The Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Choir topping the UK Christmas chart wasn’t too great a surprise. Particularly as Justin Bieber, their rival for top spot, was urging his Twitter followers to buy the Choir’s single.
But what must Simon Cowell’s thoughts be on the number nine peak achieved by Louisa Johnson with her X Factor winner’s single, Forever Young. Not every other X Factor winner’s song has topped the UK Christmas chart but they all reached number one at some time. This proud record has now been shattered.
Louisa is a fine singer with an engaging personality. Could the blame for what, in relative terms, is a dismal chart performance be laid at the door of X Factor creator Simon Cowell who always chooses the song which will be the winning artist’s debut single.
Some of Simon’s selections have been somewhat surprising. Covers of songs which had not previously been particularly successful have proved to be inspired choices. For once though, perhaps Simon’s instinct has let him down.
Louisa was given a cover of Bob Dylan’s 1974 song, Forever Young. Originally written as a lullaby for his son Jesse, two versions appeared on Bob’s 14th studio album, “Planet Waves.” The second, a faster rock version, was developed after the girlfriend of one of Dylan’s long-time friends heard the original recording and asked Bob if he was getting mushy in his old age. He was 32 at the time.
The lullaby version was covered by Louisa. Although her performance on the X Factor final drew a standing ovation, the song has clearly not had the same kind of impact as that enjoyed by previous X Factor winners.
“I think Forever Young is a beautiful song,” said 17-year-old Louisa. “I’m very proud to have recorded it as my debut single. It’s true that we all expected a higher chart position but things just sometimes don’t work out.”
One thing which certainly didn’t work out was Louisa’s audition for Britain’s Got Talent.
“Many people criticise those of us who try to break into the music business through television talent shows. But they provide the perfect platform for artists like me who are just singers rather than accomplished musicians. I was too young when I auditioned for Britain’s Got Talent. I wasn’t ready and my performance was boring.”
Despite Louisa’s self-criticism, the show producers could recognise embryonic ability. She was invited to audition for X Factor later in the year.
“I turned down the invitation. I was sensible enough to realise I wasn’t ready and needed at least another year to improve. But I felt right about auditioning this year. I had the gut instinct that I was ready.”
Her performances were impressive on every show. She was placed first in all but two of the public votes emerging as the clear winner ahead of rap singing duo Reggie ‘n’ Bollie.
“I went a bit blank when I was announced as the winner. It just felt surreal. It’s strange when you think about it in that the winner was either going to be me or Reggie ‘n’ Bollie but I really felt shocked and couldn’t believe it when I won.
“Getting the Christmas number one would have been a dream but it wasn’t to be. Even so, Forever Young has sold a lot of copies and the proceeds all go to charity so I still feel like I’ve done a good job.”
Simon Cowell declared Louisa as the best artist to ever appear on X Factor.
“It was very kind of Simon to say that about me. But I don’t feel like I can possibly be mentioned in the same breath as somebody like my idol, Leona Lewis. I’ve admired Leona so much since seeing her on X Factor and I’ve seen all her concert tours. She has been so successful and is such a great artist. It’s weird to be compared to her.”
Louisa’s debut album is scheduled for release in February.
“The release date isn’t set in stone but I’d be able to promote it during the X Factor tour if my album does come out in February. Whatever though, I’m looking forward to what should be the most exciting year of my life.”


IN BRIEF
Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Choir


It was the Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Choir who eventually emerged triumphant in the battle for pole position on the UK Christmas singles chart. Their track, A Bridge Over You, combines Simon and Garfunkel’s Bridge Over Troubled Water with Coldplay’s Fix You.
The Choir first came to public prominence on the BBC 2 television programme, Sing While You Work. They reached the final but were beaten into second place by the choir from Severn Trent Water.
The troupe of doctors, nurses, physios, porters, administrators and so on were delighted to have done so well. But their strong showing on Sing While You Work pales in comparison with topping the UK singles chart.
A Bridge Over You was created in 2013 to mark the first anniversary of the Choir and to celebrate the thousands of dedicated NHS staff across Britain. It was promoted this year as a rallying cry against the perceived threat of Lewisham and Greenwich’s A&E department becoming the victim of government cuts.
Two videos have been made. The original 2013 video is posted at www.youtube.com/watch?v=ve1sevQpQLQ while a 2015 video can be seen at www.youtube.com/watch?v=T8qHXlShfUQ
All proceeds from the song will be shared between Macmillan Cancer Support, Carers UK, the mental health charity MIND and a number of healthcare charities in the Lewisham and Greenwich area.


Radiohead


Anyone who enjoyed Writing’s On The Wall, Sam Smith’s theme song for the latest James Bond film, might like to compare his work with Spectre, a track by Radiohead which was originally commisioned as the movie theme.
It seems the film producers were unimpressed by the band’s effort and asked Sam Smith to provide something more to their taste. However, Radiohead love the song and wanted to share Spectre with their fans. They have posted the track at (no www.) soundcloud.com/radiohead where it can be heard and downloaded for free.
A talented James Bond and Radiohead fan has created a video of the Spectre opening credits soundtracked by the band’s song. It can be viewed at www.youtube.com/watch?v=-tbn-VEl67g


Lemmy


Rock music recently lost another icon with the death of Motorhead legend Lemmy. He died, aged 70, just two days after learning he had cancer.
Born Ian Fraser Kilmister, he acquired the nickname Lemmy while at school but claimed to have no idea where it came from. He played in several rock bands during the 1960s, became a roadie for Jimi Hendrix and joined Hawkwind in 1972. Lemmy sung lead vocals on their biggest hit single, Silver Machine.
His erratic behaviour and use of amphetamine drugs saw Lemmy fired from Hawkwind in 1975. He founded Motorhead, named after the last song he wrote for Hawkwind, and began a 40-year career with the band which saw them release 22 studio, nine live and ten compilation albums. Most of their material can be found on YouTube.


LCD Soundsystem


Could American rock band LCD Soundsystem be reuniting in 2016?
There have been rumours along these lines for quite some time. They have all been denied. But the band’s split in 2011 was perfectly amicable so there are no lingering issues to overcome.
Hopes were fuelled by the release on December 24 of a new single, Christmas Will Break Your Heart. The band reformed to create a song which founder member James Murphy had been singing to himself for the last eight years but never got around to recording. The track can be heard at www.youtube.com/watch?v=R3kPH2MJzlg
Much more of the band’s work is posted on YouTube or at (no www.) myspace.com/lcdsoundsystem/music/songs