The biggest Christmas Number 1s of all time

10 December 2021 | By Ian Wade

 

It's that time of the year again, as we await the news as to who will be on top this Christmas. But what are the biggest Christmas Number 1s of all time? Well, handily we’ve been at the calculators and worked out what they are by combining both sales and streaming figures to produce the ultimate list.

 

Look away now though, Ladbaby, I’d pop the bubbly back in the fridge if I were you.

 

Perhaps the quintessential Christmas chart-topper, the original Band Aid line-up’s version of Do They Know It’s Christmas from 1984 is not only the biggest-seller with 3.83 million sales, but with streams combined it now totals at 4,989,000. With it continuing to re-enter the Official Chart every Christmas, it’s likely to hold on to that position for some time.

 

But wait. Who is this hot on its heels? Why, it’s Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody with a combined total of 4,304,000, possibly helped by the fact it’s been Christmas Number 1 twice. Also, due to its non-Christmas subject matter and being Queen’s biggest song in general which is played throughout the year, it has the potential of creeping up to pole position.

 

Another non-festive favourite that’s stormed its way up the list is Ed Sheeran’s 2017 Number 1 Perfect, with a combined total of 4,130,000. Again, it’s one of those non-period specific songs that could gradually creep up all year round as saleswise it doesn’t rank in the Top 20, Perfect’s success is predominantly down to streaming alone.

 

The grand finale of Boney M’s annus miraculous of 1978, and their Number 1 single Mary’s Boy Child/ Oh My Lord, is in fourth places with a combined figure of 2,354,000, with 1.9 million of those down to sales of the song at the time.

 

Another song by an act that defined their particular year is Don’t You Want Me by The Human League, which finished off, what was for them, an incredible 1981. With a combined total of 2,328,000 including 1.6 million pure sales, the song has re-entered the chart (in 1995 and 2014) albeit just not at Christmas time.

 

Whitney Houston’s legendary take on Dolly Parton’s I Will Always Love You from 1992, which spent ten weeks at the top, is at Number 6 in our rundown. The evergreen is now at 2,289,000 with 1.67 million pure sales.

 

Clean Bandit’s 2016 chart-topper Rockabye, um, rocks up at Number 7 due mostly to streaming as it doesn’t feature in the Top 20 on sales, but still amasses a healthy 2,196,000 chart sales.

 

Approaching its fiftieth anniversary and unlikely to be disappearing any time soon is Merry Xmas Everybody by Slade. The glam rockers' pension plan shows no sign of letting up, being a regular playlist staple and Christmas chart returnee on 2,156,000, with 1.32 million of those as pure sales.

 

Number 9 sees Paul McCartney and Wings’ Mull Of Kintyre currently at 2,140,000 with 2.09million sales mostly from its time in the Official Chart in 1977. In fact Macca does quite well overall as he populates the Top 20 with three songs from his stint in The Beatles, with I Want To Hold Your Hand at Number 10, I Feel Fine at 14 and Day Tripper/ We Can Work It Out at 15.

 

The Top 20 is rounded off by the viral sensation that was Rage Against The Machine’s Christmas Number 1 Killing In The Name, with 1,313,000. The track caused great upset to Simon Cowell and The X Factor, who had enjoyed a run of festive chart-toppers before this rap metal anthem barged in, thanks to a campaign led by Jon Morter.

 

Official Top 20 Biggest Christmas Number 1s

POS TITLE ARTIST YEAR PEAK

1 DO THEY KNOW IT'S CHRISTMAS? BAND AID 1984 1

2 BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY QUEEN 1975/1991 1

3 PERFECT ED SHEERAN 2017 1

4 MARY'S BOY CHILD/OH MY LORD BONEY M 1978 1

5 DON'T YOU WANT ME? THE HUMAN LEAGUE 1981 1

6 I WILL ALWAYS LOVE YOU WHITNEY HOUSTON 1992 1

7 ROCKABYE CLEAN BANDIT 2016 1

8 MERRY XMAS EVERYBODY SLADE 1973 1

9 MULL OF KINTYRE/GIRLS' SCHOOL WINGS 1977 1

10 I WANT TO HOLD YOUR HAND THE BEATLES 1963 1

11 MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE SHAKIN' STEVENS 1985 1

12 HALLELUJAH ALEXANDRA BURKE 2008 1

13 ANOTHER BRICK IN THE WALL (PART 2) PINK FLOYD 1979 1

14 I FEEL FINE THE BEATLES 1964 1

15 WE CAN WORK IT OUT/DAY TRIPPER THE BEATLES 1965 1

16 EARTH SONG MICHAEL JACKSON 1995 1

17 GREEN, GREEN GRASS OF HOME TOM JONES 1966 1

18 2 BECOME 1 SPICE GIRLS 1996 1

19 STAY ANOTHER DAY EAST 17 1994 1

20 KILLING IN THE NAME RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE 2009 1

©2021 Official Charts Company. All rights reserved.

