ADVENT CALENDAR: December 9th - Blur - 'The Wassailing Song'

Today's festive treat comes in the shape of the legendary Blur's one and only Christmas-themed song. The 7" vinyl that this rendition of a medieval English carol comes from is the most collectible item in Blur's discography, and was released under the puntastic alias of Gold, Frankincense and Blur. 'The Wassailing Song' was given away to 500 lucky gig goers who attended the band's gig the Hibernian Club in Fulham on December 16 1992. It was recorded during a break in the initial sessions for the album "Modern Life Is Rubbish", just before the writing and recording of 'For Tomorrow'. The four members of the group alternate vocals on the verses, singing the refrain together. This is the only Blur recording that drummer Dave Rowntree sings on. 

More information from an attendee of the Hibernian Club gig: "...The gig was at the point when the music press reckoned that Blur were finished; the touts outside the gig couldn't even give tickets away. The hall was less than half full. Blur turned in a fantastic set and at the end we all drunkenly queued up to get our free 7-inch from a Liverpudlian dressed as Santa. Only about 5 minutes into the free giveaway one of my friends got impatient and lent [sic] over the barrier to get one of the records out of Santa's sack himself. The barrier collapsed and then everyone just started grabbing at the records. A lot of them ended up littering the floor and being trampled on. Although 500 were pressed I'd say that a lot less than that were actually given away or survived the night."