The Monks

By now the over-commericalisation of Christmas might be sticking in your craw. This is, after all, a deeply religious festival. To redress the balance we deliver this rousing performance by men of the cloth, The Monks.

These spiritual individuals were US Army personnel serving in Germany, where they had the idea to form a band and, later, shaved their heads in the stereotypical monk fashion. They gained a level of popularity in Germany, but were ignored outside the Bundesrepublik, until their truly deranged, avant-garde garage racket found slack-jawed fans years later.

Their output defies description. One thing's for sure, the young Germans dancing in the audience, some of whom must have been born during the war, wouldn't have been dancing to a bunch of delinquent GI's with self-prescribed bald patches if Hitler had his way. Thank God he decided to take on Russia too, the fricking nutcase.

Sit down, listen to this and remember this was recorded in 1966.  It's probably the most unhinged music performance you'll see for some time, but nothing says 'Festival celebrating the birth of Christ' quite like The Monks on German TV.

Of course, you may not have had your fill of rampant spending, or may just be heartily disappointed that your so-called 'loved ones' totally failed to buy you any Sideburn goodies for Christmas. In that case, can we point you to the always open Sideburn webshop. G