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[Popchartfreak]

23rd December 2018

It's 2 weeks on top (4 in total) for the Carpenters, just holding off Mark Ronson from grabbing a second chart-topper. As I was in Gran Canaria enjoying the sun last week I heard no new songs at all, just xmas oldies everywhere - so there's a mini-invasion of oldies, but the highest xmas track is The Fizz at 5, an actual new song of all things! Pity no-one's playing it. Chainsmokers get yet another top 10, at least a 5th, as their former musical partners Coldplay got top 20 with a leap for E-LO, and top 30 with Timbuktu. Highest Xmas oldie, as is the norm, is Chris Rea's classic at 22, charting for the 15th time and about to overhaul Band Aid (which hasn't charted for years here) in my million sellers list.

Chris De Burgh amazingly takes his Spaceman into my top 40 some 32 years on from its' debut, spurred on by selling quite well thanks to a current cover version. It hasn't charted in the 21st century before. Unlike the highest new entry at 40, Boney M's festive perennial which peaked at 2 in 1978 just ahead of my 21st birthday, when it was topping the UK charts. Mary's Boy Child also topped the charts the day I was born, because I'm special (by Harry Belafonte). Probably. Mud also return, under-performing in 1974 after a string of chart-toppers, but eventually topping my chart on reissue in 1985.

Kim Wilde's lovely Isobel's Dream is also back after a few years away, not really a Christmas song as such but a winter seasonal song, while early 80's minor-hit Christmas Wrapping outdoes most of it's chart contemporaries at the time and The Waitresses keep on popping back year after year. Last year's Xmas track from Gwen Stefani gets a good chance of a regular comeback as it returns, leaving her and Leona Lewis as the only 21st century xmas songs that come back, while 60's chestnut Sleigh Ride by The Ronettes is back some 44 years since it first charted, though it is fairly regular in it's returns.

1 1 1 3 GOODBYE TO LOVE Carpenters & The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra 455000
2 4 2 4 NOTHING BREAKS LIKE A HEART Mark Ronson featuring Miley Cyrus 211050
3 5 3 4 SURVIVE Don Diablo featuring Emeli Sande & Gucci Mane 215200
4 2 1 10 DIAMOND HEART Alan Walker & Sophia Somajo 709500
5 8 5 6 DON’T START WITHOUT ME The Fizz 185850
6 3 1 5 TRUE LOVE WAYS Buddy Holly & The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra 445000
7 10 7 3 DOES THE HOMOSAPIEN KNOW Abba vs Pete Shelley 124000
8 14 8 4 SUNSHINE ON LEITH The Proclaimers 128000
9 16 9 5 THIS FEELING Chainsmokers featuring Kelsea Ballerini 126000
10 6 6 7 THANK YOU, NEXT Ariana Grande 314800

11 11 7 8 BRAZILIAN SOUL The Knocks featuring Sofi Tukker 305000
12 7 4 10 STARFISH Rhys featuring FELIX SANDMAN 411000
13 12 1 8 SHADOWS Black Atlass 617000
14 9 1 7 DRIVE (SYMPHONIC VERSION) The Cars 719000
15 15 10 6 KEEPING THE DREAM ALIVE The Fizz 171500
16 13 8 5 IT’S FOR YOU Cilla Black with The Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra 168000
17 36 17 3 E-LO Los Unidades (Coldplay) & Pharrell Williams featuring Jozzy 53650
18 19 18 6 BREATHE Camelphat & Cristoph featuring Jem Cooke 102800
19 25 19 5 EVERLASTING LOVE The Love Affair 88800
20 17 15 5 YOU’RE GONNA MISS ME Connie Francis 112000

21 18 9 5 RISE Raaginder 144750
22 28 22 3 DRIVING HOME FOR CHRISTMAS Chris Rea 49300
23 30 23 4 FAVELA Ina Wroldsen & Alok 56750
24 24 13 8 BABY Clean Bandit featuring Marina & The Diamonds & Luis Fonzi 164900
25 23 3 7 ARREST THE PRESIDENT Ice Cube 295000
26 27 26 9 BURN Super8 & Tab featuring Hero Baldwin 135650
27 31 27 7 LOVE OF MY LIFE Queen 102200
28 35 28 3 TIMBUKTU Cassper Nyovest & Los Unidades (Coldplay) featuring Stormzy & Jess Kent 46200
29 22 4 11 JOY. for KING & COUNTRY 369200
30 20 20 7 ALGORITHM Muse 120500

