And this year's Christmas No1 is… Wham! with a 25-year-old song

Published on Monday 1 December 2008 21:38

THE race for the Yuletide chart No1 may have become a one-horse race, thanks to The X Factor, but when it comes to the nation's favourite festive songs, the Ghost of Christmas Past reigns supreme.

Nearly 25 years after it narrowly missed out on the coveted slot at the peak of the charts, Wham!'s Last Christmas has topped a list of the most-played Christmas songs.

The saccharine hit, written by George Michael at his mother's house while Match of the Day played in the background, is the festive song most popular with radio, television, online and public broadcasts, according to the Performing Right Society (PRS), the body which collects royalties on behalf of artists.

Despite its ubiquity, and the fact it sold about a million copies at the time of its release, the song never made it to No1. That honour fell to Band Aid's Do They Know It's Christmas?, ironically featuring George Michael's vocals and now pipped into second place on the PRS list.

The rest of the list consists of older festive songs, with only one number from the 1990s.

The enduring popularity of Christmas classics was demonstrated last year when, courtesy of download sales, no fewer than nine of the acts on the PRS list once more reached the Top 40.

The PRS has Band Aid at No2, while at three are The Pogues, who recorded Fairytale of New York with the late Kirsty MacColl.

Mariah Carey's All I Want for Christmas is You came fourth, ahead of Bruce Springsteen's version of the popular standard, Santa Claus is Comin' to Town, which was in fact a B-side on one of his singles.

Recorded live at Long Island University in 1975, it famously features Springsteen bursting into laughter.

Even songs not intended as Christmas hits made the list. When Jona Lewie wrote Stop the Cavalry, it was intended to convey an anti-war message.

But the lyric, "wish I was at home for Christmas", coupled with its brass band arrangement and chiming bells, saw it become a festive standard and take the No6 spot on the PBS playlist.

However, most surprising are the relatively low positions of two of the most famous Christmas songs of all time, Wizzard's I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday and Slade's Merry Xmas Everybody.

The iconic glam rock recordings only made No7 and No8 respectively, while Mud's Lonely This Christmas was ninth.

Propping up the list is one of the oldest quintessentially festive songs, Bing Crosby's White Christmas.

The crooner's take on the Irving Berlin song, which was originally featured in the film Holiday Inn, has sold tens of millions of copies. It was released in 1942, more than a decade before the New Musical Express launched a British singles chart in 1952.

The PBS list takes into account how often songs are played on radio, television and jukeboxes, as well as live concerts and even karaoke events.

TOP 10

1. Last Christmas – Wham! ( 1984; top position 2)

2. Do They Know It's Christmas? – Band Aid (1984; 1)

3. Fairytale Of New York – Kirsty MacColl and The Pogues (1987; 2)

4. All I Want for Christmas Is You – Mariah Carey (1994; 2)

5. Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town (B-side of My Hometown) – Bruce Springsteen (1985; 9)

6. Stop The Cavalry – Jona Lewie (1980; 3)

7. I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday – Wizzard (1973; 4)

8. Merry Christmas Everybody – Slade (1973; 1)

9. Lonely This Christmas – Mud (1974; 1)

10. White Christmas – Bing Crosby (released in 1942 prior to UK charts)

Sing it again, George

CHORUS x2:

Last Christmas

I gave you my heart

But the very next day you gave it away

This year

To save me from tears

I'll give it to someone special

Once bitten and twice shy

I keep my distance

But you still catch my eye

Tell me baby

Do you recognise me?

Well

It's been a year

It doesn't surprise me

I wrapped it up and sent it

With a note saying "I love you"

I meant it

Now I know what a fool I've been

But if you kissed me now

I know you'd fool me again

(CHORUS]

A crowded room

Friends with tired eyes

I'm hiding from you

And your soul of ice

My god I thought you were

Someone to rely on

Me?

I guess I was a shoulder to cry on

A face on a lover with a fire in his heart

A man under cover but you tore me apart

Now I've found a real love you'll never fool me again

(CHORUS x2]

A face on a lover with a fire in his heart

A man under cover buy you tore him apart

Maybe next year I'll give it to someone

I'll give it to someone special