WA Advent Calendar 2025 - Monday 15th December

byGail-UK

3.8K followers

21 hrs ago

Good morning WAers!

It's Monday 15th December - 10 days to the big day, and here is the next episode in our Advent calendar series.

Today, we're treated to some Christmas music.

Now this image may be a 'blast from the past' with the old record player, copies of NME and a 'Top of the Pops' trophy on the mantlepiece, but nothing says December quite like the sound of Christmas music drifting through every shop, radio station and neighbour’s window. Well, I say December, but nowadays, you can often hear something drifting your way in October!!

But behind all the jingling bells and angelic choirs lies one of the most competitive traditions in British pop culture… the race for the Christmas No. 1.

The great UK Christmas No. 1 scramble

The UK has a uniquely passionate relationship with the Christmas charts. Securing the top spot on Christmas Day became a national obsession in the 1970s and 80s, with millions tuning in to see who had clinched it. And at that time, it was announced live on Radio 1 based on the number of single records sold.

With the advent of streaming, downloads and 'renting' music, things have changed, but the race to be No. 1 has not!

Some of the most iconic Christmas No. 1s include:

• "Here in my Heart" - Al Martino - (1952) the first UK No. 1 ever (and its chart run included Christmas week), but the concept of “Christmas Number One” only became culturally significant later
• “Mary’s Boy Child” – Harry Belafonte (1957)
• “Lily the Pink” – The Scaffold (1968)
• “Ernie (The Fastest Milkman in the West)” – Benny Hill, (1971) A comedy single that became a national obsession.
• “Merry Xmas Everybody” – Slade, Possibly the moment when the modern Christmas chart battle truly began.
• “Bohemian Rhapsody” – Queen (1975 and again in 1991)
• "There's No One Quite Like Grandma" - St Winifred's School Choir (1980) - yep - a primary school choir,
• “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” – Band Aid (1984)
• “Merry Christmas Everyone” – Shakin’ Stevens (1985, though recorded earlier to avoid competing with Band Aid)
• "Saviour's Day" - Cliff Richard (1990)
• "Mr Blobby" - Mr Blobby - perhaps the lowest point in our chart, depending on your point of view
• "Earth Song" - Michael Jackson (1995)
• "2 Become 1" (1996), "Too Much" (1997), "Goodbye" (1998) - Spice Girls giving them 3 consecutive Christmas no.1s
• "Can We Fix It?" - Bob the Builder (2000), proving that an under-5s TV song can top the charts
• "Do They Know It's Christmas?" - Band Aid 20, (2004) the 20-year anniversary Band Aid single with all new pop stars
• "Hallalujah" - Alexandra Burke (2008)
• “Perfect” – Ed Sheeran (2017)
• 'LadBaby' dominated the late 2010s with a series of sausage-roll-themed charity singles!
• “Last Christmas” – Wham! famously never reached No. 1 at Christmas at the time, but finally hit No. 1 decades later in 2023 and 2024, becoming the first song ever to take the Christmas top spot in consecutive years

I've added a rogue song to the board - but can you guess which one it is?

LadBaby singles

LadBaby (Mark and Roxanne Hoyle) achieved an unprecedented five consecutive UK Christmas No. 1 singles, all charity releases supporting food‑bank causes. The Official Charts site confirms each one.

2018 — “We Built This City”

A parody of the Starship classic, rewritten about sausage rolls.
Christmas No. 1: 21 December 2018.

2019 — “I Love Sausage Rolls”

A parody of “I Love Rock ’n’ Roll”.
Christmas No. 1: 20 December 2019.

2020 — “Don’t Stop Me Eatin’”

A parody of Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin’”.
Christmas No. 1: 25 December 2020.

2021 — “Sausage Rolls for Everyone” (feat. Ed Sheeran & Elton John)

A charity remix of Sheeran & Elton’s own Christmas single.
Christmas No. 1: 24 December 2021.

2022 — “Food Aid”

A parody inspired by Band Aid’s “Do They Know It’s Christmas?”.
Christmas No. 1: 23 December 2022.

All five are confirmed as No. 1s on both the Official Charts artist page and the Christmas No. 1 list.

If you want to check them all out, see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_UK_singles_chart_Christmas_number_ones

What makes a great Christmas single?

The UK Christmas No. 1 is often a mix of nostalgia, novelty, charity and a good dose of British eccentricity. You only have to look at the school choir, a kids' TV character, a song about a milkman and a song from a man in a pink and yellow spotted rubber costume to be convinced.

Around the world – different festive favourites

Not every country has a Christmas chart tradition like the UK, but almost every culture has a song that signals the start of the season:

• “All I Want for Christmas Is You” – Mariah Carey is a USA favourite and rises like a festive phoenix every December, and has topped charts in more than 20 countries
• “Feliz Navidad” – José Feliciano is one of the most-streamed Christmas songs globally and I love it. Who can resist moving around (I won't claim it's dancing) to its catchy tune, even if we have to mumble over the lyrics a little! (Apologies to all my Spanish friends)
• Brenda Lee’s “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” hit No. 1 in the US more than 60 years after it was recorded, proving that Christmas songs never really age.

And of course, in Germany, Austria and many Nordic countries, classic carols still outperform pop anthems in many areas.

Why do Christmas songs matter so much?

Well, perhaps you can offer some insights in the comments below.

Is it because they’re more than songs, and they are memory-triggers? I find that they usually remind me of my childhood, my family, cold nights, warm rooms, school plays, mince pies, dancing in front of the TV and that one relative who insists on singing loudly and slightly off-key... (no, that is NOT me... yet!!)

Christmas music gives us a shared soundtrack, an instant mood lift, and a sense of belonging that people return to year after year. Well, I do at least. As one radio station says, it's the soundtrack of your life!

And the race continues…

Whether it’s a heartfelt charity single, a pop star’s glittering comeback, or a joke song that somehow gets national traction, the run-up to the Christmas charts will always be a little mad and a lot of fun.

So put the kettle on, crank up your favourite festive tune and enjoy the sparkle of the season.
After all… it wouldn’t be Christmas without a few bells, a bit of nostalgia and at least one song you pretend to hate but secretly sing in the car when you think no one is watching!

This year we have a few favourites such as Kylie Minogue, Wham! and the girls from Wicked in the running to catch the prize, to name but a few.

• The Christmas No. 1 race runs from Friday 12 December to Thursday 18 December (11:59 pm)
• The winner will be announced live on BBC Radio 1 on Friday, 19 December from 4 pm
• The full Top 100 will be published at 5:45 pm on OfficialCharts.com

So, what's your favourite Christmas tune, no.1 or not?