Pudding – A Little Christmas Eve Thieving

Here’s a lovely, slightly sarky Christmas record from 2001, If you know it already – well done. It’s more a grey Christmas than a white one, Serious and fun.

Performed by Pudding (pop historians may remember Sheila Seal from Mike West’s 90’s indie outfit The Man From Delmonte) and written by Edward Barton, known for esoteric and avant-garde releases such as IT’S A FINE DAY and I’VE GOT NO CHICKEN BUT I’VE GOT FIVE WOODEN CHAIRS which was famously performed on The Tube in 1986. Barton also wrote half a dozen proper pop hits with artists such as Norman Cook’s Pizzaman, Opus III, Kylie Minogue and Lost Witness.

A LITTLE CHRISTMAS EVE THIEVING tells the story of a young woman walking around Manchester from shop to garage to parked car feloniously appropriating presents for her nearest and dearest. File under “anti-Christmas records” alongside The Pogues’ Fairytale of New York and Greg Lake’s I Believe in Father Christmas. In 2002 the song was featured in The Guardian’s list of best ever Christmas records. Gary Mulholland wrote:

“Of course, a few of us can’t afford to buy our la-la-la-la-loved ones a Merc. But we can nick the stereo. Manchester’s Edward Barton presented this lost classic in 2000, sung by a lady with the cold voice of a Valium-addled housewife. She raids the car, the high street, the all-night garage, the off-licence for her family’s Christmas treats. Hilarious defiance in the face of sink-estate misery.”

Pudding was Helen Pendry, Marcus Hickman and Sheila Seal.

Pete MacGregor played sleigh-bells.

Written by Edward Barton.

Produced by Edward Barton and Richard Scott.