"Christmas Time (Don't Let the Bells End)" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
![]() | ||||
Single by the Darkness | ||||
from the album Permission to Land (Christmas edition) | ||||
B-side | "I Love You 5 Times" | |||
Released | 15 December 2003 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 3:39 | |||
Label |
| |||
Songwriter(s) | ||||
Producer(s) | Bob Ezrin | |||
The Darkness singles chronology | ||||
|
"Christmas Time (Don't Let the Bells End)" is a single released by British hard rock band the Darkness. The single was released on 15 December 2003, to fall in with the UK Christmas number one race, ultimately finishing runner-up. The track was later included on a "Christmas edition" of their debut studio album, Permission to Land , issued in some areas of Europe on 22 December 2003.
The song is a take on the usual structure of Christmas songs. It features the usual mention of festivities, Santa Claus and bells, delivered with Justin Hawkins's trademark falsetto. The school choir that provide backing vocals, which can be heard on the song and seen in the video, are from Haberdashers' Aske's Hatcham College school, in New Cross, London, which Justin and Dan's mother once attended. Following the humour and tone of the Darkness's other work, the song also includes a strong level of parody, most notably the double meaning of the line 'Bells End' (bellend) and 'Ring in peace' (ringpiece). The song appeared as the backing track for the Christmas version of Adult Swim's iOS game, Robot Unicorn Attack , which was released in November 2010. [1]
When asked about the meaning of the song on a television special, Hawkins stated "we managed to get bellend into a Christmas song without it getting banned! (And ringpiece!)" [2]
The video features the band unwrapping presents. Justin Hawkins thinks of his girlfriend, played by his then-girlfriend and the Darkness's manager, Sue Whitehouse, as pictured in a bauble and in the fire. Justin goes outside and is joined by the rest of the band playing the song. He opens the door to find a choir standing outside singing the song. Justin joins in and invites them inside. Dan Hawkins gives Justin a present; a car key. Justin runs outside and gets into the car while Dan winks to the audience. Inside the car is Justin's girlfriend. They kiss as the spaceship seen in the videos for "I Believe in a Thing Called Love" and "Growing on Me", and on the cover of their debut studio album, Permission to Land , flies across the sky, showing some glittery words, which read 'Merry Christmas'.
The song was the odds-on favourite with the bookmakers to reach number one on the UK Singles Chart, [3] but was beaten by the relatively unknown Gary Jules and Michael Andrews with a cover of Tears for Fears' "Mad World", and thus the band had to settle for the number two position, joining a list of acts including Wham!, The Pogues, Mariah Carey and Cliff Richard to miss out on the top spot (though Richard did have two Christmas number ones in addition to his number twos). According to sales information from Music Week, the Darkness were at number one all week and lost out on Saturday sales – one of the closest battles for Christmas number one in recent years.[ citation needed ] The song had first-week sales of 222,561 and sold just under 5,000 copies less than "Mad World". [4] According to the Official Charts Company, the song sold 385,000 copies over the Christmas period.[ citation needed ]
Weekly charts
| Year-end charts
|
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
United Kingdom (BPI) [23] | Platinum | 600,000‡ |
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. |
Region | Date | Format(s) | Label(s) | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
United Kingdom | 15 December 2003 |
|
| [24] |
Australia | 22 November 2004 | CD |
| [25] |
The Darkness are an English rock band that formed in Lowestoft, England in 2000. The band consists of Justin Hawkins, his brother Dan Hawkins, Frankie Poullain and Rufus Tiger Taylor.
Justin David Hawkins is an English musician, Internet personality, singer and songwriter best known as the founder, lead singer, and lead guitarist of The Darkness, of which his younger brother Dan is also a member. He is also the lead singer and guitarist for the band Hot Leg, formed in 2008 and now on hiatus. In 2021, Hawkins launched a YouTube channel entitled Justin Hawkins Rides Again, where he does comedic analysis on songs or artists in addition to covering news in the musical community.
Permission to Land is the debut studio album by the British glam rock band The Darkness, released on 7 July 2003 in the UK and 16 September 2003 in the US. The album topped the UK Albums Chart and reached number thirty-six on the American Billboard 200 chart. Five singles were released from Permission to Land: "Get Your Hands off My Woman", "Growing on Me", "I Believe in a Thing Called Love", "Christmas Time ", and "Love Is Only a Feeling". "I Believe in a Thing Called Love" was the most successful, reaching number two on the UK Singles Chart.
"Last Christmas" is a song by British pop duo Wham!. Written and produced by George Michael, it was released on 3 December 1984 via CBS Records internationally and as a double A-side via Epic Records with "Everything She Wants" in several European countries. The song has been covered by many artists including Whigfield, Crazy Frog, Billie Piper, Taylor Swift and Ariana Grande.
