We're all familiar with the Christmas number ones but let's take a look at the opposite end of the chart to get the most unsung songs of Christmas! We start with the first year the chart was expanded to a top 100.

 

1983: Hooray and the Henrys - All Stuck Up

Peak position: #100

Weeks in chart: 02

Christmas Number One: The Flying Pickets - Only You

 

Well this is a real oddity to start off the proceedings, so perfectly appropriate for the silly season. Whilst at the top end of the chart we had The Flying Pickets with their inferior cover version of Yazoo 'Only You', a song that has also recently been covered by Becky Hill for the McDonalds Christmas Advert. In the same year Christmas classic '2000 Miles' by The Pretenders was stuck at #15. Sadly that isn't ever one of the songs to return to the top 40 from streaming. Meanwhile at #100 was as far as I can tell the only single released by this band which is a parody of... All Shook Up, The Clapping Song, Heartbreaker, Eleanor Rigby, I'm The Leader Of The Gang, Rivers Of Babylon, Whole Lotta Love, Rabbit, Y Viva España, Pass The Dutchie, We Don't Talk Anymore and Bohemian Rhapsody. The band name is derived from the slang term Hooray Henry which is a pejorative for an upper class male which this is clearly parodying. The song unsurprisingly hasn't found its way onto Spotify and perhaps is better left in the past although some bits of it were humorous.

 

1984: The Cars - You Might Think

Peak position: #88

Weeks in chart: 05

Christmas Number One: Band Aid - Do They Know It's Christmas?

 

The Cars are best known for their track "Drive" which was a UK top 5 hit on two occasions. They had five UK top 40 hits however this was not one of them, although it did reach #7 in America. It has remained popular with the American audience clearly as it has 70 million Spotify streams. I hadn't heard this song before but it does sound rather good, albeit not as stand-out as "Drive". It's very 80s so could be popular with the member base here, it sounds bigger than a #88 hit but clearly it must have not been well promoted. At the opposite end of the chart we had the famous chart battle between Band Aid and Wham! For many years the latter were left with a #2 peak and the biggest selling #2 hit of all time however due to Christmas streaming and a fan campaign it was able to nab the #1 spot more recently. Band Aid themselves also re-enter the chart every year.

A good novelty record to start this thread, and only missed out on being a one-week wonder due to the chart being repeated to cover a week when one wasn't compiled.

1984: The Cars - You Might Think

And that's a pretty good song for something that didn't make the top 75. I did wonder if that was a pre-peroxide Amanda Holden in the video, but as she was about 13 at the time I gues not.

1985: Stevie Wonder - Go Home

Peak position: #67

Weeks in chart: 06

Christmas Number One: Shakin Stevens - Merry Christmas Everyone

 

Stevie Wonder has many a classic however this isn't one of them having missed the UK top 40. It was taken from the album In Square Circle and folllowed-up the #3 hit Part Time Lover. It did reach #10 in America however it has been largely forgotten now with just over a million Spotify streams. It's not by any means a bad song but perhaps better left as an album track, so not a huge surprise really that it wasn't a big hit. At least it has a groove to it unlike his two UK #1s I guess. At the opposite end of the chart Shakin Stevens deposed of Whitney Houston to be the #1 and to this day he has one of the most enduring Christmas classics. Band Aid also appeared in the top 3 having been re-issued.

'All Stuck Up' by Hooray and the Henrys was the follow up to the probably-equally-ghastly 'Sloane Rap' by Rupert and the Rupettes on the same label. I can't find a video for that one. Both acts appear to be an offshoot of The Firm, who had a number 1 in 1987 with 'Star Trekkin''.

Edited December 4, 20222 yr by Robbie

1985: Stevie Wonder - Go Home

 

There's something in the backing track that is descending and which reminds me of another track, but I can' place which one...

There's something in the backing track that is descending and which reminds me of another track, but I can' place which one...

 

And as soon as I posted that it dawned on me that I was thinking of Sheryl Crow's All I Wanna Do.

Really fun idea!

 

Mixed bag there - the Stevie song is pretty dull. The Hooray Henry thing is utterly bizarre though quite a fun one to have unearthed. The Cars song sounds great on first listen though - definitely deserved better!

Oh this is an interesting thread. I'll listen to the songs later but I like 'Drive' by The Cars so I'm sure that'll be good.

 

I enjoy both versions of 'Only You', the FP version is very well arranged imo but I can see why it is inferior as the Yazz one is so beloved obviously.

