The British Tradition of the Christmas Number One

In the United Kingdom there is no more prestigious time to have a number one song than the week in which Christmas Day falls. During most years there is usually intense competition among music artists to have the number one single on Christmas Day, better known simply as the "Christmas number one."

The sometimes intense scrutiny paid to the contest for the Christmas number one may seem to have existed since the beginning of the UK singles chart, but that actually isn't the case. The official UK Singles Chart was started in 1952, when it was published in The New Music Express (NME). There were certainly number one singles in the week during Christmas from the earliest days, but it does not seem that any more attention was paid to them than any other time of year. In fact, if my research is correct, the phrase "Christmas number one" with reference to the race for the number one single on Christmas Day did not appear in print until 1973. That year is significant, as two popular bands each released Christmas themed singles. Slade released  "Merry Xmas Everybody," while Wizzard released  "I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday." A rather intense competition developed between the two singles as to which would be the number one single on Christmas Day. In the end, Slade won with "Merry Xmas Everybody" going to number one. It has since become a British Christmas standard. As to Wizzard's "I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday," it peaked at number four.

While it may be a bit anachronistic to speak of Christmas number ones before 1973, the first single to be number one on Christmas Day on the official UK singles chart was also the first single to be number one on the chart, "Here in My Heart" by Al Martino. It was at number one when the chart was started on November 14 1952. It was still at number one during the week of Christmas. As to what was the first actual Christmas song to be number one during the week of Christmas, that would be "Christmas Alphabet" by Dickie Valentine in 1955. As to the record for the most number one singles during the week of Christmas, that  belongs to The Beatles. They hit number one during the week of Christmas with four singles: "I Want to Hold Your Hand" in 1963, "I Feel Fine" in 1964, "Day Tripper"/"We Can Work It Out" (a double A-side) in 1965, and "Hello Goodbye" in 1967.

Although it might seem odd, the majority of Christmas number ones have not been songs about Christmas. After Christmas themed Christmas number ones in both 1973 ("Merry Xmas Everybody" by Slade) and 1974 ("Lonely This Christmas" by Mud), "Bohemian Rhapsody" by Queen was the Christmas number one for 1975. "Another Brick in the Wall (Part 2)"  by Pink Floyd, "Don't You Want Me" by The Human League, "Reet Petite" by Jackie Wilson, and even "Killing in the Name" by Rage Against the Machine have all been Christmas number ones.

Given little attention was paid to what singles were number one during the week of Christmas prior to 1973, it should come as no surprise that it would be some time before the Christmas number one would be announced on Christmas Day. It was not until 1994 that the Christmas number one was actually announced on Christmas itself.

Since 1973 the annual attention paid to the race for the Christmas number one has been very much a part of British culture, so much so that the race for the Christmas number one formed one of the subplots of the movie Love Actually (2003). In the movie washed up rocker Billy Mack (Bill Nighy) records a Christmas themed cover of The Troggs' "Love is All Around" ("Christmas is All Around") in hopes of a comeback. As it turns out, "Christmas is All Around" is in competition with a single by the boy band Blue, their single being considered the odds-on favourite.

As to how having the number one single during Christmas became so significant in the United Kingdom, my guess it comes down to two things. The first is that Christmas remains the biggest holiday throughout the English speaking world, and this is no truer than anywhere than the United Kingdom. The second is that record sales in the United Kingdom increase to around 40%. The combination of the significance of Christmas and the increase in sales at Christmas both made having a number one single during the week of Christmas more prestigious than any other time of year.

After nearly fifty years of intense scrutiny being paid to the race for the Christmas number one, there appears to be no sign that the British public will stop paying attention to the Christmas number one. The favourite for this year's Christmas number one is "Sausage Rolls for Everyone" by LadBaby. If he wins the race for the Christmas number one, he will be tied with The Beatles for the most number one singles during the week of Christmas. We'll have to wait until Christmas 2022 to see if he breaks The Beatles' record.