Christmas number-one singles have often been thebest-selling song of the year, though in recent years they have been released byreality television contestants and charity efforts. The Christmas number one is announced byBBC Radio 1 on the Friday before Christmas.[2] The most recent Christmas number-one single is "Last Christmas" byWham!, which was released in 1984 but did not reach Christmas number one until 2023.[3] It is the first single to achieve the feat in two consecutive years.[4]
Al Martino was the first person to reach Christmas number one, in 1952.
TheUK Singles Chart began in 1952 – appearing in theNew Musical Express.[5] The positions of all songs are based on weekly sales (from Sunday to Saturday until 2015, then from Friday to Thursday).[6][7] Before 1987, they were released on a Tuesday due to the need for manual calculation.[8] The emergence of a serious contest for the Christmas number-one spot began in 1973, when theglam rock bandsSlade andWizzard deliberately released festive songs in an effort to reach the top of the charts at Christmas, with Slade's "Merry Xmas Everybody" beating Wizzard's "I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday".[9][10] The Christmas number-one single was not revealed on Christmas Day itself until 1994.[11]
From 2002 until 2014, the competition for the Christmas number one was dominated byreality television contests, with the winners often heading straight to number one in the week before Christmas. This trend began whenPopstars: The Rivals contestants released the top three singles on the Christmas chart.[12][nb 1] Between 2005 and 2014, the winners ofThe X Factor took the number-one spot on seven occasions. In 2007, theX Factor single was such a strong favourite for number one thatbookmakers began taking bets on which song would be the "Christmas Number Two" instead.[13]Rage Against the Machine's 1992 single "Killing in the Name" outsoldJoe McElderry in 2009 following a successfulFacebook campaign against this trend.[14] This made them the first group to get a Christmas number one with adownload-only single, and resulted in the most download sales in a single week in UK chart history.[14] Similar campaigns in 2010 promoting acts such asBiffy Clyro,John Cage andthe Trashmen were unsuccessful.[15]
In 2011, theMilitary Wives and Gareth Malone, both involved with the reality television showThe Choir, outsoldX Factor winnersLittle Mix and a host of social network campaigns for various novelty acts.[16][17] In 2012, asupergroup cover of "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother", supporting charities associated with theHillsborough disaster, reached the number one ahead ofThe X Factor'sJames Arthur.[18] Following the UK Charts' move to Fridays,[19] the Christmas number one is revealed on Christmas Day whenever it falls on a Friday, such as in 2015 and 2020;[20][21] the former year's chart was the first in a decade to not feature theX Factor winner's single in the top two.[22][23]Amazon Music has released a number of exclusive festive tracks since 2018, recorded with acts such asJustin Bieber,Jess Glynne, andEllie Goulding, none of which have topped the Christmas chart, though Goulding's track later reached number one.[24][25][26][27] More recently, non-traditional acts have been successful withnovelty songs released for charity; most notably,YouTuberLadBaby achieved number one every year between 2018 and 2022, each time raising money forthe Trussell Trust,[28][29] before voluntarily ending their streak by not releasing a Christmas single in 2023.[30] "Last Christmas", a single byWham! originally released in 1984, became the first single to become Christmas number one in two consecutive years.[4]
LadBaby is the act with the most Christmas number ones with five, surpassingthe Beatles' previous record in 2022.[28] On two occasions, in 1963 and 1967, the Beatles had both the Christmas number one and the number two, the first act to have achieved this. As part of two acts,George Michael repeated the feat withBand Aid andWham! in 1984, andEd Sheeran did so in 2017 with duets withBeyoncé andEminem, and again in 2021 with duets with LadBaby andElton John.Paul McCartney has been top eight times with various acts (four asThe Beatles, and one each asWings,Band Aid,Band Aid 20, andThe Justice Collective).Cliff Richard has spent four Christmases at number one; two as a solo act, one withThe Shadows and one as part of Band Aid II. TheSpice Girls later equalled the then-record of three consecutive Christmas number ones, from 1996 to 1998; Spice GirlMelanie C achieved a fourth Christmas number one as a member ofthe Justice Collective in 2012, which also gaveRobbie Williams his third. In 2022, LadBaby became the first act to achieve five consecutive number ones.[31]
"Bohemian Rhapsody" byQueen, which reached the number-one spot at Christmas 1975 and 1991, was the only record to have reached the top twice, until "Last Christmas" byWham!, which topped the charts in both 2023 and 2024, making it the first consecutive Christmas number one. "Mary's Boy Child" is the only song to be Christmas number one for two artists –Harry Belafonte in 1957 andBoney M. in 1978 – although "Do They Know It's Christmas?" has been Christmas number one for three generations ofBand Aid.[32] The original version of "Do They Know It's Christmas?" is the second-bestselling single in UK history (behind "Candle in the Wind 1997" byElton John), while "Bohemian Rhapsody" is third.[33][34]
^This song originally peaked at No. 25 on the chart in 1993; first download-only single to be a Christmas number one, which it achieved as a result of a successful Internet campaign to displace theX Factor winner's single.
^The Justice Collective was the name taken by a group of British musicians andfootball personalities who released the song in aid of various charities associated with theHillsborough disaster.[18][39]
^Versions of "Perfect" featuringBeyoncé ("Perfect Duet") andAndrea Bocelli ("Perfect Symphony") counted towards the placement; however, due to chart rules, only Sheeran was officially credited.[41][42]
^Masterton, James (20 December 2004)."Christmas Commentary from James Masterton". London:LAUNCHcast. Archived fromthe original on 31 December 2004. Retrieved6 June 2011.... This actually did happen back in 1988 when Christmas Day fell on a Sunday (the usual chart day). This resulted in the chart show being broadcast a day late on Monday 26th and with the industry agreeing that the crowning of Cliff Richard as that years Christmas Number One would take place then. ...
^Savage, Mark (22 December 2017)."Ed Sheeran is number one for Christmas".BBC News.Archived from the original on 22 December 2017. Retrieved23 December 2017.though chart rules mean Beyonce is denied a credit on the Christmas number one, with Sheeran's original counted as the lead track.
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