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Well, a very festive hello to you on my last thread of the year, and of course it's Christmas related :P

Yes, over the next 12 days we'll be counting down Gezza's 12 charts of Christmas, and what are those I hear you say?!

Well simply put we'll be looking back over the Christmas charts since 1980 at the closest races to the top spot.

With the advent of X Factor and facebook campaigns the race has, largely, been over before it really began but we're going back to those battles to find the only 12 instances in the last 22 years where the festive No 1 made by a sales margin of UNDER 50k.

LET'S TRY NOT TO SPOIL THIS BY POSTING INSTANCES WHERE WE KNOW IT WAS UNDER THAT MARGIN- We all know some instances but this will be much more enjoyable without spoilers and hopefully we'll find out some "new stuff" about "old stuff".

So crack open that mulled wine and get all festive for 12 christmas treats! :D :o :lol: :dance:

I would add that for obvious reasons some sales may be my own estimates!

:w00t: :w00t: :w00t: :w00t:

 

This is going to be very exciting for a sales geek like me. :D

So first up.....

 

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GEZZA’S FIRST CHART OF CHRISTMAS- 1997

 

http://blogs.whatsontv.co.uk/movietalk/files/2008/11/spice-girls-1.jpg

 

1997 was an odd time for the Spice Girls who had had quite a turbulent year all told. On paper the success had continued as they added a further two No 1 singles to their tally throughout the year and were the favourite to pick up the accolade of “Christmas No 1” for a second year on the trot, however they had dumped their management and stories of discontent within the group were rife (and mainly being cited between Mel B and Geri).

 

Their main opposition were the BBC creation The Teletubbies who had spent the previous weeks at the top running up an impressive total of almost 550k in 14 days on sale as parents snapped up the track for their kids/ students bought it in irony. This was actually the favourite for the festive No 1 for that year at 6-4 according to William Hill, and the race was billed as the first to be decided by the prepubescent kids age range.

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/bbcworldwide/images/teletubbies.jpg

 

Some had their money on The Chicken shed Theatre’s single “I Am In Love With The World” which was given odds of 4-1 in early December. They are a British theatre company who are comprised of all ages an were patronised by Princess Diana, and in the aftermath of her death this year this was featured on the tribute album and was therefore thought to be a strong contender for the top. It limped in at No 15 and had pre orders of 250k, but sold a poor 34k in the Xmas week.

 

 

Unlike the battle of the year before (where it was evident from the off that The Spice Girls would win) sales were reported to be relatively tight at the beginning of the week with a 10k advantage to the girls in the initial reports, but as the week wore on it was the fab five that pulled away from the flabby foursome to triumph by almost 50k

 

1- TOO MUCH- Spice Girls (252,000)

2- TELETUBBIES SAY EH-OH- Teletubbies (203,000)

3- PERFECT DAY- Various Artists (132,000)

4- NEVER EVER- All Saints (119,000)

5- TOGETHER AGAIN- Janet Jackson (103,000)

6- BARBIE GIRL- Aqua (100,000)

7- ANGELS- Robbie Williams (94,000)

8- TORN- Natalie Imbruglia (72,000)

9- BABY CAN I HOLD YOU/ SHOOTING STAR- Boyzone (64,000)

10- FEEL SO GOOD- Ma$e (53,000)

 

Griff there is FAR too much in your signature! :o

1- TOO MUCH- Spice Girls (252,000)

2- TELETUBBIES SAY EH-OH- Teletubbies (203,000)

3- PERFECT DAY- Various Artists (132,000)

4- NEVER EVER- All Saints (119,000)

5- TOGETHER AGAIN- Janet Jackson (103,000)

6- BARBIE GIRL- Aqua (100,000)

7- ANGELS- Robbie Williams (94,000)

8- TORN- Natalie Imbruglia (72,000)

9- BABY CAN I HOLD YOU/ SHOOTING STAR- Boyzone (64,000)

10- FEEL SO GOOD- Ma$e (53,000)

 

Son of a bitch! :o Those sales are HUGE!

 

Griff there is FAR too much in your signature! :o

 

Haha! :lol: I wouldn't have it any other way! :D

Edited December 13, 201212 yr by ★ G R I E F ★

How can something have pre-orders of 250k and only sell 34k? 216,000 people simply decided to ignore their pre-order? :o

 

Listening to 'I Am In Love With The World' now and I don't remember it at all, sounds like the sort of thing that would have turned up in A Song For Europe in the late 90s and finished 3rd or 4th :lol:

How can something have pre-orders of 250k and only sell 34k? 216,000 people simply decided to ignore their pre-order? :o

Well that's what MW says! :lol: I think it probably meant that the people asking about the record had resulted in stores pre ordering the track then folk decided that it was too sickly- even for Xmas! :o

So no-one got the correct answer to What will be the theme of the next Gezza/Dasher sales related thread? in Dandy's prediction thread then! :P

GEZZA’S FIRST CHART OF CHRISTMAS- 1997

 

1- TOO MUCH- Spice Girls (252,000)

2- TELETUBBIES SAY EH-OH- Teletubbies (203,000)

3- PERFECT DAY- Various Artists (132,000)

 

Teletubbies should've been #1 that week :angry: I don't remember how that Spice Girls song goes, neither do most of the general public but Teletubbies Say Eh-Oh is a CLASSIC :wub: :blush: Same with Bob the Builder, but fortunately he did manage the Xmas #1!

