The World Cup anthem from the Lightning Seeds with Frank Skinner and David Baddiel, released in 1998, may top the charts again, if England are successful
(Picture: PA Archive)With just nine weeks until Christmas, the excitement is building. And each year, the question on many music lovers’ lips is: who will nab the Christmas number one spot in the charts?
Christmas 2021 saw LadBaby take the top spot, with their song Sausage Rolls for Everyone. It featured Ed Sheeran and Elton John and was LadBaby’s record fourth consecutive Christmas number one.
And in 2020, LadBaby also secured the top spot, with Don’t Stop Me Eatin’.
But, with the World Cup taking place this winter, the 1998 banger by the Lightning Seeds, Baddiel and Skinner could take number one.
But what are the odds this year? Here is everything you need to know.
What are the odds of who could be Christmas number one this year?
Leading bookmaker William Hill has made the anthem by the Lightning Seeds, David Baddiel, and Frank Skinner one of the frontrunners for this year’s UK Christmas number one after the news that their Three Lions anthem could be set for a festive comeback.
Three Lions could be due a re-release, with adapted lyrics, and the betting firm has given odds of 7/1 for the anthem to top the UK Singles Chart on the week of Christmas Day.
Football anthem Three Lions could be updated with references to England’s Euros 2022 success and Christmas in time for this year’s winter World Cup, singer Ian Broudie has said.
Broudie, of the Lightning Seeds, said the way the Lionesses embraced it after their win made him consider a remake.
He told the BBC it was not “100 per cent definite, but I think it is definitely on the cards”.
That information was enough to pique the bookies’ interest - but not as much as a song that may not even exist yet.
William Hill has rated 2021 Christmas number-one holder Ladbaby as the frontrunner, with odds at 6/1 - even though there is no single on the horizon.
Ladbaby has not confirmed whether they will be releasing a Christmas song or not this year. But the couple, Mark Hoyle and Roxanne Hoyle, has taken the spot for four consecutive years (2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021), so the bookies are betting that a song is in the works.
Other candidates to compete for the title include Elton John (8/1), Michael Buble (9/1), and Cliff Richard (10/1).
“World Cup fever will be hitting the streets of the UK again this year, albeit in a slightly unfamiliar and frostier period,” said William Hill spokesman Lee Phelps.
“We’re all eager to see how well Baddiel and Skinner’s Three Lions’ single performs, and our odds of 7/1 for it to be this year’s Christmas number one suggest it may be a contender to top the festive charts.
“Ladbaby is the frontrunner, after swooping the accolade again last year, but keep an eye out for the much-loved football anthem, as England fans roar on their team during the World Cup this winter.”
Full list of odds for the UK Christmas Number One 2022:
- Ladbaby - 6/1
- Baddiel, Skinner & The Lightning Seeds - 7/1
- Elton John - 8/1
- Michael Buble - 9/1
- Cliff Richard - 10/1
- BAR - 12/1
