Alert – Full list of Christmas number ones revealed as Wham! tops the charts for 2023, including Elvis Presley’s Return to Sender and Whitney Houston’s I Will Always Love You

Wham! officially bagged the Christmas Number One title on Friday.

The festive season is back again, and so too are the epic Christmas tunes.

It’s been a close race to the top between The Pogues Fairytale Of New York and a cover of Wizard’s I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday  – but Wham! finally prevailed with their song Last Christmas, after initially bidding for and missing out on the Christmas top spot in 1984.

With the announcement of the festive number one, take a look a the most iconic Christmas chart toppers.

1952 – Here In My Heart, Al Martino

Al Martino was the first ever person to bag a Christmas UK Number One in the charts history (pictured 1952)

His tune Here In My Heart set a record for the longest charting single and was at the top of the UK charts for nine weeks

It’s only right that in our special mentions of Christmas Number Ones we tilt our heart to the first one ever. 

Landing the number one title on November 14, 1952, Here In My Heart by Al Martino also charted across bagging the pole position on the American charts as well.

The tune also set the record for the longest charting single, sitting at the top of the UK charts for nine weeks.

The song has since been sampled in numerous hit records, including One Dance by Drake, Rihanna’s Umbrella and Whitney Houston’s cover of I Will Always Love You. 

1962 – Return To Sender, Elvis Presley 

The King Of Rock and Roll – Elvis Presley – also scored himself a number one festive hit with Return To Sender in 1962 (pictured 1957)

The King Of Rock and Roll has had many hit tunes during his successful music career, notably when his song Return To Sender topped the charts in 1962.

The song, which was featured in the film Girls, Girls, Girls!, also managed to climb its way to number one in Ireland, and the number two spot in United States.

The smash hit was blocked from the top spot on the other side of the Atlantic by The Big Four Seasons’ Big Girls Don’t Cry. 

1963 -I Want To Hold Your Hand, Beatles 

The Beatles previously held the record for the most UK Christmas number ones ever (pictured 1967 left to right: Paul McCartney, John Lennon, Ringo Star and George Harrison)

They kicked off their three year festive streak with their hit single I Want To Hold Your Hand, which sold more than one million copies in the UK alone (pictured 1964)

It would not be a UK charts list if we did not mention one of the best bands to come out of the country – The Beatles.

The group, made up of Paul McCartney, John Lennon,  Ringo Star and George Harrison, achieved their first festive number one in 1963 with I Want To Hold Your Hand.

The smash hit flied off the shelves, selling more than one million copies in the UK alone.

It remained at the top for a whole 21 weeks, and the band continued to nab the festive number one title for the two years that followed, with  Day Tripper/ We Can Work It Out in 1964 and I Feel Fine the year after that.

1975 – Bohemian Rhapsody, Queen

Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen was not only the Christmas Number One in 1975 – it was also the best-selling single of the 20th century (pictured)

The smash hit also shot up to number one almost two decades later after the passing of the group’s frontman, Freddy Mercury in 1991 (pictured 1984)

Bohemian Rhapsody is perhaps one of the most iconic songs to ever be released, and is also achieved the shiny accolade of being number one in December 1975.

Although the song received mixed reviews when it first came out, it has achieved number one status in the UK two separate times.

Written by frontman, Freddie Mercury, the popular song from the band’s fourth album stayed at the stop spot for nine weeks when he died in 1991. 

it is the most streamed song of the 20th century and also achieved Diamond status in the US, selling more than 10 million copies.

1978 – Mary’s Boy Child, Oh My, Lord Boney M

Mary’s Boy Child – Oh My Lord is one of the first tunes that come to mind when you think of Christmas (pictured: Lord Boney M)

The cover of Harry Belafonte’s 1956 number one was the group’s best selling song of all time, shiften 1.89 million units

Mary’s Boy Child – Oh My Lord is one of the first tunes that come to mind when you think of Christmas.

The festive tune is a cover by Lord Boney M of Harry Belafonte’s 1956 number one hit, Mary’s Boy Child.

The song made its debut on the German TV show, Starparade, on November 2, 1978. 

It stayed on the top of the UK Chart for four weeks, and charted for another four, selling 1.89 million units, making it the groups best selling song of all time. 

1979 – Another Brick In The Wall Part Two, Pink Floyd

Pink Floyd bagged their only festive number one with their hit song Another Brick In The Wall Part Two. The song, released in 1979, was their first single launch since 1979 (pictured 1967, left to right: Nick Mason, Roger Waters, Syd Barrett and Rick Wright)

Written by bassist Roger Waters, Another Brick In The Wall Part Two is not the first song that jumps to mind when you think of Christmas cheer.

