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The biggest Christmas Number 1s of all time
As we head towards 2023's Christmas Number 1 race, here's the up-to-date Top 20 biggest festive chart-toppers.
By Official Charts
The Official Christmas Number 1 is a British institution. Viewed as the most important Number 1 of any given calendar year, it's the most prestigious and hard-fought-for chart topper in the Official Chart.
But, what is the biggest Christmas Number 1 of all time in the UK?
We’ve tallied up the numbers using both sales and streaming figures, and we’re back with the Top 20 all-time greats. Look away now, Ladbaby…
Band Aid's 1984 classic Do They Know It's Christmas? tops the list as the Official biggest Christmas Number 1 of all time in the UK. With a massive 5.8 million chart units to its name, the original blockbuster charity single is also recognised as one of the best-selling singles of all time in the UK to boot.
Famously, when Band Aid secured 1984' Christmas Number 1, they denied the honour to WHAM!'s Last Christmas, which had to settle for Number 2 instead. While George Michael and Andrew Ridegeley's classic has reached Number 1 in the UK since, it's never claimed Christmas Number 1...yet...
Coming in second place is Ed Sheeran himself, with the third- most-streamed song of all time, Perfect. With a combined total of 5.2 million chart units, it’s position on the list is of course helped by Ed's complete and utter dominance on streaming.
Just behind Ed at Number 3 is Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody, with 5 million chart units- possibly helped by the fact it’s been Christmas Number 1 twice. Due to its non-Christmas subject matter and being Queen’s biggest song in general which is played throughout the year, it’s another non-seasonal fave that could find itself moving up the rankings in years to come.
In fourth place, we have Welsh maestro Shakin' Stevens's Merry Christmas Everyone (3 million chart units), while synth-pop outfit The Human League complete the Top 5 with their stylish chart-topper, Don't You Want Me at Number 5 with 2.8 million chart units.
Elsewhere in the Top 10, Slade's glam-rock festive banger Merry Xmas Everybody at Number 6. Celebrating the 50th anniversary of its release this year, re-visit our interview with Slade's Noddy Holder about the track here.
This is followed by Boney M's Mary's Boy Child/Oh My Lord (7), Whitney Houston's throat-stripping ballad I Will Always Love You (8), Clean Bandit, Sean Paul and Anne-Marie's Rockabye (9) and The Beatles' I Want To Hold Your Hand (10), one of four Official Christmas Number 1s by the Fab Four.
Revisit every single Christmas Number 1 in UK chart history
*This chart is compiled using physical and digital sales, plus streaming figures.
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Blank
Streaming shouldn't really be combined in the total, because it will be misleading. The resulting total 'sales' is entirely dependent on the arbitrary ratio of streams:sales. A changing result / chart position without a change in the total public consumption data.
The chart should reflect the public consumption, and not be manipulated by arbitrary ratios.
Mid-year sales are also not really part of 'Christmas' hit, are they?
Jonathan Gardner
I Will Always Love You is only certified 2x Platinum but has combined units of 2,289,000? It's nearly 4x Platinum
BleeUK
Rage Against The Machine Did'nt Get The True Christmas #1 With Killing In The Name as that was sales and figures only from 13th to 19th December 2009 (For 20th Dec Media Broadcast/Recorded for Top Of The Pops), only top the charts for one week only, as Joe McElderry Went Up a place to #1 With The Climb At Christmas 2009 Broadcasted on Weekly Charts on 27th December (Based from real-time Data from 20th to 26th) also a large amount of this stats may/is false as the media cut off always before Christmas Day, and in old times nearly up to 2 week before Christmas.
Blank
Don't know what you seem so confused about. The #1 of the most recent chart published before Christmas Day, therefore the #1 on Christmas Day itself, is the Christmas #1. Is not and never has been, what actually sells in the week that contains Christmas Day.
Probably never will be either, due to previous discussions. The 'false media cut off' is there to allow time to collate and publish the data in time to produce the Christmas chart. While the time needed to such a process is much quicker today, it's never going to be zero. It doesn't falsify the chart. If anything, having a defined sales period for the Christmas #1 (or any chart for that matter), makes it more accurate by keeping the sales periods equal, and therefore directly comparable.
Why do you consider the sales period during Christmas week to be the 'true' Christmas #1, rather than the top of the known collated chart?
Particularly when the result of which can never be announced for the day itself.
BleeUK
it makes a lot of sense to me, even my friend has never understood why the christmas chart on radio 1 cut off to early and never contain any sales or data at christmas time or even the big day, so the next charts would be very accurate, Christmas charts is a big false here as it should be branded as it the run up to christmas not at christmas so the 30th december would be true this year, than the 23rd as the data is taken in the past 7 days, this week ending system needs to be scrapped as it doesnt make sense even thought the billboards use this system, completely changing the theme if they did a Halloween time Chart of the year of 2023 in uk which one would you choose 27th October or 3rd November, to me 3rd November as that would contain 27th Oct to 2nd November at halloween time, maybe you would choose 27th but people who danced, party streamed download hit on 31st October would never reached that data, or been compiled as that would be taking before from 20th to 26th Only, that not Halloween yet!
Blank
The week-ending system actually benefits artists and the records. For one-day events, they get 2 chart weeks of publicity: the week of publication that the day falls in and the week after that contains the live sales.
What would you suggest changing it to? It's been good for 3661 singles weeks and counting...and 3470 albums weeks.
BleeUK
Yeah but you may agree with week ending and I get that and respect . I don’t agree with it as a chart date (as data units is taken before those dates covered) But you can not broadcast the Christmas charts before or at Christmas Day as the data has not finalised yet! You got to broadcast it after 25th make sense , That why the week after Christmas charts radio 1 broadcast has more Christmas impact in top 100 and very true merry Christmas, and looking forward to 30th December countdown the most Christmas week data
T
Titan
What happened to the actual Christmas songs ie. Last Christmas by Wham and Happy Xmas(War is Over) by John&Yoko for example.... Hardly seems like Xmas without them. Official Charts should change its name to Official Joke because that's what it's become
JF
Josh F
Probably for the factor both of them werent 'Christmas Number 1'. That'll probably be why they aren't on the list.
BleeUK
Wham Was Christmas #1 With Last Christmas in 2020 Up to 31st December Data Units, Ladbaby was #1 Before Christmas Up to 24th December 2020 Unit Data
R
RyanT
they should only tally numbers from the dec-jan period to get a true count of sales