Can't believe this has been sat on YouTube for fifteen years and I'd never heard it until today.

Happy New Year everyone! Here’s a little treat to welcome 2026: we got another chance talk to one of our favourite guests, Valerie Phillips! This time, she’s bringing us her REDEMPTION SONGS - the music choices she hopes will get her out of Hell! Listen podfollow.com/hellish

About time.

"Scrape 'em off, Claire. You wanna save someone, save yourself." Another old drawing from maybe my favourite Christmas film.

Far be it from me to tell Bernie Taupin how to write lyrics, but I just don't see how he ever thought the number of syllables in "eat, drink and be merry" were going to fit into that line.

I'm currently half way through Marc Burrows' (who's hopefully doing an episode with us soon!) excellent book on Christmas Number Ones. Its brilliant. Really funny, very informative & mega christmassy. Its currently only 99p on Amazon so go buy a copy and get Marc the well deserved Xmas number 1!

So here it is: the end of the Hellish Advent Calendar for 2025! We’ve saved something very special for the end: @casperandpam.bsky.social not only give us the Xmas song they cannot stand, they also treat us to a Hellish first: an exclusive performance of said song! Listen podfollow.com/hellish

Love that the back catalog of Past Present is still getting play! Our Christmas songs episode is indeed very fun and informative 🎄

Day 23’s door reveals musician Alexander Wolfe, who - as well revealing the Xmas song he can’t stand - tells us about being ‘a bit of a Scrooge’. Listen podfollow.com/hellish Pre-order Alexander’s new album, Everythinglessness, now - out January 16th. alexanderwolfe.bandcamp.com/album/everyt...

As the advent calendar gallops towards its end, it’s time for us to get reacquainted with top actor and Xmas Enthusiast Laura Checkley! the Christmas song she cannot stand prompts a barrage of song facts, not all of them seasonal… Listen podfollow.com/hellish

The solstice brings us a mini Xmas episode with writer/actor Oliver Lansley - which Xmas song will be making his midwinter bleaker? Listen along to find out! podfollow.com/hellish Oliver’s show ‘Where is Wanda?’ Is on Apple TV. And, if there’s any justice, multiple ‘best of year’ lists too.

Today’s advent calendar mini episode reacquaints us with songwriter Ray Heffernan, whose choice of a Xmas song he cannot stand is accidentally autobiographical. (Check out our May two parter with Ray if you haven’t already!) Listen podfollow.com/hellish

Chained to the desk, digging ditches for the man? The already awesome @hellishpod.com will keep you company with its advent calendar themed around Christmas Songs... FROM HELL. I love listening to these minisodes with people pulling apart their least favourite Yule Tunes. Listen to all 19 so far!

Dec 19th brings you a second helping of adult film-maker Ed Aldridge of altshift! Ed chooses a ‘creepy’ helping of one of the more derided Christmas albums of all time as the Christmas song he cannot stand. Listen podfollow.com/hellish Ed’s slasher-filth film ‘Blowie’ is out now!

Today on the Hellish Advent Calendar @mollynaylor.bsky.social tells us all about the Xmas song she cannot stand. Then Alex gives us some timely astronomy news, AND births a new unit of measurement. All in one mini episode! Listen podfollow.com/hellish

Another episode on the Hellish Advent Calendar 2025 is here! December 17th brings us a second helping of Leoni Jan Kennedy, whose chosen detested Xmas song results in a truly hellish piece of music that has never been heard before… Listen podfollow.com/hellish

Today’s Hellish Advent Calendar door reveals tip-top stand-up Katie Gill, who chooses the Xmas song she cannot stand! Plus, we discuss what is Father Christmas canon, and @danielwhelan.com skates on thin ice for a bit. Listen podfollow.com/hellish

Behind the advent calendar door today is Gill German MP, who - due to a clerical error - gets to choose the Track We Had To Ban as the Xmas song she cannot stand. Then Alex and Daniel have a Xmas-themed crack at what might be called ‘lobbying’? Listen podfollow.com/hellish

Today’s door on the Hellish advent calendar reveals @adamscottglasspool.bsky.social of the excellent @whatismusicpod.bsky.social - who gives us the Christmas song he cannot stand! It also features what is becoming an annual advert for the Fountain Inn, Ashurst. Listen podfollow.com/hellish

For the record, Robin Ince is a superb comedian, an absolute mensch, a remarkable thinker and the kindest human you’ll ever meet. And the BBC is a genuinely great and globally unique institution that needs to stop being afraid. I think that’s where most of its faults and issues stem from.

