I STRUGGLED to get into a Christmassy mood this year. Don’t misunderstand me, I love Christmas, but all I felt was a sort of cosy serenity, free of anything you could call a buzz. Do you remember hygge, the Scandinavian word meaning a quiet contentment with life’s little pleasures? Well, that was Christmas Me 2023.

But it wasn’t enough! So, in an attempt to kick-start a frenzy of festive frivolity, we went to see The Albion Christmas Band at Basingstoke’s The Haymarket.

It all looked promising. With Ashley Hutchings and Simon Nicol in the line-up, both founding members of Fairport Convention, we were in the presence of folk-rock royalty. Add in Simon Care on squeeze boxes, and the vocals of Kellie While (as yet unknown to me) and Christmas should’ve kicked off right there. Right?

They got away to a promising start with a gentle version of the Sans Day Carol, which gave everyone a chance to tap their toes and sing along. If I Were A Carpenter, though, seemed a strange choice for a Christmas-themed concert. OK, I get the tenuous carpenter connection, but as a Christmas song? 

And so it continued throughout the evening – lots of charming but melancholy carols, and covers of popular hits with only the vaguest of Christmas allusions, but nothing to get me in the party spirit. Simon Care seemed set on lifting the mood with a few corny Dad jokes and a witty poem, but what really kept us interested was the singing of Kellie While who, with the voice of an angel, provided some genuine Christmas context.

A dreamy version of Auld Lang Syne hit the spot, before the band was joined by Ashley’s son, Blair Dunlop, who changed the dynamic a little with some more contemporary folk/jazz guitar. Yet despite that, quirky, non-Christmassy songs predominated.  Joni Mitchell’s River was given real poignancy by Kellie’s vocals, while a cover of Tears For Fears’ Mad World was minimal and sad, before “The Royal Dog” finally got things rocking with its folksy, uplifting beat.

An enjoyable evening, then, but I was hoping for less mournful worship and more mirthful wassailing. In the loos after the gig, a lady said to Mrs Reviewer: “I would describe that as ‘wholesome’” which, I think, pretty well sums it up: Wholesome Hygge – the future of Christmas for the over-60s.

Happy New Year to you all.