The Christmas Number One is part of the festive traditions in the UK and has been for many years. Artists would clamour to be the person top of the charts over the festive period each year. Predicting who will be number one is as common as betting on whether there will be snow on December 25th each year!

Of course, many of the Christmas Number One songs have been all about the festive season, in many different aspects, forms and styles. From upbeat to downbeat, collaborations, to individual artists, from serious songs, to silly. There have been many Christmas Number One songs celebrating the festive season in all its forms.

Yet, occasionally, a totally off-the-beat song will be the Christmas number one. In this post, we will look at some of the craziest Christmas Number One songs over the years and just why they are a little unusual to be top of the charts at this time!

But first, let’s begin with a full rundown, Top of the Pops style, of every Christmas Number One in the UK from the very first back in 1952!

UK Christmas Number One Singles – 1952 to 2023

As you can see, there is an eclectic mix of songs in the list, including some surprising omissions (No Mariah Carey for example)and the usual array of gimmick songs from TV personalities and the cynical use of the Christmas Number One for a long list of reality TV talent show winners to try and grab their shot at fifteen minutes of fame. 

Outlined below are the five songs we’d pick as being the songs that are real shockers for Christmas Number One. Not in the sense that they are bad songs, but more in the sense that they don’t really fit in with the Christmas spirit!

Five Surprise Chart Toppers For Christmas Number One?

1965 – Day Tripper/We Can Work It Out by The Beatles

In the mid-1960s, the Beatles were at the peak of their popularity and had landed two previous Christmas number one singles in 1963 and 1964. Yet their choice of songs for this double A side single was an unusual one. Or perhaps it was just a good example of John Lennon’s dark humour at work!

The first song, Day Tripper, is about a man who has dumped a girl because “she only played one night stands”. This song is very famous for the refrain George Harrison plays throughout the verses of the songs.

Yet it is the second song that is perhaps the oddest choice for a Christmas single release. We Can Work It Out, songs somewhat hopeful and optimistic, but the song is a great example of Paul McCartney’s relentless optimism “We Can Work It Out” compared with Lennon’s more downbeat “Life is very short and there’s no time for fussing and fighting my friend”. 

Two songs, neither really very Christmassy in spirit, but brilliant enough to be Christmas Number one regardless!

1975 & 1991 – Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen

The fact Bohemian Rhapsody was number one is not at a surprise. However, the fact it was a Christmas Number One, not once but twice, is still somewhat baffling but perhaps indicative of the genius of Freddie Mercury and Queen. They crafted a Christmas hit song that starts with a man admitting to his mother he’s just killed somebody and was now set to pay the ultimate price! 

We take in Scaramouche (a 16th-century clown), Beelzebub (the devil) and Bismillah (an Arabic phrase meaning ‘In the name of Allah’) in the operatic middle section of the song. Then we finish with talk about stoning and spitting in his eye and leaving him to die. And we finish with the unapologetic “Nothing really matters, nothing really matters to me…Any way the wind blows.”

It is utterly brilliant but about as Christmassy as a Chicken Vindaloo smeared on a spaceship.  

1979 – Another Brick in the Wall (Part 2) by Pink Floyd

Four years later and we were treated to another outstanding, yet entirely unbefitting Christmas number one. Pink Floyd has released The Wall, their concept album about the alienation of a young pop star “Pink”.

A semi-autobiographical work of Roger Waters, the single Another Brick in the Wall (Part 2), together with its somewhat terrifying video, the song was a protest against corporal punishment and abusive schooling. 

2003 – Mad World by Michael Andrews and Gary Jules

Back in the early 2000s, there was a real mix of Christmas Number Ones but in 2003, the tone changed when perhaps the most downbeat song ever to be Christmas Number One hit the top of the charts.

Taken from the film Donnie Darko, a strange tale of time travelling and scary bunny masks, Michael Andrews and Gary Jules reworked the classic Tears for Fears song Mad World for the film.

The stripped back, slower-paced version, with the eye-catching video, proved to be a smash hit and took the Christmas Number One spot unexpectedly.

2009 – Killing In The Name Of by Rage Against the Machine

By 2009, many people had grown tired of X-Factor winners releasing their first single near to Christmas to wrap up being Christmas number one. The Anti-X-Factor protests grew loud and a campaign started online to ensure a different and entirely inappropriate single got to number one in place.

What followed was a concerted campaign to get the 1992 release Killing in the Name of by Rage Against the Machine to number one. Described as a “howling expletive-driven tirade against the ills of American society”, it contained the refrain “f*ck you, I won’t do what you tell me,” a direct reference to the manipulation of the charts by reality TV.

It worked and became the most controversial Christmas number one ever!

Famous But Never Made It To Christmas Number One!

Every year we hear many Christmas songs, but it is surprising that so many ‘classic’s never reached Christmas number one in the UK. Amongst those never to reach the top of the charts include:

• Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree – Brenda Lee
• The Power of Love – Frankie Goes to Hollywood
• All I Want For Christmas Is You – Mariah Carey
• Happy Xmas War is Over – John Lennon
• The Most Wonderful Time of the Year – Andy Williams
• Santa Baby – Eartha Kitt
• Fairytale of New York – The Pogues & Kirsty MacColl
• Wonderful Christmas Time – Paul McCartney
• White Christmas – Bing Crosby
• I Wish It Could be Christmas Everyday – Wizard
• Santa Claus is Coming to Town – Jackson 5
• Jingle Bell Rock – Bobby Helms
• Driving Home for Christmas – Chris Rea
• Frosty The Snowman – Cocteau Twins
• Step Into Christmas – Elton John
• Peace On Earth/Little Drummer Boy – Bing Crosby and David Bowie
• In Dulci Jubilo – Mike Oldfield

What’s The Betting For Christmas Number One In 2024?

A look at the latest odds for the Christmas Number One in 2024 reveals a mix of traditional songs, rehashed golden oldies and some non-festive songs released recently. 

All odds shown in this post were taken from bet365 Sport and were correct at the time of writing, but may have changed in the meantime.

Currently it is Wham’s festive hit Last Christmas which is the hot favourite to top the chart in 2024. At the time of writing, the famous duo of George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley are number two in the charts, having moved up from number eight last week.

Initially released in 1984, Last Christmas has charted in 1984, ‘85 and ‘86 and every year since 2007. It was a number 1 in 2020 and 2022 but not the Christmas number one. However in 2023, it achieved the feat of being Christmas number one for the first time. 

It is now favourite to be the Christmas number one again in 2024! With the main competition being Do They Know It’s Christmas from Band Aid, Merry Christmas by Ed Sheeran and Elton John and the current number one at the time of writing, That’s So True by Gracie Abrams.

Last Christmas – Fun Facts

• The song was recorded in August 1984. George Michael wrote the song, performed it and played every instrument on the track. Andrew Ridgeley presumably made the tea. 
• By December 2023, Last Christmas was the eighth best-selling single of all time in the UK. 
• Several other performers have re-recorded the song, including Whigfield, Ashley Tisdale, Crazy Frog, Cascada, the cast from Glee, Joe McElderry, Ariana Grande, and Carly Rae Jepsen.
• There’s a funny version that uses names from Facebook accounts to represent some of the lyrics from the song. You can see this below!

So it doesn’t look like we’ll be seeing a crazy Christmas number one in 2024 if the bookmakers are correct. But hopefully, in the next few years, we may find an unusual classic to add to the unusual Xmas chart toppers we’ve mentioned above!