Stockland Green students from Christmases past and present joined a festive singalong to celebrate a much-loved pop hit that the school played a special part in recording.
More than half a century ago, pupils from the school – which is part of the respective Arthur Terry Learning Partnership – travelled to London to lend their angelic voices when glam rock legends Wizzard recorded their yuletide classic ‘I Wish It Could Be Christmas Every Day.’
Brummie songwriter and band leader Roy Wood had wanted to use local kids to provide the backing vocals on the hit, which raced up the charts and has been an annual festive favourite ever since.
Wizzard band member Bill Hunt’s brother-in-law was a teacher at Stockland Green, so he arranged for the young choir from the Slade Road school to be bussed down to the capital for an unforgettable day of recording.
And recently some of those former students returned to Stockland Green, to sing the song again with current pupils accompanied by multi-instrumentalist Bill.
A classroom at the school was turned into a winter wonderland for the performance, as alumni Mary Lafferty (62), Denise Pitkin-Bree (61), Nick Romillie (62) and Hilary Gunton-Barnes (61) joined 77-year-old Bill and current students in a rendition of the song.
Bill said: “It’s been an incredible experience to be reunited with the people who played such a big part in helping the song enjoy the success that it did.
“Spending time with Stockland Green School students past and present and sharing the joy of this memorable song with them all has been an absolute joy.”
A BBC film crew was there to catch the historic moment too. The reunion will feature on the BBC The One Show on December 16, while you can now hear the former students being interviewed on ‘Christmas Hits Unwrapped: Stories Behind The Songs’ on BBC Sounds.
For the former pupils, the day brought back memories of not only their school days, but their unforgettable moment as pop stars.
Mary said: “It’s very strange being back at Stockland Green – there have been so many changes.
“We used to rehearse in the school hall for choir practice, and we all auditioned for the Wizzard song. Only so many of us got picked.
“I’m proud of it, I really am. My partner Alan calls me the ‘one hit wonder’!”
Hilary remembers the children enjoying their day out in London and interacting with the colourful glam rocker.
She said: “I think I was 11 or 12 when it happened. I had a little red cardigan on, and we were given badges which I pinned to my cardigan. I’d never been in an acoustic setting before – the muffled atmosphere in the studio made me feel like I’d gone deaf!
“It was a beautiful summer day when we did it. There’s a myth that the studio was decked out in Christmas decorations to make us feel more Christmassy, but I don’t remember that.
“Now, my family just laugh every time they hear the song!
“When we were there, it was awe-inspiring, with big microphones and recording equipment. Roy was there, and we all had a tug of his beard, which was all coloured.
“We went to the Hard Rock Café afterwards for a burger. I remember ordering a huge banana split. I took one look at it and realised I couldn’t eat it, I felt terrible! When we were sitting there, a little boy came over to Roy and asked for his autograph, and I just thought, ‘wow, am I special, sitting with the star!’”
Denise said: “The school is unrecognisable to me today, it’s changed so much, even since my nephew went here, who’s 27 now.
“I remember we didn’t have any rehearsals – 12 of us were picked and we went on a bus to London to record the song.
“It was all done at the end of summer. When we got there, we had to start rehearsing for the record. It was fun, because we were all friends from school, so it just felt like a school trip.”
Due to union rules, the Stockland Green pupils who sang on the record don’t feature in the famous video that is shown every year – it features different children, miming along to the Brummie kids’ voices.
But Nick, who grew up to become a recording artist, said it provided him with his first taste of life as a professional musician.
He said: “It’s great to be back at Stockland Green. As soon as you hit the driveway to the school it feels familiar, even if the buildings are new.
“I remember assembling on the playground next to a white van, which was full of goodies and sweets. I don’t remember much about the journey down to London, but I remember arriving in the studio, which was Hyde Park Recording Studio.
“We did the audition in assembly, and I didn’t realise what it was actually for – I just stood up and sang, because I was always singing as a kid!
“I’m a recording artist, and I use social media to promote my work. Every year at Christmastime I see the Wizzard song being shared, and it’s nice to look back on my first experience of recording music.
“Over the past years I’ve shared a lot of photos and memories about the experience.
“I can honestly say what shaped me from the experience was that feel-good feeling of doing something special. When we were in the studio singing together, there was a camaraderie, and afterwards we went to a restaurant for dinner and met Roy Wood. We just felt so special.
“We all come from working class backgrounds, so for many of us it would have felt even more like a special experience.
“I’d like to encourage the Stockland Green kids of today to be true to yourself and what makes you happy. Focus on the things that make you feel special.”
Despite being a recognised multi-million-selling Christmas classic, ‘I Wish It Could Be Christmas Every Day’ has never actually hit the Number One spot – and was even beaten to the top of the chart on its release by ‘Merry Christmas Everybody’, another festive West Midlands anthem by fellow Glam rockers Slade.
And even though he sang on the Wizzard classic, Nick has kept a Christmas secret for 50 years.
“Secretly, I always liked the Slade song a bit better!” he laughed.
Stockland Green headteacher Rebecca Goode said: “The story of how children from our school sang on Wizzard’s big Christmas hit has been part of our history for decades, so it was brilliant to welcome some of them back and hear their memories of how it happened.
“And to have Bill here – playing and singing with our students past and present – was the icing on the Christmas cake.”