The Official Top 20 bestselling Christmas Number 1s, We count down the ultimate chart of festive smashes |
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3rd December 2019, 11:58 AM
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BuzzJack Enthusiast
Joined: 1 January 2016
Posts: 907 User: 22,819 |
By Justin Myers
Music is an essential part of any Christmas party, but have you noticed how many festive chart-toppers barely even mention a snowflake or a bauble, let alone Santa himself and his strange habit of plunging down your chimney? Only twelve Official Christmas Number 1s have acknowledged the festive season; the rest are just the tunes people happened to love the most as the year came to an end. Because there's more to Christmas than jingle bells, so we count down the biggest selling chart-topping hits associated with the most wonderful time of the year. Do They Know It's Christmas? Despite its overarching air of melancholy, the UK's top-selling festive chart-topper is both Christmas-themed AND a Christmas Number 1. The second biggest selling single of all time, Band Aid and their clanging chimes of doom first hit the top in 1984, spawning three successful cover versions which also went to Number 1. It's the only Xmas hit to sell over 3 million units - 3.82 million to be exact. MORE: Look back over every Official Christmas Number 1 ever Bohemian Rhapsody Not particularly festive, but Bohemian Rhapsody has got serious Christmas credentials, scoring the Christmas Number 1 twice with the exact same version, sixteen years apart, on its first release in 1975 and again in 1991, following the death of lead singer Freddie Mercury. An impressive 2.6 million copies later, and it's the third biggest selling song of all time. See all Queen's massive hit albums and singles Mull of Kintyre The Official Singles Chart welcomed all kinds of unusual, unlikely hits in the '70s, and 1977's Christmas Number 1 was the mega-selling Mull of Kintyre from Wings, led by none other than former Beatle Paul McCartney. With 2.09 million copies sold, it's Macca's top selling single ever, more than any of his Beatles hits. What are the chances? Take a look at Wings' UK chart history MORE: Get your baubles in a twist with our Christmas quiz Mary's Boy Child – Oh My Lord The UK's fourth biggest Christmas smash has got the lot: glitz, campery and, of course, actual Jesus popping up in the lyrics! Mary's Boy Child has hit Christmas Number 1 twice by separate artists: Boney M's disco-lite version from 1978 – like we said, the '70s were wild – is the biggest, though, with 1.89 million sales. Harry Belafonte's version is at 14, from 1957, on 1.19 million. See all Boney M's UK hit singles and albums I Want to Hold Your Hand The Beatles have the record for the most Christmas Number 1s – four – and three of them make the Top 20. Biggest selling, however, is the first: I Want to Hold Your Hand is on 1.82 million. Who will be this year's Christmas Number 1? Be the first to know. I Will Always Love You The biggest selling Christmas Number 1 by a female solo artist, Whitney's dramatic rendition version of Dolly Parton's ballad soundtracked the movie The Bodyguard, topping the charts for ten weeks. 1.66 million of you bought this one, belting out the high note at Christmas karaoke, aided no doubt by potent eggnog. See all Whitney's hits in her archive Hallelujah This relatively Christmassy Leonard Cohen cover from Alexandra Burke ruled the festive rundown in 2008. The first X Factor winner's single to be released on download right after the final, Hallelujah has sold 1.32 million copies and its nearest competition for Christmas Number 1 was another cover of the same song, this time by Jeff Buckley. See all Alexandra's hits in her archive Merry Xmas Everybody Slade's classic shouty and raucous festive fave first hit the chart way back in 1973, becoming that year's Christmas Number 1, and the sixth and final chart-topper for the band. Since that first release, it's returned to the Top 40 ten times, peaking the highest in 2017, at Number 16. It's sold 1.32 million. 