The band Wham! in a Christmas themed photo shoot. Wham! has had the number one single for two consecutive Christmases. Photo courtesy of @whamofficial/Instagram
Welcome back to British Invasion, the column that dives into British music history. Unfortunately, today’s column will be the last of the semester. I know, it’s devastating.
Since Christmas is rapidly approaching, I thought it would be cool to talk about Christmas number ones on the UK Singles Chart, which is a big deal on that little island. More records are sold during the lead up to Christmas than in any other time of the year, according to James Gillespie of the Official UK Charts Company.
Bookmakers also take an interest on who’ll end up Top of the Pops come Christmas time, publishing odds on which artist will take number one months in advance. Looking at a few betting sites, it looks like HUNTR/X, Kylie Minogue and Wham! are the favorites for this year’s Christmas number one.
Because of the increased activity and record sales, charity groups and comedy acts also release Christmas singles in the hopes of getting that elusive top spot in fundraising efforts. That’s how Bob the Builder got in on the action back in 2000, along with Blobby — more on that demon later.
The UK Singles Chart began in 1952 and on Christmas day, the number one single would just be the single that was popular with the British public. The Beatles got three consecutive Christmas number ones from 1963 to 1965, during the height of Beatlemania. In 1957, Harry Belafonte went to number one with “Mary’s Boy Child,” a song that disco group Boney M would also take to the top spot 21 years later.
The first real “battle” for the Christmas number one came in 1973, as glam rock acts Slade and Wizzard released Christmas-themed songs in a ploy for chart success; Slade’s “Merry Xmas Everybody” was the victor in that bout. Glam rock’s theatricality, vibrant aesthetics and music, along with its insular origin in the UK, made it a good match with the holiday. Since 2024, there have been 12 Christmas songs which topped the charts.
Supergroup Band Aid hold the record for the best-selling Christmas single with 1984’s “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” Assembled by Bob Geldof, the first iteration of Band Aid was part of a larger effort to raise funds for famine relief in Ethiopia, along with Geldof’s Live Aid. The song was re-recorded twice with different groups in 1989 and 2004, all under the Band Aid moniker, that served as fundraising for famine relief efforts.
In 1993, “Mr Blobby,” performed by the character of the same name, topped the Christmas charts, becoming the first non-human to achieve the feat. Mr Blobby is famous for appearing on the variety show “Noel’s House Party” and for being a general nuisance to anyone who appears on the show. The song also carries a lot of that same energy, being called one of the worst songs ever recorded.
Personally, I decry all of these public attempts to humiliate the visionary work of Mr. Blobby, a man who was not respected during, or after, his time. I will see everyone in court to debate this matter and show them the respect a prodigy deserves.
From 2002 until 2014, there was a big run of festive chart toppers by reality television stars, starting with the contestants from “Popstars: The Rivals,” who blotted out the top three spots on Christmas Day 2002.
It continued with the winners of “The X Factor” releasing a Christmas single that was almost guaranteed to go number one during Christmas time. From 2005 to 2014, the winner of “The X Factor” took the top spot on seven occasions. In 2007, the single was such a strong favorite for the Christmas No. 1 that bookmakers took bets on who would finish second.
One of the few songs that bested the ITV juggernaut was “Killing in the Name” by Rage Against the Machine, in 2009. The campaign to make the rock band No. 1 was born out of a Facebook group encouraging people to buy the song to deter the “X Factor” single, Joe McElderry’s “The Climb,” from topping the festive charts.
The album, Something/Come Together, by The Beatles, was released on Oct. 6, 1969. The Beatles had three consecutive number one Christmas singles from 1963-1965. Photo courtesy of @thebeatles/Instagram
The band’s guitarist, Tom Morello, and a host of other celebrities put their weight behind the campaign to make the 1992 hit reach number one. Morello told BBC Music it would be a “wonderful dose of anarchy” if the band reached number one. “There are a lot of people who don’t feel represented by it [the X Factor single] and this Christmas in the UK they’re having their say,” said Morello.
The song sold over 500,000 copies and became the first song to become Christmas No. 1 through downloads. It soon fell out of the charts by new year’s, but it accomplished its mission, along with raising over £100,000 for charity, equivalent to $131,500.
Thankfully, after the rise of streaming and Spotify, the annual tradition of “X Factor” singles reaching Christmas No. 1 soon fell out of the spotlight. Streaming also drastically reduced the number of copies needed to go number one, which opened up for a number of novelty singles to reach it, especially from YouTuber LadBaby.
From 2018 to 2022, Mark Hoyle, LadBaby, achieved the Christmas No. 1 five consecutive times. This makes him the artist with the most Christmas number ones and the most consecutive number ones.
In collaboration with his wife Roxanne, they powered songs about sausage rolls to the top of the charts. The first chart topper was a parody of “We Built This City,” subbing out rock and roll with sausage rolls. In 2021, the Hoyle’s even managed to get Elton John and Ed Sheeran in on the fun with “Sausage Rolls for Everyone.” The Hoyles also donated proceeds to food banks in the UK.
Ever since the Hoyles stepped down from their Christmas throne, Wham! has taken up the mantle of the preeminent Christmas song in the UK, much like Mariah Carey has done so in America, having achieved the Christmas number one in 2023 and 2024 with “Last Christmas.”
This year, to save me from tears, I’m going to stream “Mr Blobby” until he takes back what should be rightfully his.
