Even without any new movies, Academy Award-winning composerMichael Giacchinois having a hell of a year. Earlier this fall Giacchino, who has composed the unforgettable scores toLost,Up, andBad Times at the El Royale(among many, many others), released the brilliantTravelogue, Vol 1., his spacey first solo album of non-soundtrack material (if you haven’t listened yet, please do so now). And now he is coming for your holiday playlists with the jingle jangle-y single “Christmas Number One.”
The track was written by the Giacchino, along with the insanely gifted songwriting team ofElyssa SamselandKate Anderson(Apple TV+’sCentral Park, Disney’sOlaf’s Frozen Adventure). What’s more, the song is performed by UK-based bandItchy Teeth, who performed inDanny Boyle’s underratedYesterday. The song was produced and arranged byJohn Robert Wood.
Interestingly, the song was originally written for Christmas Variety Show Giacchino hosted at the Royal Albert Hall last December.
“The show at the Hall was inspired by the kind of Christmas specialsAndy WilliamsorBing Crosbywould host back in the day, where a series of guests would drop by the ‘house’ and sing a few holiday numbers,” Giacchino said in an official statement. “In this case, the story was that actorRichard Kindand I were spending the holidays in London due to work, where we learned about the annual radio contest of the Christmas Number One song, so we decide to try and write one of our own, which became one of the closing numbers of our show, performed byHimesh Pateland backed by the band Itchy Teeth.”
Giacchino then discussed how the recorded version came to be: “As this difficult year unfolded, we all felt that we could use a little holiday spirit, so we had the band record remotely at Kore Studios in London.Xav Clarke(guitar/bass) andCharlie Hannah(guitar/keyboard) took on the lead vocals with bandmateOli Bookeron drums. It was so much fun collaborating with a group of people so full of energy and positivity. Interestingly, the lyrics, while written pre-pandemic, really resonate for this particular year. Elyssa and Kate are so fantastic to work with and I am thrilled to be releasing this song with them.”
So there you have it! Watch the new music video below, and you may purchase the song digitally on all platforms (via Mondo/Death Waltz Records) or order the 7” vinyl fromMondo right here.