31 21 18 3 EVERYBODY’S HAPPY NOWADAYS Buzzcocks 59650
32 50 32 2 WONDERFUL CHRISTMASTIME The Monkees 29800
33 33 33 7 LONELY STAR Ariana and The Rose 92100
34 26 8 10 HEAVEN LET ME IN Friendly Fires 252200
35 69 35 2 A SPACEMAN CAME TRAVELLING Chris De Burgh 23700
36 29 3 11 NEED YOU TONITE Mylo featuring Judie Tzuke 334050
37 72 37 4 DREAM ON Aerosmith 32900
38 38 38 7 HEY DJ CNCO, Meghan Trainor & Sean Paul 96450
39 39 39 5 INFINITY (MOVEMENT 6) Jean-Michel Jarre 65400
40 NEW 40 1 MARY’S BOY CHILD/OH MY LORD Boney M 17000

41 37 12 8 FRENCH CLASS HalfNoise 193000
42 42 42 5 SEE THE DAY Dee C. Lee 65750
43 47 43 4 PUNK RIGHT NOW HYO & 3LAU 43100
44 34 25 9 HOW LONG WILL THIS LAST? Blossoms 137600
45 40 1 13 TOOGOODTOBETRUE Gallant featuring Sufjan Stevens & Rebecca Sugar 667600
46 32 2 6 GOOD NIGHT The Beatles 328300
47 NEW 47 1 LONELY THIS CHRISTMAS Mud 12500
48 66 48 6 SWEET BUT PSYCHO Ava Max 45500
49 52 49 6 OOH LA LA The Faces 53300
50 57 50 3 BACK ON THE CHAIN GANG Morrissey 28600

51 45 45 6 TINTS Anderson .Paak featuring Kendrick Lamar 64050
52 41 41 5 SAIL AWOLNATION 54900
53 49 1 27 HEY LOOK MA, I MADE IT Panic! At The Disco 1977000
54 48 2 14 NOTHING BURNS LIKE THE COLD Snoh Aalegra featuring Vince Staples 600200
55 55 55 3 LOVE YOU MORE Buzzcocks 29100
56 43 20 8 LOVE Boyzone 125150
57 64 57 3 STOP THE CAVALRY Jona Lewie 22900
58 58 58 4 TERE NAAL NACHNA Badshah & Sunanda Sharma 33300
59 59 59 3 ONE MORE SLEEP Leona Lewis 26800
60 46 46 6 HUFF + PUFF Just A Band 60750

61 53 53 5 HANDS UP Merk & Kremont featuring DNCE 46850
62 63 62 4 SPEECHLESS Robin Schulz featuring Erika Sirola 26400
63 NEW 63 1 ISOBEL’S DREAM Kim Wilde 7200
64 65 64 4 PAPER DREAMS Jamie N Commons 24900
65 60 60 3 EVER FALLEN IN LOVE (WITH SOMEONE YOU SHOULDN’T’VE) Buzzcocks 24200
66 71 66 3 SHE MAKES ME Rick Astley 17800
67 67 67 3 DECEMBER WILL BE MAGIC Kate Bush 19000
68 68 68 2 WHAT WOULD SANTA DO The Monkees 12800
69 56 56 3 THE POWER OF LOVE Frankie Goes To Hollywood 27000
70 70 70 2 HAPPY XMAS (WAR IS OVER) John & Yoko & The Plastic Ono Band with The Harlem Community Choir 12000

71 44 30 7 JAPAN Plastician 96550
72 NEW 72 1 CHRISTMAS WRAPPING The Waitresses 5600
73 NEW 73 1 YOU MAKE IT FEEL CHRISTMAS Gwen Stefani featuring Blake Shelton 5400
74 61 48 7 MAPACHE Cari Cari 64300
75 NEW 75 1 SLEIGH RIDE The Ronettes 5000

DROP OUTS
51 25 6 39 Queen 101800
54 54 3 SANTA CLAUS IS COMING TO TOWN The Crystals 23600
62 33 10 POLAROID Jonas Blue, Liam Payne & Lennon Stella 139750
73 37 7 THE GREATEST SHOW Panic! At The Disco 78800
74 74 1 PROMISES Buzzcocks 5200
75 75 1 ROCKIN’ AROUND THE CHRISTMAS TREE Brenda Lee 5000