Guy Garvey immediately said yes to covering The Beatles for this year’s John Lewis Christmas advert – but didn’t want to put his own spin on the song.
The Elbow frontman and his band recorded a version of ‘Golden Slumbers’ for the store’s annual festive commercial, and while it was an easy decision, they were careful not to change the original too much.
Speaking to The Sun newspaper, Guy explained: ”Cover The Beatles for an advert by Michel Gondry? The only answer was yes when John Lewis asked us … It did give us pause. Put it this way – in no way was it tempting to change it. It is like hallowed ground. I did add a very subtle vocal part but only because we made the song longer. It is very short, making it all the more genius. It comes and goes so quickly on that record.”
Over the years, John Lewis’ seasonal ad has been soundtracked by the lies of Aurora’s take on Oasis’ ‘Half The World Away’, Ellie Goulding’s cover of ‘Your Song’ by Sir Elton John, and Lily Allen’s rendition of Keane’s hit ‘Somewhere Only We Know’.
However, Guy had to admit he wouldn’t be able to name any of the previous acts to contribute to the festive TV spot, adding that his knowledge of pop music in general has ”gaping holes”.
He said: ”I couldn’t tell you a single one. There are whopping gaping holes in my pop knowledge. I once got Kerry Katona mixed up with Dame Kiri Te Kanawa. My mate said, ‘You know she’s had all kinds of problems, her boyfriend cheated on her and drugs.’ And I said ‘But she’s a dame!’ I couldn’t quite match the two. I had the wrong person.”