Well, if you were out on the lash last night you probably feel in need of something a bit more mellow this morning. One of the joys of the Christmas season is that you can have a folk group doing an acapella version of a 16th century plainsong carol and it will chart. So that’s what Steeleye Span did with Gaudete in 1973. Here’s a much more recent video of them performing the song live:

Incidentally, this is one of only two songs with Latin lyrics to appear in the UK charts, and one of only a handful of acapella hits. That particular combination makes it unique. (The other Latin song is Pie Jesu, which has been recorded twice – once by Sarah Brightman and once by Charlotte Church – both as part of the soundtrack to Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Requiem).