#1 – Merry Christmas Everyone by Shakin’ Stevens

And so here we are. Just under a month of blogs, and this is it, the 26th entry in my Christmas countdown. We’ve fed the world, stayed another day, and we haven’t let the bells down in our quest for festive chart glory, and we end here, the number one position filled with so much … Continue reading →

#2 – The Top Ten Christmas Number Two Singles Ever

I’ve long thought that finishing second is the worst place to be. You win, you’re a hero. If you come third, you can chill on the podium, cigarette in hand laughing at your luck. Even if you come last you can still turn into an Eddie The Eagle like hero, dining out for years on … Continue reading →

#3 – Do They Know It’s Christmas by Band Aid

Currently writing this entry while completely engrossed watching a match of darts on the TV. Darts is possibly the ultimate spectator sport, with the agony and ecstasy of the entire human existence is perfectly shown by two middle aged blokes throwing sticks against a big circle. In a way Christmas is like that too. It … Continue reading →

#4 – Stay Another Day by East 17

I was taking part in a music based pub quiz a couple of months ago, when my whole perception of the past changed. Amidst the usual quiz questions involving guessing songs based on opening lines, and lookalikes, there was one particular wringer which caused our entire table in unison to raise brows in quizzical disbelief. … Continue reading →

#5 – Lonely This Christmas by Mud

Despite being of the biggest stars in the world for nearly twenty years, Elvis Presley only achieved one Christmas number one, with Return To Sender in 1962. By 1974 Presley was on the downward stretch of his career, with peanut butter sandwiches and pills replacing the quiff and splendor of his youth. This decline was … Continue reading →

#6 – Killing In The Name by Rage Against The Machine

By 2009 the Christmas number one had become stale, with four successive years of X Factor winners reaching the top spot by Christmas day. Shayne Ward, Leona Lewis, Leon Jackson and Alexandra Burke had all had festive cheers, leaving many Brits who were not fans of the show staring forlornly into their stuffing when Winter … Continue reading →

#7 – Mad World by Michael Andrews and Gary Jules

In the days to come, specifically December 23rd we will be spending some time focusing on the great Christmas chart battles. Mariah Carey vs East 17, The Pet Shop Boys vs The Pogues, and who knows, maybe I’ll be able to rinse a little extra mileage out of the classic Girls Aloud vs One True … Continue reading →

#8 Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen

For a large percentage of this country, it’s impossible to have a fully satisfying Christmas Day without a little bit of Queen. At 3pm every December 25th, a nation unites to watch Elizabeth II chat utter nonsense for ten minutes. It just wouldn’t be the same without it, turkey, Top Of The Pops, and a … Continue reading →

#9 – Mull Of Kintyre by Wings

Christmas time is for celebration and contemplation, and it’s the latter we will be focusing on here. I’m sure somebody akin to Nelson Mandela once said something along the lines of “the less we say, the more we mean”, and if nobody has coined that phrase before, then I’m claiming it as my own. Paul … Continue reading →

#10 – Only You by The Flying Pickets

This time last year my Christmas based writing was limited to this article on The Office Christmas specials and the majesty and beauty of them. Here’s a paragraph from the article, detailing a key scene in the second episode: “A Christmas special would be nothing without a happy ending, and The Office didn’t disappoint in that … Continue reading →