Entertainment/UK Christmas number ones
From Quiz Revision Notes
| Act | Title | Weeks at No 1 | ||
| 1952 | Al Martino | Here in My Heart | 9 | First UK No 1 based on record sales |
| 1953 | Frankie Laine | Answer Me | 8 | Originally titled Mütterlein, with German lyrics. The song was banned by the BBC owing to the religious nature of the lyrics |
| 1954 | Winifred Atwell | Let’s Have Another Party | 8 | Pianist born in Trinidad |
| 1955 | Dickie Valentine | Christmas Alphabet | 8 | Real name Richard Maxwell. Opening lyric – “C is for the candy trimmed around the Christmas tree” |
| 1956 | Johnnie Ray | Just Walkin’ in the Rain | 7 | Written by two prisoners in Nashville |
| 1957 | Harry Belafonte | Mary’s Boy Child | 7 | Written by Jester Hairston in 1956 |
| 1958 | Conway Twitty | It’s Only Make Believe | 5 | Real name Harold Lloyd Jenkins. US Country singer |
| 1959 | Emile Ford & The Checkmates | What Do You Want to Make Those Eyes at Me For? | 6 | Real name Michael Emile Telford Miller. Born in Saint Lucia |
| 1960 | Cliff Richard & the Shadows | I Love You | 2 | Written by Bruce Welch |
| 1961 | Danny Williams | Moon River | 2 | Known as “Britain’s Johnny Mathis”. Song from Breakfast at Tiffany’s |
| 1962 | Elvis Presley | Return to Sender | 3 | Performed in the film Girls! Girls! Girls! |
| 1963 | The Beatles | I Want to Hold Your Hand | 5 | Remained in the UK top 50 for 21 weeks |
| 1964 | The Beatles | I Feel Fine | 5 | |
| 1965 | The Beatles | Day Tripper / We Can Work It Out | 5 | |
| 1966 | Tom Jones | Green, Green Grass of Home | 7 | Written by Curly Putman |
| 1967 | The Beatles | Hello, Goodbye | 7 | |
| 1968 | The Scaffold | Lily the Pink | 4 | Novelty song by Liverpool folk group. Based on a song titled The Ballad of Lydia Pinkham |
| 1969 | Rolf Harris | Two Little Boys | 6 | Written in 1902 and popularised by Harry Lauder |
| 1970 | Dave Edmunds | I Hear You Knocking | 6 | Cover version of a song written in 1955 |
| 1971 | Benny Hill | Ernie (The Fastest Milkman in the West) | 4 | Novelty song inspired by Benny Hill’s experience as a milkman |
| 1972 | Jimmy Osmond | Long Haired Lover from Liverpool | 5 | Youngest member of The Osmonds, who at age 9 became the youngest chart topper ever |
| 1973 | Slade | Merry Xmas Everybody | 5 | First year that groups released festive songs to try and reach the top of the charts at Christmas |
| 1974 | Mud | Lonely This Christmas | 4 | Written by Mike Chapman and Nicky Chinn |
| 1975 | Queen | Bohemian Rhapsody | 9 | UK's third best-selling single of all time |
| 1976 | Johnny Mathis | When a Child is Born (Soleado) | 3 | Soleado was the original melody |
| 1977 | Wings | Mull of Kintyre / Girls’ School | 9 | First No 1 for Paul McCartney since he was a Beatle. First single to sell over two million copies nationwide |
| 1978 | Boney M | Mary’s Boy Child – Oh My Lord | 4 | Cover of Harry Belafonte's 1957 song, put in medley with the new song Oh My Lord |
| 1979 | Pink Floyd | Another Brick in the Wall (Part 2) | 5 | Features children from Islington Green School |
| 1980 | St Winifred’s School Choir | There’s No One Quite Like Grandma | 2 | Choir from a Stockport primary school |
| 1981 | The Human League | Don’t You Want Me | 5 | New Romantic band |
| 1982 | Renee and Renato | Save Your Love | 4 | UK-based Italian tenor (Renato Pagliari) and English girl (Hilary Lester) |
| 1983 | The Flying Pickets | Only You | 5 | A cappella group. Cover version of the song by Yazoo |
| 1984 | Band Aid | Do They Know It’s Christmas? | 5 | Written by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure to raise money for the famine in Ethiopia. Sold a million copies in the first week and three million copies in total. First line is sung by Paul Young |
| 1985 | Shakin’ Stevens | Merry Christmas Everyone | 2 | Real name Michael Barrett |
| 1986 | Jackie Wilson | Reet Petite | 4 | Originally released in 1957. Wilson died in 1984 |
| 1987 | Pet Shop Boys | Always on My Mind | 4 | Cover version of a 1972 song that was a hit for Elvis Presley |
| 1988 | Cliff Richard | Mistletoe and Wine | 4 | First solo No 1 for nine years. Written for a musical called Scraps, which was an adaptation of The Little Match Girl |
| 1989 | Band Aid II | Do They Know It’s Christmas? | 3 | Produced by Stock Aitken Waterman. First line is sung by Kylie Minogue. Cliff Richard was also a singer on the record |
| 1990 | Cliff Richard | Saviour’s Day | 2 | |
| 1991 | Queen | Bohemian Rhapsody / These Are the Days of Our Lives | 5 | Re-issue of the 1975 hit, following the death of Freddie Mercury |
| 1992 | Whitney Houston | I Will Always Love You | 10 | Included on the soundtrack of The Bodyguard. No 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for a then-record-breaking 14 weeks |
