Robin takes us on a journey through the Christmas charts of yester-year in this short history of the Christmas Number 1

The UK singles chart started in 1952 but real competition for the Christmas Number 1 slot didn’t ramp up until 1973 when we saw artists releasing singles specifically referencing Christmas and the holiday season to sway listeners by relying on people getting into the festive feeling! These songs tend to come in 4 categories: classic Christmas hits, charity singles, novelty songs and reality TV songs.

Christmas Hits

Before 1973 we did have some more traditional Christmas themed songs getting the number 1 slot such as ‘Mary’s Boy Child’ by Harry Belafonte and ‘Christmas Alphabet’ by Dickie Valentine. Then we came to 1973, pop music as we know it today was in full swing and Slade saw this as the perfect opportunity to release their instant hit ‘Merry Xmas Everybody’. This song has been such an enduring hit year on year that Noddy Holder, writer and lead vocalist of Slade, has described it as his pension scheme thanks to the huge royalties the band receive every year.

The success of Slade’s hit no doubt sent a murmur through the music industry, making other bands assess how they could corner the Christmas market. This led to hits such as ‘Lonely This Christmas’ by Mud (1974) and ‘Mary’s Boy Child – Oh My Lord’ by Boney M (1978) getting the top spot and gaining themselves a place in the hall of fame of classic Christmas hits for years to come.

Charity Singles

By the mid-80s big players in the industry understood the kind of money that could be generated from Christmas number 1s. In 1984 Bob Geldof and Midge Ure set out to raise money for Aid in Ethiopia by cornering the Christmas number 1 market. This of course led to the formation of supergroup Band Aid! ‘Do They Know its Christmas’ became a number 1 hit overnight selling 1 million copies in its first week. Until 1997, this gave it the title of biggest selling single of all time in the UK. Some saw the success of Band Aid as drawing attention away from the political issues involved in the crisis in Ethiopia, which even led to it being spoofed on The Simpsons.

Although some controversy came with Band Aid’s efforts, the group showed just how much money could be raised for charities. This has bred a continuous effort from artists to use the Christmas charts as a backdrop for their charity efforts. For example, ‘Wherever you are’ By Military Wives with Gareth Malone (2011), ‘He Ain’t Heavy, He’s my Brother’ By the Justice Collective (2012) and songs by the prolific LadBaby who has dominated the number 1 spot for the past 5 years.

Novelty Songs

As we moved into the 90s, the Christmas charts became a real talking point. This meant some were looking for subversion from the norm- which manifested in novelty songs. Often fronted by kids TV characters, these novelty songs were usually the stuff of children’s birthday parties. But as they found success, they became funny floor fillers that everyone would be dancing to at their office Christmas party.

The first of these to succeed in a Number 1 was ‘Mr Blobby’ by Mr Blobby in 1993. Pop managed to keep these novelty songs from the top spot for a while but in 2000 ‘Can We Fix It?’ By Bob the Builder triumphed and took the top spot. Since then, novelty songs have dissipated apart from the efforts of LadBaby- who have brought together the worlds of charity singles and novelty hits.

Reality TV Songs

The Christmas charts continued to be a money spinner. This got the notice of the makers of reality TV which, in the early 2000s, was just coming into its own. In 2002 the TV show ‘Pop stars: The Rivals’ put two opposing pop groups together who would battle it out for the coveted Christmas Number 1. In the end it was Girls Aloud who triumphed with their hit ‘Sound of the Underground’.

Someone who piggy-backed off this reality TV format was Simon Cowell, who in 2004 created The X-Factor. This singing competition was set up so that the winner’s single would be released in line with the Christmas charts. From 2005 to 2008 X-Factor winners dominated the charts. As is tradition, a percentage of profits from the sales of these records was promised to various charities- which no doubt kept people buying during the season of giving.

In 2009 DJ Jon Morter launched a Facebook group to knock the trend of X-Factor number 1s on the head. After a huge amount of traction and press Morter was successful in his campaign to get ‘Killing in the Name of’ by Rage Against the Machine to number 1, beating X-Factor winner Joe McElderry’s cover of ‘The Climb’. Not only was this a huge feat but ‘Killing in the Name of’ became the first download-only single to reach Christmas Number 1. This really set the stage for how downloads would become such a huge part of the UK charts in years to come. Despite Morter’s efforts, X-Factor winners would continue to gain the top spot in 2010, 2013 and 2014.

Who will get the Christmas Number 1 continues to be an enduring question for the UK public around the festive season. Due to the fierce competition many of the best Christmas songs have only ever made it to Number 2 in the charts. Below is a playlist of my personal favourite Christmas Number 1s and 2s which in my opinion give us the perfect mix of Christmas cheese and certified bangers, perfect to boogie the night away at your Christmas party!

‘YMCA’ – Village People (1978)

‘Last Christmas/everything she wants’ – WHAM (1984)

‘Fairy tale of New York’ – The Pogues and Kirsty MacColl (1987)

‘All I want for Christmas is You’ – Mariah Carey (1994/2020)

‘Christmas time (don’t let the bells end)’ – The Darkness (2003)

‘Merry Xmas Everybody’ – Slade (1973)

‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ – Queen (1975)

‘Mary’s boy child – Oh My Lord’ – Boney M (1978)

‘Don’t You Want Me’ – Human League (1981)

‘Merry Christmas Everyone’ – Shakin Stevens (1985)

‘Stay another day’ – East 17 (1994)

‘Sound of the Underground’ – Girls Aloud (2002)

–Robin