However, the quintissential British tune which features a children’s choir, bagged the prime position on the charts during Christmas in 1979.

The second part of the bands three-part album named The Wall was released at its own single – the band’s first since releasing Point Me At The Sky 11 years before.

It reached number one status in fourteen different countries and was even nominated for a Grammy Award. 

1992 – I Will Always Love You, Whitney Houston

Whitney Houston’s cover of Dolly Parton’s ballad I Will Always Love You skyrocketed to the number one spot in both the US and UK when it was released in 1992 (pictured)

The hit song stayed at the top of the US charts for an incredible 14 weeks, whilst it remained in the pole position of the UK charts for 10 (pictured 2012: Whitney Houston)

Whitney Houston’s cover of Dolly Parton’s song I Will Always Love You skyrocketed to number one after it was released in 1992.

The tune, which featured on The Bodyguard, stayed at number one in the US for a whopping 14 weeks, and was in the pole position on the UK version for 10. 

The hit not only achieved the Christmas number one status in the UK, it sold over 20 million copies across the world – bagging the title of best-selling single of all time by a female solo artist.

It was also the best selling single of the entire year when it was initially released. 

2006 – A Moment Like This, Leona Lewis

XFactor winners regularly dominated the UK Christmas number one spot for years, notably vocal powerhouse Leona Lewis (pictured 2007)

It may have been Shayne Ward who kicked off XFactor’s yearly dominance of the UK Christmas charts, but A Moment Like This by vocal powerhouse Leona Lewis is the cover everyone remembers.

The song was Kelly Clarkson’s first ever single after she won American Idol in 2002.

 However, the song reached peak popularity in the UK when it was covered by Leona Lewis when she bagged the XFactor crown in 2006.

Leona;s cover sold 914,000 copies, more than the entirety of the other songs in the top 40 combined.

2017 – Perfect, Ed Sheeran

Ed Sheeran’s Perfect was not only popular in the UK upon its release in 2017, it also charted number one in sixteen other countries including, , Canada and New Zealand (pictured 2017)

The red-headed musician created multiple remixes of the song with Beyoncé and Andrea Bocelli (pictured: Ed Sheeran in 2023)

Written by Ed Sheeran, the hit song was not only popular in the UK but across the glob, grabbing the number one spot in sixteen countries, including , Canada, Ireland and New Zealand.

He did multiple remixes of the song with musical icons such as Beyoncé and Andrea Bocelli.

Perfect also landed three nominations from the MTV Video Music Awards in 2018.

The smash hit was the seventh best selling tune of 2017 in America, selling 1,340,000 in the country alone. 

2018 – We Built This City, LadBaby  

The pair kicked off their five year reign of the UK Christmas charts in 2018 with We Built This City – and they even broke The Beatles’ record

Mark Hoyle, who goes by the online alias of LadBaby, has dominated the Christmas charts for the last five years, kicking off his reign with We Built This City in 2018.

The novelty tune centred around sausage rolls, is filmed with the internet personality’s wife, Roxanne.

After their first single, We Built This City, the duo went on to record, I Love Sausage Rolls, Dont Stop Me Eatin’, Sausage Rolls For Everyone – with Elton John and Ed Sheeran – and Food Aid.

The couple have raised well over a million pounds for charity with their jokey tunes and even stole the record for most Christmas number ones from The Beatles.

2019 – I Love Sausage Rolls, LadBaby

YouTube star LadBaby bagged the Christmas No.1 for a second year in 2019 with his novelty charity single I Love Sausage Rolls his wife Roxanne  (pictured)

YouTube star LadBaby bagged the Christmas No.1 for a second year in 2019 with his novelty charity single I Love Sausage Rolls.

His rise to the top of the charts saw him ward off stiff competition from the likes of Stormzy, Lewis Capaldi and Dua Lipa.

The festive song, a take on Joan Jett’s 1981 hit I Love Rock ‘n’ Roll, raised money for food bank charity The Trussell Trust.

LadBaby revealed at the time that he had reached out to Stormzy and Lewis Capaldi to collaborate on the track, but neither accepted his request. 

The dad-of-two and his wife Roxanne recorded the Christmas track at Abbey Road Studios.

2020 – Don’t Stop Me Eatin’, LadBaby

LadBaby celebrated landing the Christmas Number One spot alongside his wife, Roxanne for the third time in 2020 

LadBaby celebrated landing the Christmas Number One spot alongside his wife, Roxanne for the third time in 2020.

The Youtube star beat former TOWIE star Gemma Collins and diva Mariah Carey with the charity single Don’t Stop Me Eating, sung to the tune of Journey’s Don’t Stop Believing.

