List of UK singles chart Christmas number ones

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File:KylieMinogue-byPhilipRomano.jpg
Kylie Minogue's "XMAS" was the 2025 Christmas number one.

In the United Kingdom, Christmas number ones are singles that top the UK singles chart in the week preceding or during Christmas Day. The singles have often been novelty songs, charity songs or songs with a Christmas theme. Historically, the volume of record sales in the UK has peaked at Christmas.[1]

Christmas number-one singles have often been the best-selling song of the year. During the 21st century many Christmas chart-toppers have been either by reality television contestants or charity singles. The Christmas number one is announced by BBC Radio 1 on the Friday before Christmas.[2] The most recent Christmas number-one single is "XMAS" by Kylie Minogue.

History

Publicity photograph of Al Martino from 1952
Al Martino was the first person to reach Christmas number one, in 1952.

The UK Singles Chart began in 1952 – appearing in the New Musical Express.[3] The positions of all songs are based on weekly sales (from Sunday to Saturday until 2015, then from Friday to Thursday).[4][5] Before 1987, they were released on a Tuesday due to the need for manual calculation.[6] The emergence of a serious contest for the Christmas number-one spot began in 1973, when the glam rock bands Slade and Wizzard 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".[7][8] The Christmas number-one single was not revealed on Christmas Day itself until 1994.[9]

From 2002 until 2014, the competition for the Christmas number one was dominated by reality television contests, with the winners often heading straight to number one in the week before Christmas. This trend began when Popstars: The Rivals contestants released the top three singles on the Christmas chart.[10]Template:Refn Between 2005 and 2014, the winners of The X Factor took the number-one spot on seven occasions. In 2007, the X Factor single was such a strong favourite for number one that bookmakers began taking bets on which song would be the "Christmas Number Two" instead.[11] Rage Against the Machine's 1992 single "Killing in the Name" outsold Joe McElderry in 2009 following a successful Facebook campaign against this trend.[12] This made them the first group to get a Christmas number one with a download-only single, and resulted in the most download sales in a single week in UK chart history.[12] Similar campaigns in 2010 promoting acts such as Biffy Clyro, John Cage and the Trashmen were unsuccessful.[13]

In 2011, the Military Wives and Gareth Malone, both involved with the reality television show The Choir, outsold X Factor winners Little Mix and a host of social network campaigns for various novelty acts.[14][15] In 2012, a supergroup cover of "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother", supporting charities associated with the Hillsborough disaster, reached the number one ahead of The X FactorTemplate:'s James Arthur.[16] Following the UK Charts' move to Fridays,[17] the Christmas number one is revealed on Christmas Day whenever it falls on a Friday, such as in 2015 and 2020;[18][19] the former year's chart was the first in a decade to not feature the X Factor winner's single in the top two.[20][21] Amazon Music has released a number of exclusive festive tracks since 2018, recorded with acts such as Justin Bieber, Jess Glynne, and Ellie Goulding, none of which have topped the Christmas chart, though Goulding's track later reached number one.[22][23][24][25] More recently, non-traditional acts have been successful with novelty songs released for charity; most notably, YouTubers LadBaby achieved number one every year between 2018 and 2022, each time raising money for the Trussell Trust,[26][27] before voluntarily ending their streak by not releasing a Christmas single in 2023.[28]

"Last Christmas", a single by Wham! originally released in 1984, became the first single to become Christmas number one in two consecutive years.[29] This was largely due to changes in the compilation process that granted heavier favour toward streaming, which allowed perennial seasonal records to re-enter the charts and effectively ensured that older records would be the favourites for the Christmas number one chart.[30]

Records

LadBaby is the act with the most Christmas number ones with five, surpassing the Beatles' previous record in 2022.[26] 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 with Band Aid and Wham! in 1984, and Ed Sheeran did so in 2017 with duets with Beyoncé and Eminem, and again in 2021 with duets with LadBaby and Elton John. Paul McCartney has been top eight times with various acts (four as The Beatles, and one each as Wings, Band Aid, Band Aid 20, and The Justice Collective). Cliff Richard has spent four Christmases at number one; two as a solo act, one with The Shadows and one as part of Band Aid II. The Spice Girls later equalled the then-record of three consecutive Christmas number ones, from 1996 to 1998; Spice Girl Melanie C achieved a fourth Christmas number one as a member of the Justice Collective in 2012, which also gave Robbie Williams his third. In 2022, LadBaby became the first act to achieve five consecutive number ones.[31]

