by other artists. When Erasure produced an EP of ABBA covers called Abba-esque, Björn Again responded with an EP of covers of Erasure songs done in the style of ABBA, called Erasure-ish. The EP included the songs 'Stop!' and 'A Little Respect' that achieved Number 25 on the UK charts in September 1992. In August 2009 the band covered Metallica's 'Enter Sandman' during their set at the Sonisphere Festival in tribute to the headlining act. Here to download is their Christmas single from 1992 released on Polydor records "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town" b/w "Little Drummer Boy" (861 189 2). ABBA's Benny Andersson was quoted as saying in 1999, "BJÖRN AGAIN are the closest you can get to seeing ABBA. ABBA will never reform!"

Post 397 - Yu-En - Little Drummer Boy / Little Drummer Boy (Dub MiX)

The only single release by Yu-En in 1986 on Mushroom Records. An all star cast of Melbourne musicians and singers with the likes of Joe Creighton, Venetta Fields, Chong Lim, Little River Band's Derek Pellicci, David Hirschfelder from John Farnham's band, Daddy Cool's Ross Hannaford along with Russell Coleman, Sherlie Matthews and Joanne Campbell.Here to download is that single "Little Drummer Boy" b/w "Little Drummer Boy (Dub MiX)" (K 182).

Post 396 - Tommy Leonetti - I Remember White Christmas / A Handful Of Happy New Years

Tommy Leonetti was born on the 10th September 1929 and was an American pop singer. In Australia his most famous song was "My City of Sydney" and was used by the Australian TV channel ATN7 in Sydney for station identification into the 1980s. He married the American actress Cindy Robbins and was stepfather to her daughter, Kimberly Beck. They lived in Sydney, Australia in the 1960s and 1970s before returning to America.While in Australia, Leonetti hosted his own talk-show from 1968 to 1970 for ATN-7, and provided the basis for the parody character Norman Gunston (according to creator Garry McDonald). He had a major Sydney hit with "Let’s Take a Walk" with his step-daughter Kim in 1968. Leonetti's rendition of "My City of Sydney", as used by ATN7 for nightly sign-off. Sydney punk rockers XL Capris (with lead vocalist Johanna Pigott) provided their version in 1979, this promo includes blue-tinged portions from Leonetti's TV sign-off. Other versions were performed by yodeller Mary Schneider, 1990s punk rockers Frenzal Rhomb. Here to download is Tommy's Christmas single also from 1968 "I Remember White Christmas" b/w "A Handful Of Happy New Years" (101903), the single was produced by Tommy for RCA Records. Leonetti died in 1979 in Houston, Texas, of cancer, at the age of 50.

Post 395 - Rolf Harris & Rick Parfitt - Christmas In The Sun

Collaborating with Rick Parfitt of Status Quo on 2009 Rolf Harris released a Christmas single based on his memories of eating a traditional hot turkey dinner in the scorching heat during his early years in Perth. It has been 40 years since Rolf Harris topped the Christmas charts.Rolf and Rick worked with guitarist Wayne Morris to celebrate the memories of growing up in Western Australia. The track was recorded in Red Cube Studio in Hamburg, Germany with producer Wolfgang Birnbacher. “Dad's got a cold one from the fridge to help him brave the barbecue,” Rolf sings and it doesn’t getting any more Aussie than that. "Christmas In The Sun" begins with a ukulele introduction before exploding into a rock track with a typical Status Quo seven bar blues riff. The song contains a couple of puns which Quo fans (if no one else) will appreciate! Here to download is that single penned by Rolf along with a version 2. Parfitt insisted the duo’s effort was destined to become a festive classic. He said: "Forget Rock ‘n’ Roll, this is Rick ‘n’ Rolf. This is a great track that will be played for years to come".

Post 394 - Ricky May - It's The Christmas Man LP

In 1986 Festival Records released a Christmas album by Ricky May called "It's The Christmas Man" (L 38686). Ricky shared this album with the kids from the Johnny Young Talent School in Sydney. Recorded at Glebe Studios with producer Dave Skinner and engineer's John Frolich and Dave Richards, the Lp features to original compositions by Ricky "Ain't It Christmas Day" and "Christmas Man". Ricky recorded a single in 1983, as The Big Boys with Jonathan Coleman. It was called "Built For Comfort" and can be found at post #28.

Post 393 - Bev Harrell - Carols By Candlelight / You've Got To Save Me

Petite 4'9" blonde pop vocalist Bev Harrell was one of the most popular female solo singers in Australia in the late 1960s. Bev began her career on radio, starting out when she was just six in the children's radio talent series Kangaroos on Parade in her hometown of Adelaide, South Australia. She started performing as a pop vocalist as a hobby in 1965 while she was still at school. Her debut single was a cover of "What Am I Doing Here with You?", originally a hit for Johnny Rivers. In 1969 and 1970 Bev was one of many Australian female entertainers who were sent to Vietnam to entertain Australian troops. In 1970, she travelled overseas, and cut a single for the US Bell label. She toured through Europe, Canada (where Bev had her own television special "Two New" on Toronto TV), the Caribbean, South Africa and South East Asia. In January 1971 in London, Bev released a single on Bell, "Back To The People" / "Travelling Easy". The single is of interest to Bee Gees aficionados because the A-side was co-written and the single produced by Maurice Gibb. According to Bee Gees expert Joseph Brennan, Bev did not know the Gibbs and was simply offered the song by their publisher. Later that year, as England's representative in the 1971 Tokyo World Song Festival, Bev took out the 'Outstanding Composition and Performance' award.Returning to Australia in 1972, she signed to RCA and issued three singles, "It Was Easy" '73 and here for you to download "Carols by Candlelight" b/w "You've Got to Save Me" (102380) in October 1973. Her last single, "Bring Back Those Memories", was released on the Polydor label. Today, Bev lives back in Adelaide and continues to work regularly on the musical stage and on the club and corporate circuit. She was awarded the Order of Australia (OAM) in 2006.