It’s nearly Christmas, the time of year where cover versions crawl out of every cultural orifice, whether it be the inevitable X Factor single, the all-star celebrity cast of the BBC’s God Only Knows, or the endless barrage of saccharine department store ads featuring cosy, quirky acoustic versions a la Lily Allen’s cover of Keane, Gabrielle Aplin’s cover of Frankie Goes to Hollywood or Slow Moving Millie’s rework of the Smiths. Right now, as we speak, in an office somewhere in greater London, a man in a suit working for John Lewis is probably signing off a festive cover of Slipknot’s Wait and Bleed by Taylor Swift.
Cynical attitudes aside, there are still many covers worthy of praise – one of which has topped a recent BBC poll: Always On My Mind by the Pet Shop Boys has been elected the top cover version of all time, as voted for by the public and whittled down by a crack team including Fearne Cotton, Trevor Nelson, Simon Mayo and Steve Lamacq, head of music for Radio 2 and 6 Music, Jeff Smith and George Ergatoudis, head of music for Radio 1 and 1Xtra. The Pet Shop Boys’ cover reached No 1 in the UK charts in 1987; the song was originally written by John Christopher, Mark James and Wayne Carson, and first made famous by Brenda Lee and Elvis Presley in 1972, and Willie Nelson a decade after them.
