1. Bad News are an British, s… Read Full Bio ↴More than one artist shares this name.
1. Bad News are an British, spoof rock band, created for the Channel 4 television series The Comic Strip Presents.... Its members are Vim Fuego [Alan Metcalfe], vocals and lead guitar (played by Adrian Edmondson); Den Dennis, rhythm guitar (Nigel Planer); Colin Grigson, bass (Rik Mayall); and Spider Webb, drums (Peter Richardson).
Their first appearance was in 1983, in the first series of The Comic Strip Presents... (written by Edmondson, and produced by Michael White/Comic Strip Productions). The episode, Bad News Tour, took the form of a spoof rockumentary, in which the incompetent band is followed on tour by an almost equally incompetent documentary crew.
Coincidentally, it was in production at the same time as the similar film 'This Is Spinal Tap', which was released the following year.
The band made numerous promotional TV appearances including Channel 4's now iconic 80's music show 'The Tube' and the BBC's primetime talkshow 'Wogan'.
They initially released a self-titled album, consisting of thrashy rock songs interspersed with arguments amongst the band. Brian May of Queen produced the album, which included a cover of Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody".
They also played a tour of theatres, universities and colleges as well as playing Reading Festival in 1987.They also had a suitably bad opening set at the Monsters of Rock festival at Castle Donington. This performance was featured in a second Comic Strip film, More Bad News, broadcast in 1988.
2. An experimental house producer on L.I.E.S. Records.
3. Bad News are a Bulgarian, underground hip-hop group.
4. Bad News is a new duo operating in the heavy industrial and noise zones, with an awareness of vivisect-era Skinny Puppy, incorporating guitar, synthesizers and drum machines writhing like mercury under sharp female vocals.
5. Gangster Rapper out of Los Angeles
Cashing In On Christmas
Bad News Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Hear those cash tills ring
Jingle bells make money
Everybody sing
Queuing up at Woolworths
To get our Christmas hit
With lots of peace and love and joy and
This is our Christmas single
Please make it number 1
And give us all your money
To make our Christmas fun
Cashing in on Christmas
Hear those cash tills ring
Jingle bells make money
Everybody sing
'cause' we are rockin'
Oh every Christmas we're rockin'
Say Santa Claus and we are rockin'
Ooh jingle bells and we're rockin'
Well every Christmas we're rockin', we're rockin' all the way to the bank
Cashing in on Christmas
Hear those cash tills ring
Jingle bells make money
Everybody sing
*Little girls' voice*
I want to wake up on Christmas morning
With the snow all over the ground
With Bad News' Christmas single in my stocking
It only costs just over a pound
Hello, this is Den Dennis
I hope you're all having a very merry Christmas
This is our Christmas single, please buy it and make it number 1
For our Christmas fun
Hello everybody, it's Vim Fuego here,
Sorry I can't be with you this Christmas
But I'm in the Caribbean with all your money
Having a good drink and a laugh
Have a nice one, merry Christmas
Cashing in on Christmas
Christmas girls and boys
Cashing in on Christmas
Let's make lots of noise
'cause' we are rockin'
Ooh every Christmas we're rockin'
Say Santa Claus and we are rockin'
Ooh jingle bells and we're rockin'
Well every Christmas we're rockin', we're rockin' all the way to the bank
Cashing in on Christmas
Christmas girls and boys
Cashing in on Christmas
Let's make lots of noise
(Repeat to end)
Hello everyone this is Colin Grigson
Please give as generously as you can to Bad News this Christmas, because, remember,
There are people in the world who are much better at spending your money than you are,
And that's us. Ha ha, merry Christmas!
Hello, I'm Spider Webb. Heh heh heh!
The song "Cashing In On Christmas" by Bad News is a satirical take on the commercialization of Christmas. The lyrics convey the idea that people are willing to buy anything related to Christmas, and how the music industry is capitalizing on this trend to make money. The band is urging people to buy their Christmas single to make it number one, and in return, the band promises to make their Christmas fun. The catchy chorus "Cashing in on Christmas, hear those cash tills ring, jingle bells make money, everybody sing" emphasizes the theme of the song and the band's motive.
The song also takes a dig at the music industry through its humorous line, "Say Santa Claus, and we are rockin'." By poking fun at the idea that just mentioning Santa Claus in a song can make it popular, Bad News is exposing the ridiculousness of the music industry's tendency to churn out Christmas songs year after year, full of cliches and predictable themes. The phone message by Vim Fuego calling from Caribbean with all their money adds to the satirical aspect of the song.
