24th December 2017

 

It's Chris Rea on top, at long last, as he cancels his tour from ill health, but continues to have the most heart-warming annual christmas fave with his 1988 classic. The song made my top 10 then, and hit 4 in 1994, before hitting a new peak of 3 in 2007. All of them in years when the UK singles chart was unwelcoming to the song, to say the least. It finally makes the UK top 20 this week, and in celebration it not only makes my top 10 for the 7th time, it finally hits the top spot 29 years on. No record has charted so many times before topping my chart, nor had so many weeks on the chart before topping my chart.

 

Craig David gets his first top 10 since 2010, and his 5th in total, including 2 number ones (Hot Stuff in 2007 and Walking Away in 2000). The Partridge Family make my top 20 for the first time in 44 years, with an old album track, and the highest new entry is also an old Sister Sledge (Chic-produced) album track from 1980, one I've never heard before until Radio 2 played it for the surviving sisters talking about a new tour. Pretty Baby is much better than any of the singles off the album, and is therefore their best new entry on my chart since Lost In Music in 1979 (ignoring reissues and remixes).

 

Empire Of The Sun replace themselves in my chart, with a song containing "home" in it, very much the theme of the chart, on top, and new entries from Joe Goddard, a climber for The Fizz, someone ironic considering the charity new entry at 40 - Ralph McTell's new version of his classic Streets Of London is in aid of the homeless, and it's rather a good version, helped along by Annie Lennox. That's Annie's first chart credit here in 8 years, and Ralph's first, cough, in 42 years. That's one hell of an absence! Streets Of London was already a few years old when it charted at Christmas 1974, as was another oldie, Hey There Lonely Girl from Eddie Holman. Eddie hasn't troubled my chart since, until now - purely because an oldie I was listening to on youtube ended and this track started up next, one from 1966 I'd never heard of. An instant retro fave for me and lovely to see Ralph & Eddie entering together 43 years since they last both hit my top 40.

 

1 16 1 4 DRIVING HOME FOR CHRISTMAS Chris Rea 217300

2 2 2 3 UNTIL YOU COME BACK TO ME (THAT’S WHAT I’M GONNA DO) Aretha Franklin with The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra 285000

3 1 1 5 HOW CAN I BE SURE David Cassidy 655000

4 4 4 5 LIST OF PEOPLE (TO TRY AND FORGET) Tame Impala 193200

5 3 1 8 MYSTERY OF LOVE Sufjan Stevens 757000

6 5 5 6 PHASES Alma & French Montana 267400

7 6 2 8 AMEN The Fizz 730000

8 11 8 6 COLA CamelPhat & Elderbrook 182400

9 9 9 16 DO IT AGAIN Steely Dan 362500

10 18 10 5 I KNOW YOU Craig David featuring Bastille 109150

 

11 7 7 6 HOLD ME TIGHT OR DON’T Fall Out Boy 185400

12 20 12 6 GUILTY Paloma Faith 113600

13 10 10 6 BLUE ANGEL Roy Orbison & The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra 151450

14 8 4 8 TIMEBOMBS HURRICANES Written By Wolves 358900

15 19 3 11 BETWEEN TWO ISLANDS Pet Shop Boys 465000

16 29 16 7 (DON’T FEAR) THE REAPER Blue Oyster Cult 116400

17 22 17 5 I CAN FEEL YOUR HEARTBEAT The Partridge Family featuring David Cassidy & Shirley Jones 96950

18 15 1 11 I LOVE YOU BUT I’M LOST Tears For Fears 664500

19 30 19 7 SILENCE Marshmello featuring Khalid 96950

20 23 20 3 YOU MAKE IT FEEL LIKE CHRISTMAS Gwen Stefani featuring Blake Shelton 56850

 

21 14 8 7 THE CALLING TheFatRat featuring Laura Brehm 242250

22 13 5 5 I’M A CLOWN David Cassidy 190500

23 17 1 17 CRYBABY Paloma Faith 1026250

24 12 8 6 GOLDEN SLUMBERS The Beatles 170000

25 NEW 25 1 PRETTY BABY Sister Sledge 18750

26 26 26 4 FIND YOU Nick Jonas 60250

27 35 27 2 HOME FOR MY HEART The Fizz featuring Rick Wakeman 35900

28 21 17 8 ANYWHERE Rita Ora 151950

29 NEW 29 1 SHINE ON ME Dan Auerbach 18200

30 NEW 30 1 HOME Joe Goddard 18000

 

31 28 3 13 READY TO GO Hurts 587200

32 NEW 32 1 ON OUR WAY HOME Empire Of The Sun 17800

33 31 1 13 WAIT UP Hurts 766850

34 25 4 20 BOTH SIDES NOW Glen Campbell 447100

35 24 24 7 GO BANG PNAU 114100

36 NEW 36 1 THIS CAN’T BE TRUE Eddie Holman 17400

37 32 1 13 MAGNIFICENT Hurts 887400

38 33 17 8 YOU WERE RIGHT RUFUS 150950

39 39 39 3 LAST CHRISTMAS Wham! 44400

40 NEW 40 1 STREETS OF LONDON Ralph McTell featuring The Crisis Choir with Annie Lennox 17000

 

