Today’s song is Paul McCartney’s 1983 Christmas #1, Pipes Of Peace. The video accompanying this single saw McCartney playing the roles of a British and German soldier in the 1914 Christmas truce between troops fighting in World War I. During the football match in No Man’s Land, the two soldiers exchange photos of their loved ones. A shell blast forces both sides to withdraw, and the two men realise they still have each other’s photos. If it sounds familiar from more recent times, it’s because the 2014 Sainsbury’s Christmas ad took its inspiration from this video! You can compare the two here: here’s Pipes Of Peace, and here’s the Sainsbury’s ad.

If it’s your first time on the site, find out more about the 365 Songs project. For more Christmaciousness, see all of my December songs here.

https://soundcloud.com/mark-pentleton/pipes-of-peace