Overall, Cashing In On Christmas is a funny and astute observation on how Christmas has become a money-making scheme rather than a time for celebration and joy.
Line by Line Meaning
Cashing in on Christmas
We are making money by taking advantage of the holiday season
Hear those cash tills ring
Our cash registers are ringing from all the money we're making
Jingle bells make money
We're using the popularity of Christmas and its symbols to make money
Everybody sing
Everyone is happily participating in our scheme
Queuing up at Woolworths
People are lining up at a store to buy our Christmas single
To get our Christmas hit
They want to purchase our song as their choice of music for the holiday season
With lots of peace and love and joy and
Our song contains typical holiday sentiments to make it more appealing
Jingle bells on it
The song has jingle bells sounds in it to make it more festive
This is our Christmas single
We're promoting our song specifically for Christmas
Please make it number 1
We're asking people to buy our song and make it a top chart hit
And give us all your money
We're asking people to spend all their money on our song
To make our Christmas fun
The more money we make, the more enjoyable our own Christmas season will be
'cause' we are rockin'
We're referring to ourselves as rockstars during the holiday season
Oh every Christmas we're rockin'
We think we're 'rocking it' every Christmas season
Say Santa Claus and we are rockin'
We can turn anything festive into our own rock anthem
Ooh jingle bells and we're rockin'
Even traditional holiday symbols and sounds won't stop our rockstar vibe
Well every Christmas we're rockin', we're rockin' all the way to the bank
Our rockstar attitude and holiday scheme is very successful in making us a lot of money
Little girls' voice
A young girl is speaking now, as a tactic to make our scheme appear more innocent and enjoyable for everyone
I want to wake up on Christmas morning
This girl imagines the ideal holiday experience with our song as a part of it
With the snow all over the ground
She pictures a beautiful wintry scene during Christmas morning
With Bad News' Christmas single in my stocking
She hopes to receive our song as a present
It only costs just over a pound
She mentions the low cost of our song as an incentive for people to buy it
Hello, this is Den Dennis
One of our members introduces themselves to promote our song further
Hello everybody, it's Vim Fuego here,
Another member introduces themselves and brags about where they're spending the money we've made
Sorry I can't be with you this Christmas
Despite missing the holiday season, we're happy because we're making so much money
Cashing in on Christmas
The chorus reiterates our main message of making money during the holiday season
Christmas girls and boys
Everyone is enjoying the holiday with the help of our song
Let's make lots of noise
We encourage enthusiastic participation from our audience
Hello everyone this is Colin Grigson
Another one of our members urges people to donate even more money to our cause
Please give as generously as you can to Bad News this Christmas, because, remember,
He wants people to be reminded of our greatness and continue giving us money
There are people in the world who are much better at spending your money than you are,
He suggests that we should handle all of their holiday expenses for them, because we're experts at it
And that's us. Ha ha, merry Christmas!
He reveals our hidden agenda and laughs it off as a joke while wishing everyone a happy holiday season
I'm Spider Webb.
The final member signs off with a signature line
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
tango setentaycinco
I fucking love them!, you guys deserve every quid you made with this song!
Luca Kierro
Easily the funniest Christmas song and video I've ever witnessed!! Vim Fuego and Den Dennis were particularly funny in this vid, especially when Den was talking to the audience ON THE TOILET, LOL!! That was hilarious! Colin Gregson a.k.a the legendary Rik Mayall (RIP) was funny at the end, too. I knew Bad News released their own Christmas song, I just fucking KNEW IT!! XD
Vitorino Barcelona
My favourite christas song, totally puts jesus back on the map
bigbadwolf oosterhof
ooo absolutely YES
Laughing Achilles
I have been hoping to hear this one day during the Christmas season, but so far no luck.
Next year people, let's make it happen.
George Jackson
I remember seeing this on Beavis and Butthead one Christmas break as a teenager. I had the flu and my cat had just died and I was up at 2 AM with a splitting headache. This dumb shit cheered me up.
I Drink Therefore I Dram
I remember watching this for the first time on Beavis and Butthead and though I considered it a real video from a real band I thought it was funny. Years (and Spinal Tap) later I realised the irony and find it even funnier. x
Totally Not Summer Morrison
Something I love about that show is that it's like a time capsule, their commentary is like a link to past, more underrated music that I wasn't alive to hear for myself.
King Bloo
Same here! But due to Beavis and Buttheads commentary over Ade’s distinct vocals I had no idea it was him & Rik until watching the whole video here, now destined to be a Christmas classic in my household!
foxee36 Fox
Love
It!