We met up with local musician and filmmaker Chris Clark who kindly took time out of his busy schedule to talk to us about the epic video project he’s been working on this year. Boom! Boom! It’s Christmas Again is a festive song written and produced by Chris and sung by his foxy pal, legend of stage and screen Basil Brush. It’s something that has already been making waves in the media world. You may have even seen it in the national newspapers, or Richard Madeley and Susanna Reid talking about it on Good Morning Britain, and we hear there are further spots lined up. We at Your Local Lincs have had an inside look at the production of the music video throughout the year. Here’s an extended version of our chat with Chris, the ‘director’s cut’… 
You’ve released Christmas music videos for a number of years now. Can you tell me what this year’s tune is and how did it all come about?
This year’s is the biggest, most ambitious one yet (and that’s saying something!). I’ve enlisted the vocal talents of Basil Brush to release a brand new song called Boom! Boom! It’s Christmas Again.
Basil and I both share a love for Christmas music, and we’ve talked about the possibility of doing something like this for a number of years. We first worked together in 2014, and instantly hit it off.
I’ve been desperate for a new, decent quality “proper” Christmas song to get into the charts for ages, and so I thought ‘Why not try to write one myself, and get an awesome celebrity to sing it?!!!’ And here we are!
Can you tell us about your past Christmas song releases?
In 2011 I recorded a song called Christmas Number One. I took all the sickly sweet Christmas clichés, and bunged them into one song! A quick video of me harassing unsuspecting Sleafordian shoppers (with the help of Rich on camera), and we’d made a local hit! I felt like a celebrity that Christmas! Every time I went out in Sleaford, people would talk to me about the song or sing it at me (or call me rude names!).
I’ve also worked with local children, which is incredibly gratifying. Most notably, with William Alvey Christmas, which made the Amazon top ten, and then the special lockdown song Christmas Bubble, which really seemed to lift everyone’s spirits and gave local children the chance to get involved in something creative, despite the restrictions. That song actually spent one day at the number one spot in the iTunes Christmas chart!
What are your favourite Christmas songs and have any of them influenced your own songs?
There are so many I adore; I love the bittersweet magic of songs like I Believe in Father Christmas and Fairytale of New York, and of course all the obvious favourites. I’m a huge fan of some of the beautiful carols, like Coventry Carol and Gabriel’s Message. The first Christmas song that I actually remember going to number one is Do They Know it’s Christmas, so that holds a special place in my heart. I also really enjoy the crooners, like Bing and Nat King Cole. There are so many good Christmas songs!!
What’s it like working with Basil Brush?
Basil is the very best! He’s such a star and yet still so down to earth, even after 60 years in the business. We always bounce ideas off each other and our shared enthusiasm creates a magic atmosphere whenever we are working on a project together. We are very much on the same page, creatively. That really helps us to get the best out of our work, I think. We also laugh a heck of a lot, when we are working together.
What’s the chances this one can get to Christmas number 1?
Realistically, the number one spot is incredibly difficult to achieve for anyone, ten times more difficult at Christmas, and a million times more difficult without a big record company, or a huge marketing team, or any real budget to speak of. So on paper, the odds are stacked against us! However, I do believe that if you aim high enough, there’s always a chance of doing something magical. Ultimately, if enough people hear about the song and like it enough, the public will decide. Fingers crossed, eh?!!!
How can our readers help the cause?
Download the song! It’s as simple as that. Streaming it is also okay, but for a tiny 70p (or thereabouts) the chances of it charting are so much greater. I think 100 streams is equal to 1 download to the official charts!
We understand Basil is joined by a lot of his pals in this video. Can you give us an idea of who to expect?
I’ve spent a long time phoning up icons of British telly this year! The effort has paid off though, as we now have over 30 special guests in the video, including Mr Blobby, Zippy George and Bungle, Hacker T dog, and many, many more.
Is this video aimed at younger or older audiences would you say?
The whole project was very specifically crafted to appeal to EVERYONE. It’s not often a good idea to go too broad with an artistic project’s appeal, but with a Christmas song/video, I think it’s the one time that those rules don’t apply. We want everyone to get a little bit of joy from the project, whether it’s that warm nostalgia of seeing Muffin the Mule appear, or that cosy Christmas feeling the song conjures up, or the big laughs that the likes of Basil and Hacker T dog always provide.
If you were a puppet, who would you be? And who would be your puppeteer?
If I were a puppet, I think it would have to be Kermit. What a journey he has been on throughout the years. And his creator and original puppeteer, Jim Henson, has to be one of my biggest inspirations/influences of all time. I’m not sure I like the idea of where his hand would be, though.
What’s your plans for the future? Would you ever consider writing a Christmas song in conjunction with Your Local Lincs?
I have so many potential projects in my head. I’m not sure which will happen, but I’m keen to delve further into the world of Kids’ TV. My dream would be to have my own puppet-based show, made for television. I never tire of Christmas songs and will most likely write more in the future, so who knows? Chris and YLL may well be the next collaboration! I certainly know you share the same sense of fun as me, so I bet it’d be great!
You can watch the final music video here:
Check back to the Articles page soon to see more of our chat with Basil Brush!
