Is Gordon Haskell's How Wonderful You Are going to be the Christmas No 1

A.� If we could predict a No 1 with any certainty, then this feature would be beamed to you from our private island in the Caribbean, so let's just say that it's a 'strong possibility' and leave it at that!

�< xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

Trying to second-guess the record-buying public's choice for the Christmas No 1is an intriguing game played for fun by most people, but taken in deadly earnest by the record companies, who all want a slice of that lucrative market.

�

Q.� Why is it so important to score top spot at Christmas

A.� It's the time of year when thousands of people who don't buy a record from one year's end to the next, and those sales can make an impact on profits for the year.

�

The trick is in the timing, which is why Gordon Haskell's single was not released until a week before Christmas. The idea is to maximise sales for the pre-Christmas rush, and sell more than the hot favourite which is Robbie Williams and Nicole Kidman whose sales could run out of steam in the final furlong. HMV spokesman Genaro Castaldo is quoted as saying he thinks How Wonderful You Are could move 150,000 copies, and Something Stupid is tipped for around 100,000, but it's always an open race, and anyone could slip in and steal the top slot.

�

Q.� So where has Gordon Haskell suddenly appeared from

A.� In the finest tradition of the media, where bands who have been slogging round the UK gig circuit for ten years suddenly pick up a 'Best Newcomer' Award, Gordon Haskell is a long way from being a new artist.

�

Gordon is 55, and has been a musician since the 1960s when he performed in a band called The League Of Gentleman, with guitarist Robert Fripp. The band backed a number of American r 'n' b acts touring the UK. In 1970, Fripp had formed King Crimson, and was about to lose his bassist and lead singer Greg Lake to Emerson Lake and Palmer. Gordon Haskell, a bass player who could sing, was duly recruited, and performed vocal duties on one song - Cadence and Cascade - on the band's second album, In The Wake Of Poseidon, and most of the vocals on the third album Lizard. By the time the band came to tour, the majority of the line-up had split, so Haskell holds the distinction of the only vocalist in King Crimson's chequered history never to have sung live on stage with the band.

Q.� So how come he's suddenly a pop star

A.� Gordon Haskell would probably deny even now, that he is a pop star! He has enjoyed a sporadic recording career, and has toured pubs and clubs around the West Country, content to work as a musician, and earn a living doing what he loves. Haskell wrote How Wonderful You Are, but was worried about being told by a record company that he was 'too old', so he sent it to Johnny Walker at Radio 2, who played the record, which has gone on to be the most requested record in Radio 2's history, hence the media frenzy, and the attempt to steal the Christmas No 1 from under the noses of the favourites.

�

Q.� Why is the song so popular

A.� The gift of Gordon Haskell's song is its bittersweet lyric, and the overwhelming feeling for the listener that they have heard it before. It has a comfortable familiarity, and a more mature generation of music fans will appreciate the worldly-wise delivery that Haskell brings to his song, and the fact that his experience and maturity both ensure that his delivery is utterly authentic.

�

Q.� What happens now

A.� Well, all the December shows Haskell had planned have had to be cancelled as he fulfils the mass of media opportunities that come with being the Christmas 'dark horse' singer. He is planning a much larger tour for early in the New Year, and he won't have to worry too much about what the record company think about him being a 'pop star'!

�

Q.� Why not

A.� Because EastWest have signed Gordon Haskell to a four-album deal for �2.8 million, so his future looks assured. Gordon won't have to worry about seeing it all 'go down in Harry's Bar', he can afford to buy up a Harry's Bar franchise and put his feet up in a different one every night!

�

Do you have a musical question Please click here

Andy Hughes