| 1993 | Mr Blobby | Mr Blobby | 3 | Novelty song performed by the character from Noel's House Party. Often ranked as the worst Christmas No 1 in history |
| 1994 | East 17 | Stay Another Day | 5 | |
| 1995 | Michael Jackson | Earth Song | 6 | Presented as a world conservation statement |
| 1996 | Spice Girls | 2 Become 1 | 3 | Third single released by the Spice Girls |
| 1997 | Spice Girls | Too Much | 2 | |
| 1998 | Spice Girls | Goodbye | 1 | First song following the departure of Geri Halliwell |
| 1999 | Westlife | I Have a Dream / Seasons in the Sun | 4 | I Have a Dream is a cover version of an ABBA song. Seasons in the Sun is the cover of a hit for Terry Jacks |
| 2000 | Bob the Builder | Can We Fix It? | 3 | Theme song from the preschool TV programme Bob the Builder. Vocals on the song are provided by Neil Morrissey |
| 2001 | Robbie Williams & Nicole Kidman | Somethin’ Stupid | 3 | Cover of a song written by C. Carson Parks and made famous by Frank and Nancy Sinatra |
| 2002 | Girls Aloud | Sound of the Underground | 4 | First year that the competition for the Christmas No 1 was dominated by reality television contests. Girls Aloud was created through Popstars: The Rivals and the record was released on 16 December |
| 2003 | Michael Andrews & Gary Jules | Mad World | 3 | Cover version of the Tears for Fears song. Recorded for the soundtrack of Donnie Darko |
| 2004 | Band Aid 20 | Do They Know It’s Christmas? | 4 | First line is sung by Chris Martin |
| 2005 | Shayne Ward | That’s My Goal | 4 | Winner of the second series of The X Factor |
| 2006 | Leona Lewis | A Moment Like This | 4 | Winner of the third series of The X Factor. Cover of a Kelly Clarkson song |
| 2007 | Leon Jackson | When You Believe | 3 | Winner of the fourth series of The X Factor. Cover of a Stephen Schwartz song from The Prince of Egypt |
| 2008 | Alexandra Burke | Hallelujah | 3 | Winner of the fifth series of The X Factor. Cover of a Leonard Cohen song |
| 2009 | Rage Against the Machine | Killing in the Name | 1 | Result of a campaign to prevent the winner of The X Factor (Joe McElderry) from achieving the No 1 single. First download-only single to become the Christmas No 1 |
| 2010 | Matt Cardle | When We Collide | 3 | Winner of the seventh series of The X Factor. Studio version of Many of Horror by Biffy Clyro |
| 2011 | Military Wives with Gareth Malone | Wherever You Are | 1 | Charity record |
| 2012 | The Justice Collective | He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother | 1 | Proceeds went to various charities associated with the Hillsborough disaster |
| 2013 | Sam Bailey | Skyscraper | 1 | Winner of the tenth series of The X Factor. Cover of a Demi Lovato song |
| 2014 | Ben Haenow | Something I Need | 1 | Winner of the eleventh series of The X Factor. Cover of a song by OneRepublic |
| 2015 | Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Choir | A Bridge Over You | 1 | Charity record |
| 2016 | Clean Bandit ft. Sean Paul and Anne-Marie | Rockabye | 9 | The song alludes to the nursery rhyme and lullaby, Rock-a-bye Baby |
| 2017 | Ed Sheeran | Perfect | 6 | |
| 2018 | LadBaby | We Built This City | 1 | Mark Hoyle and his wife Roxanne. Proceeds from the charity single went to The Trussell Trust. Parody cover of We Built This City by Starship |
| 2019 | LadBaby | I Love Sausage Rolls | 1 | Parody cover of I Love Rock 'n' Roll by Alan Merrill |
| 2020 | LadBaby | Don’t Stop Me Eatin’ | 1 | Parody cover of Don't Stop Believin' by Journey |
| 2021 | LadBaby ft. Ed Sheeran and Elton John | Sausage Rolls for Everyone | 1 | Based on Merry Christmas, which became a chart-topper for featured artists Ed Sheeran and Elton John in December 2021 |
| 2022 | LadBaby | Food Aid | 1 | Based on Do They Know It's Christmas? and featured Martin Lewis. Half of the money raised went to the Trussell Trust and the other half to the Band Aid Trust |
| 2023 | Wham! | Last Christmas | 4 | Originally released in 1984. Whamageddon is a game in which players try to go from 1 December to the end of 24 December without hearing Last Christmas |
| 2024 | Wham! | Last Christmas | 3 | First song to be Christmas number one in consecutive years |
The UK Singles Chart began in 1952 in the New Musical Express
LadBaby are the only act with five Christmas number ones
The Beatles are the only act with four Christmas number ones
Biggest-selling songs – 1st Do They Know It’s Christmas? 2nd Bohemian Rhapsody 3rd Mull of Kintyre / Girls’ School
The first song to get the Christmas Number one twice by the same artist was Bohemian Rhapsody
Mary's Boy Child is the only song to be Christmas number one for two artists
I Will Always Love You is the only song to be Christmas number one that remained in the top position for ten weeks
Last Christmas is the only song to be Christmas number one in consecutive years
