Chilly Gonzales

NO sooner was this column prepped to detail the various slowly resuming festive gigs and events coming up over the next few weeks than London was plunged into Tier 3 again. Venues are resigned to cancelling carefully planned gigs and rescheduling dates that may well be further postponed down the line. So, this week we’re focusing on more tangible/intangible elements, such as live streams, virtual experiences and Christmas releases.

• Fill the gap left by the absence of live music, or fork out for an affordable Christmas gift, with Anoint My Head – How I Failed To Make It As A Britpop Indie-Rockstar, a new memoir set in pre-Britpop Camden. Written by Andy Macleod, who set up Club Fandango with Fierce Panda’s Simon Williams, putting on early gigs for Coldplay, Arctic Monkeys and many more in some of our most beloved small venues, the book charts band The Pointy Birds’ bid for success against a backdrop of other British Britpop bands reaching levels of success they only aspired to. Macleod, a former member of Pointy Birds draws on his own experiences around Camden on the cusp of Britpop madness – one for those interested in our rich local music history.

• If you don’t want to run the Covid Tier 3 gauntlet down a busy December Carnaby Street, The Rolling Stones’ virtual store is open to all at carnaby.therollingstonesshop.co.uk, with a 360° virtual experience allowing shoppers to navigate the store’s two floors, almost as if you are there in person. Find a wide range of exclusive and limited-edition products including a unique Christmas ornament – a beglittered glass trademark tongue emblem at £73!!! – and new 3LP release HONK, a compilation of some of the band’s best-known songs from 1971 – 2016, printed on sexy “Stones Red” vinyl, quite possibly a better buy at £45.

• Each year a whole load of artists bid for festive posterity – and the annual royalties that go with it – by releasing their own Christmas songs. Many are never heard of again post-December 25, but some rare specimens manage to work their way into the national consciousness and win their place among the usuals played relentlessly in the run-up to the big day. This year’s wannabes include Robbie Williams with Can’t Stop Christmas, for which he “cheekily” dresses up as Boris Johnson in the accompanying video; Oh My God! It’s The Church’s annual charity single Christmas Ain’t Cancelled raising money for Help Musicians; Q&A’s Christmas Dream album including jazz-tinged single The Strangest Christmas Ever – sensing a theme yet? There’s also Blossoms’ double A-side Christmas Eve (Soul Purpose) / It’s Going To Be Cold Winter, accompanied by a short animated Christmas film featuring vocal appearances from the band as well as contributions from comedian Lloyd Griffith and Happy Mondays singer Rowetta. The most credible and possibly obscure Christmas release comes from Chilly Gonzales with A Very Chilly Mixtape: The Coldest Crimbo with Toddla T featuring Nadia Rose, Serocee, Coco and Deli OneFourz putting unique spins on the classics, coinciding with his 75-minute variety show A Very Chilly Christmas filmed in an empty Parisian theatre featuring Jarvis Cocker, Feist and other guests – visit chillygonzales.com for more info.

• And then there are the livestreams. Barbican has a neverending supply of updated listings, see the website, and Riz Ahmed, who was due to bring his The Long Goodbye tour to Lafayette has turned to streaming, tickets from his website for an exclusive online show on Saturday, December 19.