Nothing helps you get in the festive spirit quite like Christmas music.
Maybe that's why in December, the charts at one point seemed like a bigger deal than at other times of the year. But despite all the festive hymns, carols, songs and covers there are, the honour of Christmas number one hasn't always gone to an actual Christmas song.
The official UK singles chart was first published in 1952, with the Irish chart not appearing until a decade later in 1962. From songs by children's figures to celebrity charity ensembles to reality show winners, the annual spot has been occupied by any and every genre of music across both charts. Though the number one Christmas spot has often been occupied by the same song in both regions over the years, there has also been some variation.
Read more: In pictures: Christmas in Northern Ireland throughout the years
We decided to take a look back on the Christmas number ones of ten, 20, 30, 40, 50 and 60 years ago as Christmas 2022 approaches. As there's no official chart data for what singles had the highest sales at Christmas in Northern Ireland specifically over the years, we ensured our list compares the UK and Irish charts to best capture what people were listening to here.
Take a walk down memory lane below. Songs that went number one in one region and not the other are specified.
1962
Elvis Presley - Return to Sender
Other notable mentions from the 60s include the Beatles, who obtained four UK Christmas number ones throughout the decade with 'I Want to Hold Your Hand' (1963), 'I Feel Fine' (1964), 'Day Tripper'/'We Can Work It Out' double A-side (1965) and 'Hello, Goodbye' (1967).
1972
Jimmy Osmond - Long Haired Lover from Liverpool (UK)
Thin Lizzy - Whiskey in the Jar (Ireland)
Christmas songs did actually top the charts in both the UK and Ireland during the 70s, such as Slade's 'Merry Christmas Everybody' (1973), Mud's 'Lonely This Christmas' (1974), Johnny Mathis' 'When a Child Is Born (Soleado)' (1976) and Boney M's 'Mary's Boy Child – Oh My Lord' (1978).
1982
Renée and Renato - Save Your Love
This was also the decade that brought us iconic Christmas number ones like the Flying Pickets' 'Only You' (1983), Shakin' Stevens' 'Merry Christmas Everyone' (1985), Cliff Richards' 'Mistletoe and Wine' (1988), Band Aid's 'Do They Know It's Christmas' (1984 and 1989) and 'Fairytale of New York' by the Pogues ft. Kirsty MacColl (number one in Ireland, 1987).
1992
Whitney Houston - I Will Always Love You
Though the year 1990 saw Christmas songs top the charts in both Ireland ('The Christmas No. 1' by Zig and Zag) and the UK (Cliff Richard's 'Saviour's Day'), East 17's 'Stay Another Day' was the only other festive tune to earn a number one during the decade in both regions (in 1994). Take That took the number one spot in Ireland in 1993 (with 'Babe'), but were beaten out by Mr Blobby's self-titled single in the UK the same year.
The Spice Girls also dominated December charts during the decade, earning a Christmas number one in 1996 (with '2 Become 1') and 1998 (with 'Goodbye') in both regions and in 1997 in the UK (with 'Too Much').
2002
Girls Aloud - Sound of the Underground (UK)
Eminem - Lose Yourself (Ireland)
Eminem also earned the Christmas number one in Ireland in 2000, with 'Stan' (ft. Dido) - a big contrast to the UK's number one that year (Bob the Builder's 'Can We Fix It?'). The 00s also gave rise to the talent show Christmas number one tradition: Pop Idol star Will Young earned it in Ireland in 2003 with 'Leave Right Now', X Factor's Shayne Ward earned it in the UK in 2005 with 'That's My Goal' and the tradition was continued by X Factor winners in both regions for the rest of decade (with the exception of Rage Against the Machine's 'Killing in the Name' taking the spot in the UK in 2009).
2012
The Justice Collective - He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother (UK)
James Arthur - Impossible (Ireland)
Other X Factor winners continued to top the Christmas charts in Ireland and the UK for the first half of the 2010s: Matt Cardle's 'When We Collide' and Sam Bailey's 'Skyscraper' took the top spot in both regions in 2010 and 2013 respectively. Little Mix earned the spot in Ireland in 2011 with 'Cannonball', while Ben Haenow did so in the UK in 2014 with 'Something I Need'.
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