They may not be household names, but the lesser-known writers of some of Britain’s best-loved Christmas songs are still reaping the rewards of their decades’-old hits.
The composers of songs including Mistletoe and Wine, Stop the Cavalry, Merry Christmas Everybody and Fairytale of New York are still earning a regular “pension” worth enough to buy a “small house”, it has been disclosed.
One songwriter, who wrote the song in his garage and admitted he “filled it with clichés”, said the “nice little pension” arrives in his bank account in the spring after a bumper seasonal payout.
According to the Sunday Times, top earners including Slade’s Merry Christmas Everybody, which has earned more than £284,000 for its writers this year so far.
Keith Strachan, who wrote Mistletoe and Wine in just half an hour 30 years ago, said he will be spending his annual reward on a summer cruise, having earned enough to buy “a small house” over the song’s lifetime.
You can read the rest of this article by Hannah Furness on the Telegraph’s website here
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