2 Become 1 Not a Christmas song, no, it's actually a thinly disguised sex education campaign, but 2 Become 1 topped the charts at Christmas 1996 and the girls look like they're half-frozen in the video, don't they? Luckily, they sold 1.14 million copies of this song, earning them enough cash to invest in hats, scarves, and an oil-filled radiator so they could warm up in time for their next two Christmas Number 1s. In our recent interview with Emma Bunton she reveals 2 Become 1 is her fave Spice Christmas song. The Official Top 20 biggest selling Christmas songs POS TITLE ARTIST YEAR 1 DO THEY KNOW IT'S CHRISTMAS? BAND AID 1984 2 BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY QUEEN 1975/1991 3 MULL OF KINTYRE/GIRLS' SCHOOL WINGS 1977 4 MARY'S BOY CHILD/OH MY LORD BONEY M 1978 5 I WANT TO HOLD YOUR HAND THE BEATLES 1963 6 I WILL ALWAYS LOVE YOU WHITNEY HOUSTON 1992 7 DON'T YOU WANT ME? HUMAN LEAGUE 1981 8 I FEEL FINE THE BEATLES 1964 9 WE CAN WORK IT OUT/DAY TRIPPER THE BEATLES 1965 10 HALLELUJAH ALEXANDRA BURKE 2008 11 MERRY XMAS EVERYBODY SLADE 1973 12 GREEN, GREEN GRASS OF HOME TOM JONES 1966 13 EARTH SONG MICHAEL JACKSON 1995 14 MARY'S BOY CHILD HARRY BELAFONTE 1957 15 DO THEY KNOW IT'S CHRISTMAS? BAND AID 20 2004 16 ANOTHER BRICK IN THE WALL (PART 2) PINK FLOYD 1979 17 2 BECOME 1 SPICE GIRLS 1996 18 THAT'S MY GOAL SHAYNE WARD 2005 19 CAN WE FIX IT? BOB THE BUILDER 2000 20 WHEN WE COLLIDE MATT CARDLE 2010 ©2019 Official Charts Company. All rights reserved. This post has been edited by JCM20: 3rd December 2019, 02:23 PM |
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3rd December 2019, 11:58 AM
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BuzzJack Enthusiast
Joined: 1 January 2016
Posts: 907 User: 22,819 |
I'm guessing Stay Another Day must be #21.
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3rd December 2019, 01:19 PM
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Shakin Stevens
Joined: 29 December 2007
Posts: 46,163 User: 5,138 |
Enjoy that the OCC give us snipits of info at this time of year but I wish they would show us the top selling Xmas songs no matter whether another track was no1 or not.
Yeh Stay Another Day will climb that list. |
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3rd December 2019, 01:38 PM
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BuzzJack Enthusiast
Joined: 31 December 2007
Posts: 1,189 User: 5,152 |
I assume these are pure sales only without streams added?
EDIT: Just noticed the OCC reply, All time lists will differ depending on context. Consistently, any list focusing on sales only will be marked as 'bestselling', while all-time charts that include streaming are 'biggest'. Hope this clarification helps. This post has been edited by ben08: 3rd December 2019, 01:48 PM |
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3rd December 2019, 01:46 PM
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BuzzJack Platinum Member
Joined: 16 November 2009
Posts: 7,606 User: 9,988 |
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3rd December 2019, 01:59 PM
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BuzzJack Enthusiast
Joined: 31 December 2007
Posts: 1,189 User: 5,152 |
The OCC contradict themselves.
Heading for article is, The Official Top 20 bestselling Christmas Number 1s Heading for top 20 list is, The Official Top 20 biggest selling Christmas songs |
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3rd December 2019, 02:48 PM
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BuzzJack Idol
Joined: 8 December 2010
Posts: 50,985 User: 12,472 |
Presumably lists that include streams will be "biggest hits" or something, with no mention of "selling". I think that's what they mean, but yes it does look like they've contradicted themselves.
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3rd December 2019, 02:53 PM
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BuzzJack Regular
Joined: 12 March 2010
Posts: 245 User: 10,773 |
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3rd December 2019, 04:19 PM
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BuzzJack Legend
Joined: 7 March 2006
Posts: 22,001 User: 53 |
Am sure I saw this list somewhere last year and exactly the same.
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3rd December 2019, 04:31 PM
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Shakin Stevens
Joined: 29 December 2007
Posts: 46,163 User: 5,138 |
This is specifically No1s though they did too selling Christmas hits I think previously?
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3rd December 2019, 04:45 PM
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#11
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BuzzJack Enthusiast
Joined: 19 November 2014
Posts: 1,412 User: 21,383 |
What would be the LOWEST selling Christmas number one?
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3rd December 2019, 04:51 PM
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Shakin Stevens
Joined: 29 December 2007
Posts: 46,163 User: 5,138 |
If not something from the 1950s then likely Clean Bandit from 2016 if I was purely guessing.
This post has been edited by ChristmaSteve201: 3rd December 2019, 04:51 PM |
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