The UK Charts Christmas Number One single has long been a coveted prize, and I think it’s one of those weird national obsessions that has become an annual talking point in our popular culture that doesn’t really happen in other countries.
There have been surprisingly few Christmas number ones that have been specifically festive (13 times since the first chart in 1952) and the ‘race’ to Christmas number one is more likely to be
- a novelty act/comedy song- often TV personalities or characters, sometimes animated
- a charity single- did it all start with Band Aid in 1984? A new version of Do They Know Its Christmas has been released this year and likely to make the top for the 4th time. From 2018-2022 a YouTuber called LadBaby released food-based parody versions of well known songs to raise money for a UK food bank charity
- a reality tv talent show winner- predominantly X Factor, the Simon Cowell behemoth. In 2009, a Facebook campaign to block the ‘winner’s song’ reaching number one meant that Killing in The Name by Rage Against the Machine found itself reaching the top of the charts
- a cover- either a parody as per LadBaby, something from a movie or TV ad campaign, or something devoid of much imagination
More frequently, the song is a combination of two or more of the above.
All this brings me to my next few songs, which will be Christmas number ones, rather than anything particularly seasonal.