@hellishpod.com some more for the rotation 👇💀

Behind today’s advent calendar door is @flotationtoyw.bsky.social frontman Paul Carter! We talk about the Christmas song Paul cannot stand, and whether a Xmas song can be considered a threat… Listen podfollow.com/hellish

I’m reading this right now and it is really really good. Get it while it’s 99p!

Day 12 of the Hellish Advent Calendar 2025, and screenwriter Catherine Tregenna gives us a carol she cannot stand, as a substitute for a disturbing children’s TV theme tune… Listen podfollow.com/hellish Catherine’s series, The One That Got Away, is on BBC iPlayer now!

On today’s Advent Calendar, Gonzalo C. Garcia gives us a Xmas song he cannot stand. Listen podfollow.com/hellish Gonzalo’s excellent ‘Telenovela’ is out now on @galleybeggars.bsky.social - to hear more about it from Gonzalo himself listen to the latest @acrossthepondbooks.bsky.social!

this is *fantastic*

For today’s advent calendar @whenisbirths.bsky.social brings a controversial festive fave to Hell as the Xmas song he cannot stand… Justin’s book, Into the Groove, is a great gallop through pop in the 80s. AND a great gift for the song facts fan in your life… Listen podfollow.com/hellish

Today actor Stephen Lobo tells us about the Christmas song he cannot stand! And we get to listen to an unexpected festive twist on one of the tracks he picked back in June when he was on the main show. Stephen’s show Allegiance is now on U&Alibi in the UK. Listen podfollow.com/hellish

I'm today's advent calendar pick for my favourite podcast @hellishpod.com! The show has been dropping daily dollops of damnable ditties all December long, and its been a fiendish treat to listen along. Now it's my turn. I just want... if that's okay... if you don't mind... ? (Clue about my pick!)

And now for DAY 8 of #ADVENTICONS, here to throw a wrench into your Christmas seating plans, it's NAUTICA!

Today on the Advent Calendar #scarenthood creator @nickroche.bsky.social gives us the Xmas song he cannot stand! It only has 19 words, so prepare for deep textual analysis. And Nick and Daniel swap graphic novel recommendations. Ho-ho-hope you like serial killers. Listen podfollow.com/hellish

EXACTLY! 💀💀 My MIL loved Cliff and so I got introduced to "Mistletoe & Wine" early on. Any of his make me queasy like slowly defrosting Iceland profiteroles at a village hall 😨 Incidentally, how much of the playlist in hell is Cliff songs?Think I'm lowballing it at about 56%...?

The great thing about that is it could be pretty much any Christmas song and this would still hold true.

NOOOOOOO that Cliff version is THE WORST noooooooooooooo

Today on the Advent calendar we’re re-joined by @louiestowell.bsky.social for a quick mini episode about the festive favourite she cannot stand, and we listen to two versions of it to see if it gets any better. Listen podfollow.com/hellish

‘Tangled up with autobiography’ could be our motto.

Today on Hellish advent, @jnraeside.bsky.social brings us a Xmas song she cannot stand: a (justly? sadly?) forgotten tune from 1989, the year of Neighbours chart duets… Julia’s funny & fierce novel, Don’t Make Me Laugh, is out now! (and would make a perfect Xmas gift) Listen podfollow.com/hellish

The Story of the Christmas No.1 — Mistletoe & Vinyl is out now! "A hugely entertaining romp through six decades of music trivia ⭑⭑⭑⭑ " — Classic Pop Magazine. Lots of other books available too! Perfect stocking filler for the music nerd in your life. www.marcburrows.co.uk/s/shop

Extremely relevant to the #totp crowd

Today’s advent mini-pod has certified Xmas Music Xpert, writer/comic Marc Burrows! @20thcenturymarc.marcburrows.co.uk We discuss songs which are Xmas songs but aren’t, and find out how some songs became classics. Listen podfollow.com/hellish Marc’s book, “Mistletoe and Vinyl” is out now!