When it comes to Christmas tunes, there are plenty of classics we can immediately list off – Last Christmas, Fairytale of New York, All I Want For Christmas – but do you know what our playlist was really missing?
Non-binary musician Shy Charles’ Celtic harp cover of Spice Girl’s 2 Become 1.
May the record show that 2 Become 1 IS a Christmas song, and arguably the most overlooked one – it even topped the charts on Christmas 1996.
With a gentle interplay of harp, organ, nature sounds and layered vocals, Shy aims to fight the case for the classic song – with its cosy, shimmery sweetness – as an overlooked addition to the festive canon.
The song evokes a gentle, yearning ghostliness which lends itself to this re-imagining the Spice Girls’ lyrics (about a women asking her lover to come back to her after difficulties and separation) as a call from beyond the grave.
“I always felt like 2 Become 1 was a Christmas song, partly because it has a sentimental twinkly sound, but mainly really just because the Spice Girls wear their winter coats in the video and it was number one in the charts at Christmas,” Shy told HuffPost UK.
“This was back in a pre-X Factor, LadBaby and streaming era when there was a serious race for Christmas number one that people gave a shit about. I really hope our version, which is very different from the original, can give people either a warm nostalgic feeling, or the chills of a Christmas ghost story – or both!”
But wait – you haven’t fully experienced the cover without seeing the Wuthering Heights inspired video.
As well as featuring Shy performing the song, the video stars Shon Faye (UK Vogue columnist and author of bestselling The Transgender Issue) as Catherine Earnshaw/Linton and Otamere Guobadia (writer and poet) as Heathcliff, and Martha Swales (gardening influencer) as Nelly in narrative scenes.
The whole video was filmed in just one day in one central London location – far, far away from the Yorkshire moors in which it is made to appear to be set.
Shy shared: “I think our video brings together so many classically festive things; period drama, ghost stories, snow – I mean what could be more Christmassy than a doomed, jealous love between a two certifiably insane young people who are pretty much siblings?”
“Shon and Otamere are a beautiful queer version of Cathy and Heathcliff – they really look the part and they have given Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi some big shoes to fill for their version that’s being made,” they added.
Scroll down to watch the spooky festive spectacular for yourself.