The hit was created to raise funds for The Trussell Trust which supports food banks, and it also marked the third time he landed a Christmas Number One.

LadBaby beat Gemma and pal Darren Day’s festive cover of Baby, It’s Cold Outside and Mariah Carey’s iconic hit All I Want For Christmas Is You. 

2021 – Sausage Rolls for Everyone, LadBaby ft Ed Sheeran and Elton John

LadBaby made chart history by securing the Christmas number one for a fourth consecutive year in 2021, becoming the first musician to do so in 70 years

LadBaby made chart history by securing the Christmas number one for a fourth consecutive year in 2021, becoming the first musician to do so in the 70 years of the Official Christmas Chart.

Mark and his wife Roxanne scored the top chart spot with the novelty track Sausage Rolls For Everyone featuring global superstars, Ed Sheeran and Sir Elton John.

The song was a sausage roll-themed charity rework of Ed and Sir Elton’s own festive single Merry Christmas, in aid of The Trussell Trust food banks.

The milestone means LadBaby surpassed music titans The Beatles and Spice Girls, who were the only other acts to score a consecutive hat-trick of festive number ones.

The track, which was released on December 17, 2021 proved to be a huge success, achieving more than 136,000 chart sales in its first week, according to the Official Charts Company. 

2022 – Food Aid, LadBaby

LadBaby made chart history in 2022 by securing the Christmas Number One for a fifth consecutive year surpassing a record set by The Beatles in the 1960s 

In 2021, LadBaby equalled the Beatles’ total of four Christmas number ones, earned by the Fab Four non-consecutively in 1963, 1964, 1965 and 1967 (L-R: The Beatles John Lennon, Sir Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr and George Harrison pictured in 1967)

LadBaby made chart history in 2022 by securing the Christmas Number One for a fifth consecutive year surpassing a record set by The Beatles in the 1960s.

Mark Hoyle and Roxanne, known as LadBaby Mum, claimed the top spot with their single Food Aid, a rework of the Band Aid song Do They Know It’s Christmas?

In the run-up to Christmas, the track sold more than 65,000 units to become the fastest-selling single of 2022 before 23 December that year.

Featuring a cameo from TV’s favourite financial expert, Martin Lewis, the lyrics are about the cost-of-living crisis.

In 2021, LadBaby equalled the Beatles’ total of four Christmas number ones, earned by the Fab Four non-consecutively in 1963, 1964, 1965 and 1967.

Profits from the single were split equally between food bank charity the Trussell Trust and the Band Aid Trust.

2023 – Wham! Last Christmas

Wham! secured the UK’s official Christmas number one with Last Christmas in 2023, 39 years after the track was released (former Wham! star Andrew Ridgeley pictured)

Last Christmas was first released in 1984 by George Michael (centre) and Andrew, but was famously beaten to the top spot by Band Aid’s charity single Do They Know It’s Christmas?

Wham! secured the UK’s official Christmas number one with Last Christmas in 2023, 39 years after the track was released.

Last Christmas was first released in December 1984 by pop duo George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley, but was famously beaten to the top spot by Band Aid’s charity single Do They Know It’s Christmas?.

The festive track has now made history as the longest ever journey to make it to the top spot in time for Christmas Day, according to the Official Charts Company.

Andrew said: ‘Last Christmas has finally ascended to the much-cherished and sought-after Official Christmas number one, which was always the main goal.

‘George would be beside himself (that) after all of these years, (we’ve) finally obtained Christmas number one. Yog (Michael) said that he wrote Last Christmas with the intention of writing a Christmas number one.

‘It’s mission accomplished.’

Andrew said it was a ‘huge disappointment’ for the pair not to reach the top spot in 1984 as they believed it was ‘nailed on’.

‘Had it not been for Band Aid’s Do They Know It’s Christmas?, it probably would’ve been number one,’ he said.

The festive track has now made history as the longest ever journey to make it to the top spot in time for Christmas Day, according to the Official Charts Company (L-R: George and Andrew pictured in 1983)

‘Thwarted for many years subsequent to that – the perennial bridesmaid – over recent years it seems it’s become part of the fabric of Christmas for a lot of people.

‘Christmas number one has been a long-held ambition for Yog (Michael) and I, and for the fans, too. It’ll mean a lot to Wham!’s legacy – it’s the crowning glory.’

Andrew said the song was ‘conceived as a Christmas number one’ as Michael had ‘lofty ambitions for himself as a songwriter’, before the band split in 1986.

Michael, who had an extensive solo career with singles including Careless Whisper, died on Christmas Day in 2016 aged 53.