The race for the UK Christmas number one single🤡 is almost over with the winner set to be revealed today.
Mariah Carey is hotly tipped to finally grab the top spot with her iconic festive single All I Want For Christmas Is You, 30 years after its release.
But she faces stiff competition from 2023 winners Wham! as well as newcomer Tom Grennan who even pre-emptively got a tattoo to celebrate his win.
The Christmas number one race has been running since 1952, when the UK Singles chart was first compiled, with everyone from Shakin’ Stevens, Slade, Cliff Richard, and Mr Blobby securing the top spot.
Gone are the days when the year’s X Factorღ winner was a shoo-in for the Christmas number one – it really could be anyone’s race, whether their song is festive or not.
๊Here, we look back at every Christmas number one since the charts began…
Which songs have been Christmas number one in the UK?
🌳There have been 72 Christmas number one singles since the charts began in 1952.
💛The first ever artist to hold the title was Al Martino with their single Here In My Heart, a decidedly un-festive song about a person who cannot get over their love for another.
The Beatles held the record for most number one singles with four chart-toppers for several years, a record now beaten by internet sensations LadBaby🌞 famed for their sausage roll-themed Christmas songs.
The duo – made up of Mark and Roxanne Hoyle – became the first act in UK chart history to have a Christmas number one single for five consecutive years, which they achieved from 2018 to 2022, bowing out of the chart race in 2023.
The Spice Girlsಌ achieved three consecutive number one singles from 1996 to 1998.
Three separate versions of Do They Know It’s Christmas? have topped the charts in two separate decades – first, in 1984 and 1989 with Band Aid🥀 and Band Aid II respectively, and again in 2004 for Band Aid 20.
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Mary’s Boy Child hit the number one spot twice by two separate artists – Harry Belafonte and Boney M – while Queen’s𓆉 Bohemian Rhapsody is the only song to have hit the top of the charts twice by the same artist.
Last year, Wham! hit single Last Christmasꦍ finally nabbed the number one slot 39 years after it was first released.
🐽Despite becoming a Christmas staple, Mariah Carey’s iconic All I Want For Christmas has never held the number one slot during Christmas, despite becoming one of the best-selling singles of all time.
ꦅCarey has been dubbed the ‘Queen of Christmas’ due to the song’s cultural impact – but will she finally take the number one slot for 2024?
Every UK Christmas number one since 1952
1952 – Here In My Heart, Al Martino
1953 – Answer Me, Frankie Laine
1954 – Let’s Have Another Party, Winifred Atwell
1955 – Christmas Alphabet, Dickie Valentine
1956 – Just Walkin’ in the Rain, Johnnie Ray
1957 – Mary’s Boy Child, Harry Belafonte
1958 – It’s Only Make Believe, Conway Twitty
👍1959 – What Do You Want to Make Those Eyes at Me For?, Emile Ford and The Checkmates
1960 – I Love You, Cliff Richard and The Shadows
1961 – Moon River, Danny Williams
1962 – Return to Sender, Elvis Presley
1963 – I Want to Hold Your Hand, The Beatles
1964 – I Feel Fine, The Beatles
🧔1965 – Day Tripper / We Can Work It Out, The Beatles
1966 – Green Green Grass of Home, Tom Jones
1967 – Hello, Goodbye, The Beatles
1968 – Lily the Pink, The Scaffold
1969 – Two Little Boys, Rolf Harris
1970 – I Hear You Knocking, Dave Edmunds
🎉1971 – Ernie (The Fastest Milkman In The West), Benny Hill
🍎1972 – Long Haired Lover From Liverpool, Jimmy Osmond
1973 – Merry Xmas Everybody, Slade
1974 – Lonely This Christmas, Mud
1975 – Bohemian Rhapsody, Queen
🎶1976 – When a Child Is Born (Soleado), Johnny Mathis
1977 – Mull of Kintyre / Girls’ School, Wings
1978 – Mary’s Boy Child / Oh My Lord, Boney M
ಞ1979 – Another Brick in the Wall, Part 2, Pink Floyd
𒉰1980 – There’s No One Quite Like Grandma, St Winifred’s School Choir
1981 – Don’t You Want Me, The Human League
1982 – Save Your Love, Renée and Renato
1983 – Only You, The Flying Pickets
1984 – Do They Know It’s Christmas?, Band Aid
1985 – Merry Christmas Everyone, Shakin’ Stevens
1986 – Reet Petite, Jackie Wilson
1987 – Always on My Mind, Pet Shop Boys
1988 – Mistletoe and Wine, Cliff Richard
1989 – Do They Know It’s Christmas?, Band Aid II
1990 – Saviour’s Day, Cliff Richard
𒀰1991 – Bohemian Rhapsody / These Are the Days of Our Lives, Queen
1992 – I Will Always Love You, Whitney Houston
1993 – Mr Blobby, Mr Blobby
1994 – Stay Another Day, East 17
1995 – Earth Song, Michael Jackson
1996 – 2 Become 1, Spice Girls
1997 – Too Much, Spice Girls
1998 – Goodbye, Spice Girls
꧑1999 – I Have a Dream / Seasons In the Sun, Westlife
2000 – Can We Fix It?, Bob the Builder
🐎2001 – Somethin’ Stupid, Robbie Williams and Nicole Kidman
2002 – Sound of the Underground, Girls Aloud
2003 – Mad World, Michael Andrews and Gary Jules
2004 – Do They Know It’s Christmas?, Band Aid 20
2005 – That’s My Goal, Shayne Ward
2006 – A Moment Like This, Leona Lewis
2007 – When You Believe, Leon Jackson
2008 – Hallelujah, Alexandra Burke
✤2009 – Killing in the Name, Rage Against the Machine
2010 – When We Collide, Matt Cardle
🦂2011 – Wherever You Are, Military Wives with Gareth Malone
♔2012 – He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother, The Justice Collective
2013 – Skyscraper, Sam Bailey
2014 – Something I Need, Ben Haenow
🌠2015 – A Bridge Over You, The Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Choir
2016 – Rockabye, Clean Bandit
2017 – Perfect, Ed Sheeran
2018 – We Built This City, LadBaby
2019 – I Love Sausage Rolls, LadBaby
2020 – Don’t Stop Me Eatin’, LadBaby
♊2021 – Sausage Rolls for Everyone, Ladbaby ft. Ed Sheeran and Elton John
2022 – Food Aid, LadBaby
2023 – Last Christmas, Wham!
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