41 34 1 6 MAID OF ORLEANS (THE WALTZ JOAN OF ARC) Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark 312600

42 37 37 5 COULD IT BE FOREVER David Cassidy 77350

43 43 1 16 FOOTSTEPS Pet Shop Boys 928150

44 44 10 11 SEXY NORTHERNER Pet Shop Boys 241250

45 41 1 16 MY KINGDOM (WILLIAM BLACK REMIX) Evangeline 905650

46 36 15 7 COMIN’ UP Tungevaag & Raaban featuring Victor Crone 138650

47 40 40 5 DAYDREAMER David Cassidy 51600

48 45 6 19 GET LOW Zedd & Liam Payne 466800

49 50 49 5 BANDALA The Partridge Family featuring David Cassidy & Shirley Jones 43300

50 27 16 6 ONLY YOU (2017 VERSION) Yazoo 114400

 

51 42 18 9 ULTRA LOVE Marlon Roudette 169650

52 38 7 9 IMMIGRANT SONG Led Zeppelin 261500

53 47 40 7 I MISS YOU Clean Bandit featuring Julia Michaels 75950

54 75 54 2 RUT The Killers 16000

55 55 1 25 DREAMS Grace Slick 709900

56 74 56 2 WOLVES Selena Gomez & Marshmello 15800

57 48 48 7 GALAXY Dannii Minogue 67300

58 58 19 12 BEAUTIFUL TRAUMA P!nk 169400

59 60 59 2 F**K YOU KRISTMAS! (SWEARY VERSION) Kim Wilde & Lawnmower Deth 20100

60 46 29 4 FUGITIVE (RICHARD X EXTENDED MIX) Pet Shop Boys 58950

 

61 51 4 12 GO 2.0 Burak Yeter & Ryan Rybak 346850

62 49 34 10 ROBOT MAN Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark 133950

63 52 34 6 GOLDEN SLUMBERS Elbow 77300

64 53 8 14 BEST FRIEND Sofi Tukker featuring NERVO, The Knocks & Alisa Ueno 327050

65 NEW 65 1 STEP INTO CHRISTMAS Elton John 7000

66 63 3 16 CLOSER TO HEAVEN Pet Shop Boys 468450

67 67 1 41 ALONE AGAIN OR Love 1017750

68 65 29 10 A DIFFERENT CORNER George Michael 116950

69 59 47 5 GET OUT OF YOUR OWN WAY U2 52350

70 70 70 2 SMOKE CLEARS Andy Grammer 12000

 

71 54 12 16 LIFE WITH THE MACBETHS Sparks 261150

72 69 14 17 ALL STARS Martin Solveig featuring Alma 252350

73 73 10 19 WHAT ABOUT US P!nk 319200

74 62 30 11 EVERYTHING IS NEVER ENOUGH (VIDEO MIX) Goldfrapp 133500

75 NEW 75 1 STOP THE CAVALRY Jona Lewie 5000

 

DROP OUTS

56 56 3 SANTA CLAUS IS COMING TO TOWN The Crystals 23000

57 35 5 WAY TO GO (GOMEZ & TRITTER REMIX) Empire Of The Sun 70400

61 22 8 COMIC LIFE Matt Maltese 117600

64 31 7 DRIVEWAY culpriit 94000

66 66 2 MISS CLARKE AND THE COMPUTER Roy Wood 12600

68 1 25 TWO FUX Adam Lambert 1098300

71 1 23 TRUE FEELING Galantis 993350

72 72 1 ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS IS YOU Mariah Carey 5600

Hello John!

Good to have "Driving Home For Christmas" being your #1.

Also nice to see "I Know You" in your Top 10!

I like the gain to "Silence" and that it's in your Top 20!

As for your new entries that I know:

"Shine On Me": Great song, I like it.

"On Our Way Home": Kind of disappointed by their new single, but still ok.

"Step Into Christmas": Not a bad christmas song, just ok for me.

Great chart overall!

Have a merry christmas!

Hello John!

Good to have "Driving Home For Christmas" being your #1.

Also nice to see "I Know You" in your Top 10!

I like the gain to "Silence" and that it's in your Top 20!

As for your new entries that I know:

"Shine On Me": Great song, I like it.

"On Our Way Home": Kind of disappointed by their new single, but still ok.

"Step Into Christmas": Not a bad christmas song, just ok for me.

Great chart overall!

Have a merry christmas!

 

Thanks Sergej! :)

 

Glad you like Chris Rea at 1, it's been a long time coming!

 

Shine On Me is very retro, a bit like an old 70's track called Queen Of Hearts by dave Edmunds - prob why I like it so much :D

 

cheers

john