*This chart is compiled taking in physical and digital sales, plus streaming equivalent sales.

perfect with 4.1 million, wow

That top 3 seems pretty secure. Can’t see anything budging any of them for a long time considering how well they each stream still. Expect Shakin Stevens to be in that top 10 within the next couple of years.

Rage sneaking into the top 20 *.* (quite surprised how high its total is although of course over a third of that total is from its 2 weeks in the top 2 alone)

liam.k. Any idea of combined sales for Beatles I want to hold your hand?

Wow 3 appearances for The Beatles... it's almost as if those tracks were genuinely hugely popular and not some hear today gone until this time next year novelty.

Didn’t realise ‘Perfect’ was so high!

Hallelujah being the only X Factor song in this list is a slight surprise given the dominance it had for a while. Though I guess the songs themselves had short chart runs.

Wow, Perfect has sold a lot more than I thought. I also forget it was a Christmas #1 sometimes.

I’m not sure that I’ve ever heard Perfect, I certainly couldn’t tell you how it goes.

I'd quite like to see a list of all of the Christmas Number 1s by sales. I imagine LadBaby would have the bottom 3 places.

It’s similar to the above top 10 minus ‘Perfect’ and ‘Rockabye’ and lower overall sales!

Hallelujah being the only X Factor song in this list is a slight surprise given the dominance it had for a while. Though I guess the songs themselves had short chart runs.

 

I think a few are around 1-1.1 million with streaming (Shayne Ward/Leona Lewis/Matt Cardle), so likely in the top 20. James Arthur's "Impossible" wasn't released Christmas week - it's the biggest selling winner's single with over 1.8 million chart sales.

I think a few are around 1-1.1 million with streaming (Shayne Ward/Leona Lewis/Matt Cardle), so likely in the top 20. James Arthur's "Impossible" wasn't released Christmas week - it's the biggest selling winner's single with over 1.8 million chart sales.

 

Thanks, yeah I remember James’s was the biggest. I think it’s also the only one that was an international hit.

Nice to see Spice Girls still making top 20 with 2 become 1 all these years later.

Hallelujah being the only X Factor song in this list is a slight surprise given the dominance it had for a while. Though I guess the songs themselves had short chart runs.

 

I don't think it's surprising considering they had no staying power - both chartwise, but also culturally. How many people remember that Leona's debut single was A Moment Like This? Cannonball was only included as an afterthought on the second disc of Little Mix's recent greatest hits, etc. Most artists just quickly dumped even performing their X-Factor single.

 

I'd love them to give a full sales update on all the big Christmas hits that are now annual hits.

I'd love them to give a full sales update on all the big Christmas hits that are now annual hits.

 

 

I was hoping that this was what the article was :lol:

I'd quite like to see a list of all of the Christmas Number 1s by sales. I imagine LadBaby would have the bottom 3 places.

 

According to the recently published Christmas number ones book. (now only £5 on Amazon)

Click here

 

 

Christmas Number One singles.

Sales from release until end of May 2021. (no streams)

 

1) Do they know it's Christmas (Band Aid) - 3.83m

2) Bohemian Rhapsody - 2.62m

3) Mull of Kintyre - 2.09m

4) Mary's Boy Child (Boney M) - 1.9m

5) I want to hold your hand - 1.82m

6) I will always love you - 1.67m

7) Don't you want me - 1.65m

8) I feel fine - 1.43m

9) Day tripper/We can work it out - 1.41m

10) Hallelujah - 1.33m

11) Merry Xmas everyone - 1.32m

12) Green green grass of home - 1.27m

13) Earth song - 1.22m

14) Mary's boy child (Harry Belafonte) - 1.19m

15) Do they know it's Christmas (Band Aid 20) - 1.19m

16) Another brick in the wall - 1.16m

17) 2 becomes 1 - 1.15m

18) That's my goal - 1.12m

19) Can we fix it? - 1.03m

20) When we collide - 1.02m

I'd love them to give a full sales update on all the big Christmas hits that are now annual hits.

The Music Chronicle Christmas lists all of the Christmas-, New Year- and Winter-themed best sellers. It shows original sales and digital sales separately, and together. For recurring hits, it shows their chart position and sales for each year. And it lists all hits, not just #1s.

 

However, it doesn't cover Christmas #1s which weren't seasonal, such as Bohemian Rhapsody and I Want To Hold Your Hand.

 

The Music Chronicle Christmas