Am I correct in saying that entire top 8 apart from the number 1 are million sellers, or has Janet not made it either?

Am I correct in saying that entire top 8 apart from the number 1 are million sellers, or has Janet not made it either?

No Janet hasn't made it I'm afraid!

Spice Girls v Teletubbies....it was an interesting race, and to me the right song won.

 

"I am in love with the world".....I know it's a charity for disabled children, but sorry that girl can not sing. How this was a contender, I'd love to know. Even 14th was too high! The song wouldn't look out of place in the Melodifestivalen internet rounds they used to have :D

 

 

I thought the top 10 all cleared 100k that week?

 

Great idea for a thread, though!

I thought the top 10 all cleared 100k that week?

 

Great idea for a thread, though!

Given that Ma$e didn't appear in the top 200 for 1997 (for which 80k sales would be needed roughly) means that certainly wasn't the case unfortunately :D

Ma$e certainly sticks out like a sore thumb, the rest are all arguably classics or memorable for some reason!

Ma$e certainly sticks out like a sore thumb, the rest are all arguably classics or memorable for some reason!

I was just thinking that, has there ever been a more classic top 9?! I think they'd all be recognisable to most people to this day.

Well that's what MW says! :lol: I think it probably meant that the people asking about the record had resulted in stores pre ordering the track then folk decided that it was too sickly- even for Xmas! :o

 

It think it was copies shipped to stores which is not the same as pre-order. Otherwise, it just doesn't make sense.

 

Fantastic thread!

 

 

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GEEZA’S SECOND CHART OF CHRISTMAS- 1985

http://www.pure80spop.co.uk/Images/poppics/shakin.jpg

Back a further 12 years now to the Christmas of 1985 and a chart that proves the importance of timing in the Christmas chart. For songs that are expressly about Christmas (in the title, the lyrics, and in the use of those damn sleigh bells) the run in to the big day is especially important, and in this particular year the week leading up the Christmas No 1 covered the period Dec 16th-21st and thusly not including the massive sales days from the 22nd onwards when schools are finished and offices close. Why does all this matter? Well it resulted in a much closer race for the top than ordinarily it would have been, and this was one of the reasons.

Shaky’s “Merry Christmas Everyone” was scheduled for 1984 release but as soon as Band Aid was announced the release was shelved for 12 months. 1985 was not a good year for Stevens however, he had (for the first time since 1980) failed to make the top 10 at all, but he did have form in the race for the Christmas No 1 having played second fiddle to Renee & Renato in 1982 with his “Shakin Stevens EP” could he go one better this year?

http://www.popreport.co.uk/images/band_aid_01.jpeg

His main opposition was, ironically, Band Aid- again! Yes it was getting an official Re-issue and was popularly thought to be a genuine contender for the top slot all over again rocketed 24-6-3 in the run-up to the big chart whilst Shaky had moved 38-10-2, some outside bets were also placed on the similarly re-issued “Last Christmas” by Wham! which had been released without “Everything She Wants” on the reverse and which had progressed 32-10 but ended up at No 6 in the Christmas week. However it wasn’t Band Aid who proved to be the biggest challenge but the outgoing No 1 by Whitney Houston.

http://edge.ilpvideo.com/img/2012/02/11/whitney-houston-saving-all-my-love-for-you.png

Her ode to being “the other woman” had spent just a fortnight at No 1 before the Christmas chart was unveiled and would have put up some resistance to the Shaky takeover taking into account the period covered in the chart. It’s more than likely that this was a case of “Merry Christmas Everyone” extending its lead as the week wore on (and possibly not being the midweek No 1) as Christmas approached. Interestingly with the way Christmas fell this year Shaky’s winning margin would have been decreased the following week as sales of both his track and Houston’s would be down but with the post Christmas slump affecting Shaky more.

1- MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE- Shakin Stevens (145,000)
2- SAVING ALL MY LOVE FOR YOU- Whitney Houston (96,000)
3- DO THEY KNOW IT’S CHRISTMAS- Band Aid (84,000)
4- WEST END GIRLS- Pet Shop Boys (66,000)
5- WALKING IN THE AIR- Aled Jones (62,000)
6- LAST CHRISTMAS- Wham! (59,000)
7- SEPARATE LIVES- Phil Collins & Marilyn Martin (54,000)
8- I’M YOUR MAN- Wham! (53,000)
9- DRESS YOU UP- Madonna (43,000)
10 – SEE THE DAY- Dee C Lee (39,000)

What a bizarre chart - number 1s from 1984, 1985 *and* 1986 (West End Girls) all in the same top 10!! Has that ever happened again, as in #1s from three different years all in the top 10 at the same time? It's even more feasible now we're in the download years...

How did 84,000 people buy the Band Aid single in a week a year after it came out? :lol: Did they lose it or hadn't they bought the record yet?