Marc Burrows presents his new book - 'Mistletoe & Vinyl: The Story of the Christmas No.1' in conversation in our Music Library.

Why does being No. 1 in the singles chart at Christmas still make headlines?

Why do we return to the same songs every year?

What makes it such a uniquely British phenomenon, and why do we care?

Marc Burrows will be appearing at Central Library to answer all of these questions and more as he presents his new book - 'Mistletoe & Vinyl: The Story of the Christmas No.1'.

This is the story of a national obsession: the annual race for the festive chart crown, and what it reveals about British culture, identity, and the ever-changing music industry.

From The Beatles to glam rock, from Do They Know It's Christmas? to reality-TV winners, novelty records, charity campaigns and viral streaming sensations, Marc Burrows uncovers the fascinating, funny and occasionally absurd stories behind the songs we love—and love to argue about.

Packed with chart battles, cultural curiosities, festive controversies and enough music trivia to fill Santa's sack, Marc will be chatting about his updated edition of the book, which brings the story of Britain's most peculiar annual sporting event bang up to date.

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Marc Burrows is an award-winning author, comedian and musician, currently residing in Bristol. His 2020 biography of Sir Terry Pratchett won the Locus Award for best non-fiction and became the basis for a stand-up show that received rave reviews at the Edinburgh Fringe and has toured extensively across the UK.

His second book, The London Boys, explored 1960s London through the lives of the teenage David Bowie and Marc Bolan and received 8/10 from Classic Rock and four stars from Shindig! He writes regularly for The Independent, Big Issue, The New Statesmen and many more and is working on a new stand-up show.

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