The UK singles chart was first compiled in 1969. However, the records and statistics listed here date back to 1952 because the Official Charts Company counts a selected period of the New Musical Express chart and the Record Retailer chart from 1960 to 1969 as predecessors for the period prior to 11 February 1969, where multiples of competing charts coexisted side by side. For example, the BBC compiled its own chart based on an average of the music papers of the time; many songs announced as having reached number one on BBC Radio and Top of the Pops prior to 1969 may not be listed here as chart-toppers since they do not meet the legacy criteria of the Charts Company.
"Mad World" is a 1982 song by British band Tears for Fears. Written by Roland Orzabal and sung by bassist Curt Smith, it was the band's third single release and first chart hit, reaching number three on the UK Singles Chart in November 1982. Both "Mad World" and its B-side, "Ideas as Opiates", appeared on the band's debut LP The Hurting (1983). This single was also the band's first international success, reaching the Top 40 in several countries in 1982–83. In the UK it was the 12th best-selling single of 1982.
"A Moment Like This" is the debut single by American singer Kelly Clarkson. The song was written by Jörgen Elofsson and John Reid from British house music project Nightcrawlers and produced by Stephen Ferrera and Steve Mac. It was released as a double A-side with "Before Your Love" as her coronation single after winning the first season of American Idol. The song was later included on her debut studio album, Thankful (2003). "A Moment Like This" was a huge hit in North America, topping the US Billboard Hot 100 and Canadian Singles Chart.
"I Believe in a Thing Called Love" is a song by English rock band the Darkness, released as the third single from their debut studio album, Permission to Land. When released as a single in September 2003, it peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart. The song also charted worldwide, becoming a top-10 hit in Ireland, New Zealand, and Sweden, as well as on the US Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart.
"Cry Me a River" is a song by American singer-songwriter Justin Timberlake for his debut solo album, Justified (2002). It was thought to be inspired by Timberlake's former relationship with singer Britney Spears. Jive Records released the song to contemporary hit and rhythmic radio in the United States on November 25, 2002, as the album's second single. Accompanied by an electric piano, beatbox, guitars, synthesizers, Arabian-inspired riffs and Gregorian chants, "Cry Me a River" is a pop and R&B song about a brokenhearted man who moves on from his past.
"Growing on Me" is a song by British rock band the Darkness from their 2003 debut album, Permission to Land. It was released as the second single on 16 June 2003, peaking at number 11 on the UK Singles Chart. It also charted at number 42 and 46 in Ireland and Australia, respectively.
"Like I Love You" is the debut solo single of American singer-songwriter Justin Timberlake from his debut studio album, Justified (2002), which features American hip hop duo Clipse. It was co-written by Timberlake and the Neptunes, who also produced it. The song was released on September 16, 2002, as Timberlake's debut solo single, following the announced hiatus of NSYNC earlier that year. According to Williams, the song's drums were an ode to the funk era.
"What Goes Around.../...Comes Around (Interlude)" is a song by American singer-songwriter Justin Timberlake from his second studio album, FutureSex/LoveSounds (2006). It was written and produced by Timberlake, Timbaland, and Danja. The song was said by Timberlake to be about betrayal and forgiveness, and was described by some music critics as a psychedelic pop and sophisti-pop "sequel" to his 2002 single "Cry Me a River". The song received generally positive reviews from music critics.
"Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" is a christmas song written by Johnny Marks and recorded by Brenda Lee in 1958; it has since been recorded by numerous other music artists. By the song's 50th anniversary in 2008, Lee's original version had sold over 15 million copies around the world with the 4th most digital downloads sold of any Christmas single. In 2019, Lee's recording of the song was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. In November 2023, Lee released a music video for the song, and in December, the song topped the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, marking Lee's third number-one single and making Lee the oldest artist ever to top the Hot 100 at age 78, later breaking the record once again one week later at the age of 79. The song also set the record for the longest period of time between an original release and its topping the Hot 100, as well as the longest time between number-one singles by an artist: 63 years, one month and two weeks.
"Dead and Gone" is a song by American rapper T.I. featuring singer Justin Timberlake. It became available for digital download in September 2008 and was released on January 12, 2009 as the eighth single from T.I.'s sixth studio album, Paper Trail (2008). Due to the high number of digital downloads upon the album's release, the song debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 before its official single release. The song marked the second collaboration between T.I. and Justin Timberlake, the first being the hit single "My Love", from Timberlake's second album, FutureSex/LoveSounds (2006).
This article gives details of the official charts from 2003.
As of August 2022, the discography of The Darkness, a British hard rock band, consists of seven studio albums, one compilation album, one live album, one extended play (EP), one box set, thirty-two singles and twenty-four music videos.
"Let Me Love You" is a song recorded by French DJ and electronic music producer DJ Snake featuring vocals from Canadian singer Justin Bieber. The song was released through Interscope Records on 5 August 2016 as the third single from his debut studio album, Encore (2016). The artists both co-wrote the song along with Andrew Watt, Ali Tamposi, Brian Lee and Louis Bell, while the song's production was handled by DJ Snake, Bell and Watt.