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Hark, the angels sing their dross, glory to our newborn KoS Welcome to the nineteenth edition of Deathlist’s melee of melodies, KIL SAWE Kill or Save. Back by popular-ish demand, it’s only another bleedin’ Christmas Special! So, it’s nearly Christmas. Again. But what exactly does that mean? If you’re British, you might know this scenario all too well: you’re finally home, you’ve packed up work for a few days for the festivities. Lovely. Maybe doing the last few bits of prep before the big day. Wrapping presents, perhaps? The telly isn’t on because if you hear another snippet of that bloody Mariah song on an advert for mini pig-in-blanket and cinnamon eggnog quiche tikka pasty lasagnes from Iceland, you might just vomit up chunks of the carrot that was meant for the garden snowman, if it snowed, which of course it fucking hasn’t. But it’s okay, because the radio’s on. That'll lift your spirits. Oh listen, it’s Jack Saunders and his palpably false enthusiasm, announcing that this year’s Christmas No.1 is…a big ole pile of bilge but it’s okay because it’s sort of for charity partly. “For fuck sake”, you exclaim. You switch the radio off in disgust, just in time to hear a tap at the door. You answer it, still wearing an exasperated expression and a bit of the bottle of plonk you were in the middle of opening. The local sprogs have a begging bowl for you to fill, and, in return, they’ll stop screeching saccharine songs at you. “For fuck sake”, you exclaim. You collapse onto the sofa, tired, slightly poorer, irritated, confused, covered in glitter and not quite drunk enough to be in full festive swing yet. The radio goes back on to drown out the noise outside. You can’t help but ask yourself: is this really what Christmas is all about? Of course, there’s only one proper way to answer this annual quandary: with a game of Kill or Save. Natch. Last year, a fortuitous 69 songs we’re used to hearing this time each year battled it out in the mother of all eliminators. After three and a bit weeks of tussles, curveballs, tinsel, snowballs, scumbags, maggots and…yep, Fairytale of New York was declared the best Christmas song of the lot in a thrilling finale that, just half a dozen votes from the end, was a three-way tie. This year’s game, however, will look a bit different. The host-curated single super-round of festive bangers format is having a year off. This is how it’s gonna work, and see the spoiler tags for more details: Round 1: An incomplete collection of UK Official Chart Christmas No.1s (36 songs, 5 finalists) Round 2: Christmas Carols (28 38 songs, 5 finalists) Round 3: No.1s: The Cursed Round (36 songs, 2 finalists) Grand Final: A mishmash of finalists Clear as mud, right? More will be revealed as the game goes on… Anyway...fancy reliving all the action? See below for links to all Kill or Save games to date: 50s No.1s; 60s No.1s; 70s No.1s; 80s No.1s; 90s No.1s; 00s No.1s; 10s No.1s 50s No.2s; 60s No.2s; 70s No.2s; 80s No.2s; 90s No.2s; 00s No. 2s; 10s No.2s 70s No.3s; 80s No.3s; 90s No.3s (IN PLAY!) Christmas Special 2023; Christmas Special 2024 (you are here) Right, kids, settle down...before we play, daddy's gotta read the rules: Each song starts with 20 points...normally. You can vote once a day. Since we all live in different parts of the world with all sorts of different timezones, please add a date at the top of your votes to avoid any confusion (e.g. Wed 25 Dec, 25/12/24, preferably not 12/25/24 but whatever, wronguns gonna wrong). Each day you may add up to 4 points to and subtract 6 points from any song on the board...usually. You can split your points between as many songs as you like. You must use all six minus points (unless it’s a round-ending turn) and give at least one plus point. Placeholder posts are allowed, but if you don't edit your votes within 5 minutes, then the next person can go and do their votes. Consecutive votes are not allowed. Before voting, please listen to the songs of each round and vote according to your own opinions (of the songs, not the artists or indeed the other posters voting for them). Make sure you copy and paste the most recent voter's scoreboard when you take your turn to score. For your own ease, ‘paste as plain text’ to get rid of the previous poster’s formatting. Then, delete their +/- scores, add yours, adjust the song’s points total and make your scores bold. Here’s a perfectly laid out example post from last year's Christmas Special: Tue 19 Dec 30 The Pogues ft. Kirsty MacColl — Fairytale Of New York +1 26 Greg Lake — I Believe In Father Christmas 24 Wizzard — I Wish It Could Be Christmas Every Day 22 The Pretenders — 2000 Miles +3 17 Brenda Lee — Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree 10 Andy Williams — It’s The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year -6 Got it? No? Never mind. All will become clear. Take it away, Noddy: