Our Bloomsbury neighbour and resident musical maestro Miles Copeland is the founder of WONDERFULSOUND and Soho Radio DJ. Around this time every year, Miles compiles what is without doubt the best Christmas playlist known to man, and this year is no different: "Around Christmas time I have always worked on projects providing playlists or mixes or general background vibes to represent the Sound of Christmas. I even created a Xmas winter scene inside a pine tree-decorated lift once!! I noticed imaginative Christmas music playlists were few and far between. Around the same time I was in a band called The Superimposers and we had a single that people used to tell us sounded like Christmas… it wasn’t a Christmas song but it had something about it and the 'Sounds like Christmas' project was stumbled upon!
Trust us, Miles's playlist is both festive and full of pleasant surprises. But before you start to hum your favourite snow-capped tunes, we caught up with Miles to pick his brains on all things Christmas...
Christmas is about rituals and memories; what's your go-to festive film?
The 1951 version of A Christmas Carol featuring Alistair Sim is probably my go-to. Charles Dickens used to drink in my local so I feel kind of connected to anything Dickensian! However, all those Golden Age big-budget Hollywood films in perfect technicolour and over-the-top cast always draw me in, particularly Paint Your Wagon, which contains the WONDERFULSOUND 'Sounds like Christmas' anthem Wandering Star. Not a Christmas song per se, but one hell of a Christmas song!
Talk us through your Christmas Day uniform
I don’t tend to plan outfits... but I do love clothes. At the moment I’m favouring a full length Oliver Spencer coat with white jeans, which I pair with a great crew neck Fair Isle jumper I recently picked up at Peckham Car Boot. It’s going to be a perfect outfit down the pub on Boxing Day.
What's your tipple at this time of year?
Not necessarily what I’m drinking but where. You’ll find me in the French House in Soho - Francis Bacon's old boozer - with a glass of Côtes du Rhône or The Lamb on Lambs Conduit Street with a pint of the Christmas Ale.
Which festive earworm do you regard as your guilty pleasure, and why?
Hmm, I’m not sure I have one.. But I do have a fantastic Music Box version of Wham’s Last Christmas that my good friend Peter Smith gave me many years ago. I don’t know who it is by but it is a Japanese artist which was only ever released on a CD. A rarity that won’t even ‘shazam’!
Talk us through your highlights from the Oliver Spencer Gift Guide
Oliver’s coats never let me down and every season I’m in one.. The ginger check with belt is a particular killer this year. It goes really well with the Solovair Gibsons, which are a nice British shape that I especially like in the Oxblood Red colour. Works well with the yellow socks from RoToTo! I love the Japanese brand Porter, too, and their duffle bag in this bold orange colour is a new classic. I’m also obsessed with scents, and the Japanese are the experts. The smokeless Bodha 'Ritual' scent keeps the vibe right. Wallets with notes in - now that would be a good gift this Xmas! Call me old school, but I like having a wallet in the pocket, and the Il Bussetto ones are stunning. Leather wallets just get better with age too.