"Bohemian Rhapsody" by Queen, which reached the number-one spot at Christmas 1975 and 1991, was the only record to have reached the top twice, until "Last Christmas" by Wham!, 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 and Boney M. in 1978 – although "Do They Know It's Christmas?" has been Christmas number one four times, for three generations of Band Aid, and for the LadBaby parody in 2022.[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" by Elton John), while "Bohemian Rhapsody" is third.[33][34]

List

File:The Beatles 1963 Dezo Hoffman Capitol Records press photo 4-3 crop.jpg
The Beatles had four Christmas number ones during the 1960s, three of which were consecutive.
File:Slade - TopPop 1973 19.png
Slade reached number one with a Christmas-themed song in 1973.
File:Geldof, Bob (IMF 2009).jpg
Bob Geldof, creator of charity supergroup Band Aid, who were Christmas number one in three incarnations with "Do They Know It's Christmas?"
File:Queen A Night At The Opera (1975 Elektra publicity photo 02).jpg
Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" reached number one twice (1975 and 1991).
File:Cliff Richard Allan Warren.jpg
Cliff Richard reached the Christmas number one three times (and once with Band Aid II).
File:Flickr Whitney Houston performing on GMA 2009 7.jpg
Whitney Houston was the first solo female vocalist with a Christmas number one with "I Will Always Love You".
File:Spice Girls in Toronto, Ontario.jpg
The Spice Girls had three consecutive Christmas number ones in the 1990s.
File:Ten Tour 2013.JPG
Girls Aloud's "Sound of the Underground" reached number one in 2002, edging out their fellow Popstars: The Rivals contestants One True Voice.
File:Rage Against The Machine (cropped).jpg
Rage Against the Machine's "Killing in the Name" achieved the Christmas number one in 2009, 17 years after its release.
Year Artist Song[35] Weeks
[32][36][37]
1952 Script error: No such module "Sort". "Here in My Heart" 9
1953 Script error: No such module "Sort". "Answer Me" 8
1954 Script error: No such module "Sort". "Let's Have Another Party" 5
1955 Script error: No such module "Sort". "Christmas Alphabet" 3
1956 Script error: No such module "Sort". "Just Walkin' in the Rain" 7
1957 Script error: No such module "Sort". "Mary's Boy Child" 7
1958 Script error: No such module "Sort". "It's Only Make Believe" 5
1959 Script error: No such module "Sort". and the Checkmates "What Do You Want to Make Those Eyes at Me For?" 6
1960 Script error: No such module "Sort". and the Shadows "I Love You" 2
1961 Script error: No such module "Sort". "Moon River" 2
1962 Script error: No such module "Sort". "Return to Sender" 3
1963 Script error: No such module "Sort". "I Want to Hold Your Hand" 5
1964 "I Feel Fine" 5
1965 "Day Tripper" / "We Can Work It Out"[nb 1] 5
1966 Script error: No such module "Sort". "Green, Green Grass of Home" 7
1967 Script error: No such module "Sort". "Hello, Goodbye" 7
1968 Script error: No such module "Sort". "Lily the Pink" 4
1969 Script error: No such module "Sort". "Two Little Boys" 6
1970 Script error: No such module "Sort". "I Hear You Knocking" 6
1971 Script error: No such module "Sort". "Ernie (The Fastest Milkman in the West)" 4
1972 Script error: No such module "Sort". "Long Haired Lover from Liverpool" 5
1973 Slade "Merry Xmas Everybody" 5
1974 Mud "Lonely This Christmas" 4
1975 Queen "Bohemian Rhapsody" 14
1976 Script error: No such module "Sort". "When a Child Is Born (Soleado)" 3
1977 Wings "Mull of Kintyre" / "Girls' School"[nb 1] 9
1978 Boney M. "Mary's Boy Child – Oh My Lord" 4
1979 Pink Floyd "Another Brick in the Wall (Part 2)" 5
1980 Script error: No such module "sort". "There's No One Quite Like Grandma" 2
1981 Script error: No such module "Sort". "Don't You Want Me" 5
1982 Renée and Renato "Save Your Love" 4
1983 Script error: No such module "Sort". "Only You" 5
1984 Band Aid "Do They Know It's Christmas?" 5
1985 Script error: No such module "Sort". "Merry Christmas Everyone" 2
1986 Script error: No such module "Sort". "Reet Petite" 4
1987 Pet Shop Boys "Always on My Mind" 4
1988 Script error: No such module "Sort". "Mistletoe and Wine"Template:Refn 4
1989 Script error: No such module "sort". "Do They Know It's Christmas?" 3
1990 Script error: No such module "Sort". "Saviour's Day" 1
1991 Queen "Bohemian Rhapsody" / "These Are the Days of Our Lives"[nb 1] 14 / 5
1992 Script error: No such module "Sort". "I Will Always Love You" 10
1993 Mr Blobby "Script error: No such module "sort"." 3
1994 East 17 "Stay Another Day" 5
1995 Script error: No such module "Sort". "Earth Song" 6