Edited December 2, 20222 yr by Roba!

Don't know any of these songs so far but what a coincidence that 2 of the 3 are songs that were big in the US but not so much here! (And I am intrigued by that first one, must remember to give it a listen later, especially with its connection to the iconic 'Star Trekkin'' x)

 

I guess the later years are probably going to be mostly D-tier old Christmas songs lol x

1986: Simple Minds - Don't You (Forget About Me)

Peak position: #07

Weeks in chart: 67

Christmas Number One: Jackie Wilson - Rest Petite

 

This song doesn't need an introduction and indeed it is the first of a good few well-known songs that just so happened to be at #100 on Christmas week. It had incredible longevity for its time period having spent 67 weeks in the top 100 (this week was its 64th), although only 9 of those were in the top 40 so it must've been a favourite of the bargain bins for a good while. The song is much more remembered these days than what was sitting at the opposite end of the chart and even more so than the band's sole #1 hit Belfast Child.

I know the song by The Cars as that video got shown quite a lot when UK music channels started in the 90s.

I'll need to give the first few songs here a listen but I'm of course familiar with 'Don't You (Forget About Me)', love it :wub:

1987: Marillion - Warm Wet Circles

Peak position: #22

Weeks in chart: 07

Christmas Number One: Pet Shop Boys - Always On My Mind

 

Whilst Pet Shop Boys were busy denying The Pogues of a Christmas number one, at the opposite end we had a re-entry from progressive rock band Marillion, the song having spent 3 weeks in the top 40 the previous month. It's not one of their most well-known songs, judging by Spotify. Indeed those who are not fans may only recall their #2 hit 'Kayleigh'. However, this track is well worth a listen too - it's more of a standard progressive rock track and does nothing to stop the inevitable Genesis comparisons mind but it has a little something going for it. I'm not familiar with their work though so for all I know they could have a lot of better songs but we can let our resident Marillion fan King Rollo comment on that.

1988: 2 Brave - Stop That Girl

Peak position: #81

Weeks in chart: 07

Christmas Number One: Cliff Richard - Mistletoe and Wine

 

About time we got to another obscure artist now: 2 Brave only ever had two "hit" singles, the first of these is the Christmas #100 for 1988 - entering at the coveted #100 position and peaking two weeks later - the follow-up "After Midnight" went one further going in at #80. They are a Norwegian pop duo, who only ever released one album "Big Time Beat" before presumably disbanding after it did nothing. To put their obscurity into perspective, I have more monthly Spotify listeners than them. As for the song itself, well it is not bad, but nothing special either so not something I suppose anyone here would lament not being a hit. It is reminiscent of the SAW productions that were popular around this time.

This makes up a bit for my request for Sugar Mice from the same album, Clutching At Straws, not being played at the albums listenthrough as I was the only one who requested it from the list of number 2 albums. It's the last Marillion album before Fish left, a concept album about a character who is an alcoholic. The warm wet circles of the song's title are what you see when a beer glass is put on a pub table and lifted up again. While there are many better Marillion songs than this one, it's certainly a good one for you to listen to.

Having heard the first three I can safely say Stevie's is the worst and I didn't think I'd be saying that as I like a lot of his songs. Hooray and The Henry I mean is crap too but at least have some novelty charm to it that sticks out in a slight positive way and The Cars song whilst no 'Drive' is pretty good.

 

'Don't You (Forget About Me)' is an absolute classic though <3 will check the last two posted tomorrow.

'Don't You (Forget About Me)' had an extended chart run in 1985 and 1986 due to it being featured in the film "The Breakfast Club". The single sold over 60,000 copies in 1986 alone.

1989: Fresh 4 feat. Lizz E - Wishing On A Star

Peak position: #10

Weeks in chart: 12

Christmas Number One: Band Aid II - Do They Know It's Christmas?

 

Fresh 4 were a trip hop act from Bristol - their cover version of Rose Royce 'Wishing On A Star' reached #10 in October, and re-entered at #100 in time for Christmas. The song was considered the first trip hop song to reach such heights in the chart. Their follow-up 'Release Yourself' could only make #81 however and their debut album went unreleased as a result of a musical disagreements with their record company. I hadn't heard this version before but it sounds very good, and a sign of what was to come in the following decade musically. It certainly has dated much better than what was the top 3 for Christmas that year; Band Aid II, Jive Bunny and Jason Donovan...