Artist Martin Creed releases a Christmas single

Turner-winning artist Martin Creed’s bleak Christmas carol It’s You is the perfect tune to see out 2016

Feature by The Skinny | 06 Dec 2016

As we all know, 2016 has been a miserable year. Artist Martin Creed has served up a bleak Christmas single to sum up the last 12 months, and it’s accompanied by a hilariously dour video featuring Creed and a chihuahua.

The candle and fairy light-lit video, which looks to have been shot in the artist’s flat, features an angelic choir complete with haloes, and at the centre of it all is Creed, who leads the choir dressed in an ever changing series of abominable Christmas jumpers while cradling a sleeping chihuahua. “Whatever you feel, whatever you want, whatever you do, whatever you don’t … it’s you at the front and it’s you at the back. It’s you,” go the lyrics.

According to the statement that accompanies the video, Creed's influenced by "echoes of Val Doonican and Johnny Cash’s Christmas specials, and overtones of Listen With Mother" and describes It's You as a "a philosophical nursery rhyme for all the family."

"It was not meant as a Christmas song," says Creed. "It just came out sounding like that"

Take a look at Creed's video in the player above.


Martin Creed’s film and music Work No. 1701 is currently showing at The Infinite Mix as part of the Hayward Gallery’s current collaboration with the Vinyl Factory, until 11 Dec http://www.martincreedmusic.com