1996 Spice Girls "2 Become 1" 3
1997 "Too Much" 2
1998 "Goodbye" 1
1999 Westlife "I Have a Dream" / "Seasons in the Sun"[nb 1] 4
2000 Bob the Builder "Can We Fix It?" 3
2001 Script error: No such module "Sort". and Nicole Kidman "Somethin' Stupid" 3
2002 Girls Aloud "Sound of the Underground" 4
2003 Script error: No such module "Sort". and Gary Jules "Mad World" 3
2004 Band Aid 20 "Do They Know It's Christmas?" 4
2005 Script error: No such module "Sort".Template:Refn "That's My Goal" 4
2006 Script error: No such module "Sort".Template:Refn "Script error: No such module "sort"." 4
2007 Script error: No such module "Sort".Template:Refn "When You Believe" 3
2008 Script error: No such module "Sort".Template:Refn "Hallelujah" 3
2009 Rage Against the Machine "Killing in the Name"Template:Refn 1
2010 Script error: No such module "Sort".Template:Refn "When We Collide"Template:Refn 3
2011 Military Wives ft. Gareth Malone "Wherever You Are" 1
2012 Script error: No such module "Sort".Template:Refn "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother" 1
2013 Script error: No such module "Sort".Template:Refn "Skyscraper" 1
2014 Script error: No such module "Sort".Template:Refn "Something I Need" 1
2015 Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Choir[38] "Script error: No such module "sort"."Template:Refn 1
2016 Clean Bandit ft. Sean Paul and Anne-Marie "Rockabye" 9
2017 Script error: No such module "Sort".Template:Refn "Perfect" 6
2018 LadBaby "We Built This City" 1
2019 "I Love Sausage Rolls" 1
2020 "Don't Stop Me Eatin'Template:-" 1
2021 LadBaby ft. Ed Sheeran and Elton John "Sausage Rolls for Everyone"[39]Template:Refn 1
2022 LadBaby "Food Aid"[26] 1
2023 Wham! "Last Christmas"[40][41] 11
Template:Refn
2024
2025 Script error: No such module "Sort". "XMAS"[42] 1

See also

Notes

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  1. ↑ a b c d Released as a double A-side

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References

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  1. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  2. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  3. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  4. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  5. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  6. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  7. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  8. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  9. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  10. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  11. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  12. ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  13. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  14. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  15. ↑ Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".
  16. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  17. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  18. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  19. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  20. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  21. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  22. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  23. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  24. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  25. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  26. ↑ a b c Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  27. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  28. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  29. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  30. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  31. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  32. ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  33. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  34. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  35. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  36. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  37. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  38. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  39. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  40. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  41. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  42. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".

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Further reading

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