By rejecting the bombast of 80s pop, the late singer-songwriter’s track has endured, and thereby perfectly captures the nostalgic feelings at the heart of Christmas

The rock and blues singer's love of cars and driving was the inspiration for many of his songs.

‘The first time we played it live, we hired 12 cannons and put three feet of snow in the stalls. The clean-up cost me £12,000’

Singer died in hospital following a short illness, his family say