UK Christmas/Xmas Number One Chart Singles



Every year I seem to have an argument with someone about what was the Christmas number one in what particular year. This then inevitably escalates into a mass brawl and argument about which was number one every xmas since I/we were born (I usually have this arguments with people my own age for some reason). The Christmas number one is an odd little beast, most of them aren't the ones you think and presume were that year. Sometimes this is because you've remembered the novelty hit even though we were saved from it, or maybe you were listening to the Network Chart and (incorrectly) remembered that - remember folks, it's what's top of the charts when we're sitting there eating our xmas dinner that counts none of this "week ending" business...
So, here for your consumption are...
	The Past 34 UK Xmas Chart Toppers...

1973	Merry Xmas Everybody - Slade Almost officially the year of Slade, they were number for for most of this year with some bloody song or another. All of them with daft spellings or pathetic quirks. Cum on Feel the Noize. Woohoo.
1974	Lonely This Christmas - Mud One of the handful on this list which is actually any good.
1975	Bohemian Rhapsody - Queen
1976	When a Child is Born - Jonny Mathis
1977	Mull of Kintyre - Wings
1978	Mary's Boy Child - Bony M
1979	Another Brick In The Wall - Pink Floyd And incidently, the first chart topper of the 80s too. Meant a lot to us lads in the infants this did. I remember listening to this and reading my Beano then pulling apart the establishment.
1980	Just Like Starting Over - John Lennon
1981	Don't You Want Me - Human League
1982	Save Your Love For Me Rene And Renata It's honestly a toss up between this and Blobby for being the worst of the 24. Even Robson and Jerome ranks higher.
1983	Only You - The Flying Pickets
1984	Do They Know It's Christmas - Band Aid
1985	Saving All My Love For You Whitney Houston
1986	Caravan of Love - The Housemartins Hull boys come good with their only number one. It incidently only just beat Jackie Wilson's Reet Petit off with a small stick.
1987	Always on my mind - The Pet Shop Boys
1988	Mistletoe and Wine - Cliff Richard See, only one on this entire list - people think him and Shaking Stevens have been on and off the top of the chart every Christmas since the year dot, but no, oh no. I think Sir Cliff was runner up in 1992 with "Saviours Day" not sure though.
1989	Do They Know It's Christmas Band Aid II Personally I think it was a little cheeky banging it out again only 5 years on. 10 years would have been much better.
1990	Ice Ice Baby - Vanilla Ice You might remember this one was being shite or annoying or just simply making you crave "Under Pressure" but what it did do was prevent Jive Bunny (who was number one the week before Christmas) stealing Santa's sack.
1991	Bohemian Rhapsody/These Are The Days of Our Lives - Queen Thanks to the timely death of Freddie Queen are blessed as the only band to have the coverted Christmas number one on two seperate occasions with the same song.
1992	I will always love you Whitney Houston Whitney with her second. Both of them tunes of the highest quality I'm sure you'll agree...
1993	Mr Blobby - Mr Blobby Wank.
1994	Stay Another Day - East 17 Interestingly I own 4 of the ditties on this list. Interestingly this is the only East 17 song I have deemed worth buying. Oo, I wonder what the other 3 are...
1995	Earth Song - Michael Jackson Wank.
1996	2 Become 1 - The Spice Girls I was right, smug bastard that I am. Three consecutive number one's, god these girls are huge so to speak...
1997	Too Much - The Spice Girls Right again...the backlack just doesn't exist other than in the form of a media backlash. The 'Girls have still to put out a single that hasn't gone straight in at number one...that's 6 now - 6 in a row.
1998	Goodbye - The Spice Girls So the Spices (slightly less spicey than last year) have become the first band in my little snapshot of Xmas Number Ones to have 3 of the little beauties, and 3 in a row to boot. To be honest though, I don't mind these slower ones.
1999	Seasons In The Sun/I have a Dream - Westlife Their first 4 songs have all gone in straight in at number one, infact they have had all of those 4 number ones in 1999. This is less dull than some of their others as it's a double A-side of covers... but Image by John Lenon would have been better.
2000	Bob The Builder - Can We Fix It? Entered the charts at number 2, climbed to number 1 the following week and managed to hold off Westlife for the toppest of top positions on the 24th December. At last a builder at number one just like the old days!
2001	Robbie Williams & Nichole Kidman - Somethin' Stupid Swing baby, swing. Making up for Robbie not having a christmas number one as part of Take That, this classic song is now set to be reborn as a christmas classic I expect.
2002	Girls Aloud - Sound Of The Underground I backed them to do it, but not on the strength of the main track (which is remarkably catchy) but on the fact that it had a cover of East 17's Stay Another Day on the flipside.
2003	Michael Andrews/Gary Jules - Mad World My money was on The Darkness. I was robbed. Pipped at the post by Mad World. This is a good cover version (taken from the soundtrack of Donnie Darko), although the Tears For Fears version is much better.
2004	Do They Know It's Christmas Band Aid 20 Only song to be the christmas number one three times. You'll never beat the 1984 original though.
2005	That's My Goal Shayne Ward Totally and utterly forgettable. Manufactured X-Factor shite. At least Girls Aloud had the decency to put out a catchy tune.
2006	A Moment Like This Leona Lewis Second year running for manufactured X-Factor shite. Please stop. Please for the love of god, stop.

	...and as for the future

2007	General advice - it's going to be harder than ever to pick the xmas number one from christmas 2007 as the UK chart includes all downloaded tracks both new and old. But still... Avoid backing novelty records as you can see they don't usually make it. Go for an artist with general but large current appeal - Popstars/X-Factor are good examples...