Appearing on a 3rd Xmas #1 in a row, and going full in on the nu-folk sound of the time: the one, the only, Sir Clifford of Richard.
Saviour’s Day, by Cliff Richard (his 13th of fourteen #1s)
1 week, from 23rd – 30th December 1990
It’s a Christmas tune, and yet it’s not really. No references to decking the halls or Santa Claus here, and not a sleigh bell in sight. I mentioned that, two years ago, despite ‘Mistletoe and Wine’ being unashamedly religious in tone, Cliff still kept the little secular touches that people expect from a festive chart hit. For ‘Saviour’s Day’, though, he’s gone full-on Christian contemporary.
Open your eyes on Saviour’s Day, Don’t look back or turn away… It’s proper judgement day stuff – some hardcore preaching. Life can be yours if you’ll only stay… Songs like this are usually tucked away on a niche Christian chart, so that regular people don’t have to hear them. But, because Cliff is the biggest solo star this island has ever produced (a bold statement, but I’m sticking to it!) he manages to take it to number one.
However actually, by the end, I’m pretty sure he’s toasting several different gods: the God of the Present, the God of the Past… Maybe he was going all Dickensian – rather than for a pagan, Earth-mother sort of vibe – but I’m not sure the Bible allows that kind of blasphemy. Though maybe God himself would think twice before disagreeing with Cliff.
I was expecting to dislike this. And there are certainly aspects of it that I can’t get behind. The lyrics, for a start. The electronic pan-pipes are also an acquired taste, while there are some horrible synth flourishes that make my hair stand on end. Plus, the video is ridiculously cheesy (or is that cheesily ridiculous?), featuring Cliff striking messianic poses on the chalk cliffs of Dorset. And yet, ‘Saviour’s Day’ has a corker of a chorus. And people who know much more about song writing than I do really rate it.
It’s probably better than ‘Mistletoe and Wine’ – though that too has a tacky charm – and it’s certainly better than Cliff’s fourteenth and final number one. (Thankfully we have some way to go before we meet that one.) What’s not up for debate is that this record gave him a chart-topper in every decade that the UK singles chart had been in existence: two in the fifties, seven in the sixties, one in the seventies, two in the eighties, and now one in nineties (plus one to come). It’s a feat that has never been matched, and perhaps never will.
The UK Number Ones Blog 
To borrow your phrase about Mungo Jerry’s second chart-topper, I think this is Cliff’s ‘shadow Christmas No. 1’. Musically it is a decent song, and I think it benefits from having been less over-exposed than ‘Milstletoe and Wine’, which immediately gives it a few brownie points. OK, it’s a bit over-preachy as you say, but one can’t have everything.
Good shout. Yes, this probably did bask in the glow of Mistletoe and Wine, though as Cliff’s final number one shows you can’t underestimate Christians with a record-buying cause. I’m sure the idea of getting a song as overtly religious as this to Xmas number one appealed to people. As did the very next number one, for very different reasons…
And he could still pull off the occasional masterstroke in the later years, like ‘What Car’ (2005, No. 12).
It’s awfully light…I mean light. I don’t mind him doing the preachy stuff…I mean it’s better than exclaiming he wants to kill cops…but my gosh…he shows up in every friggin decade! Again…I’m not from there but he never just goes away…like a bad cold lol.
His last Top 10 hit was in 2008, fifty years after his first! He was unavoidable for so long…
Wow….50 years…I have to give himcredit but geez.
Rating: 2.5/5
It’s not terrible. That’s all I can really say. It sounds like generic late-80s adult-contemporary with a Christian flavour. If I had been around as a teen back then, I’d probably hate it. But in isolation, it’s okay. If it wasn’t Cliff singing this, no chance this gets anywhere close to the top spot.
I just realised that you’re currently in 1990 and are about to enter 1991, and with very post you do, we’re inching ever so closer to you covering Limp Bizkit’s “Rollin'” in 2001. That’s a post I very eagerly await.
This is quite an odd song – It feels much more Christian, adventurous and hopeful with its deep drum beat, synthesized shakuhachi and Durdle Door music video, yet it doesn’t exactly feel Festive minus the opening lyrics “Now we have been through the harvest, winter has truly begun”. I actually kinda like it, and I would definitely take it over Mistletoe & Wine anyday, though.
Yes it’s almost pagan with all it’s talk of harvest and seasons, more than Christmas itself. Shakuhachi is a new one for me! Interesting 🙂