First recorded for ZE Records’ 1981 compilation A Christmas Record and borrowing heavily from Bernard Edwards’ bassline from Chic’s ‘Good Times’, ‘Christmas Wrapping’ became the hit The Waitresses never thought they would have. A hardy festive perennial about a busy single woman who’d rather be alone than endure the agonies of Christmas, Patti Donohue’s cool girl delivery has been approximated but never bettered via covers by Haim, Kate Nash and Spice Girls (not to mention a bizarre duet between Kylie Minogue and Iggy Pop). Yet its release also smuggled something rather more sinister into the homes of unsuspecting singles buyers. A premonition of the first day of the new year, ‘Hangover 1/1/83’ was meant to be a throwaway B-side, something quickly knocked off in an Akron basement studio that no one would give a second thought to. For a small but committed fan base it’s taken on a greater meaning. Its lurching bassline, tricksy detuned guitar figures and elemental keys all provide a chunky, slightly garish Xmas carpet for the swaggering saxophone magic of Mars Williams. An Albert Ayler acolyte who made hay smudging the clean lines in pop’s playground (as other Waitresses highlights ‘Pussy Strut’ or ‘I Know What Boys Like’ reaffirm), Williams’ would apply his mysterious muscularity in the service of Psychedelic Furs once the Waitresses finished their shift.