In this week's Official Chart, there are a jawdropping fifteen Christmas songs in the Top 20, and Wham sit at number one once again with their 1984 snowy classic Last Christmas.
It may have lost out to Band Aid first time round, but these days it's on everyone's festive Spotify playlist. The Christmas chart topper will be crowned next Friday, and I can't be alone in raising a large glass of Baileys to toast the fact LadBaby is not releasing another sausage roll themed abomination this year. I have made a donation to the Trussell Trust to mark this momentous news.
But who is set to take the title next weekend? It's really difficult for any new Christmas songs to break through, even though things are weighted under chart rules to favour newer tracks. We have Sam Ryder at number 12 at the time of writing with That's Christmas To Me. The ever-friendly Eurovision bearded wonder has come up with a really catchy little song, which he says he wrote on a hot summer's day in August. Listening to it is like rolling around in a field of candy canes. It's rather excellent.
Cher has come up with DJ Play A Christmas Song, which is my personal favourite. She seems to have used the same autotune technology as she employed for 1998's biggest seller, Believe, and once you've heard it a couple of times, it's one of those pop songs that gets lodged into your head. It's fun, it doesn't take itself too seriously, and frankly Cher is a bit of a legend.
Looking at the Top 20, Mariah Carey is at number two with All I Want For Christmas Is You, mirroring her 1994 chart placing behind East 17's Stay Another Day (which wasn't originally a festive song, but hey anything can be once you add some sleigh bells, right?!). Pogues' Fairytale Of New York is at number four, and with Shane MacGowan recently passing away, it would be a nice tribute for his song to top the hit parade on what would have been his 66th birthday on Christmas Day.
Brenda Lee is just outside the top five, and currently at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in America, with Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree. For a song that's over six decades old, it's still incredibly popular, and sounds fantastic with a mince pie and some mulled wine. It was her 79th birthday this week, so a rather nice present to land the American number one slot!
Ed Sheeran and Elton John's Merry Christmas is not for me, and sounds a bit like it's been produced in a beige festive factory, but it's clearly popular with many. And it's far better than the awful sausage roll version that came out a couple of years ago, which gave me heartburn and required an immediate dose of Rennie.
Michael Buble, Bobby Helms, and Shakin' Stevens are all inside the Top 10, whilst Ariana Grande and Kelly Clarkson are the only two new ish entries in the Top 20. I guess streaming has changed the charts beyond all recognition. Even Baby Shark has made a recent re-entry into the lower reaches of the Top 100, a song I once played at a Christmas party and filled the dancefloor!
It's tough for new artists to break through, with revenue per stream minimal. This is one of the reasons I love the Tameside Radio Local Music Spotlight (which has its own Spotify playlist, by the way). It's a great way of discovering new music, and giving a bit of publicity to talented local artists in Tameside and Glossop. We've got plans to continue it into 2024, with its guru Dave Sweetmore hosting a night in Oldham next month showcasing seven artists we have previously featured. Details are on the Tameside Radio website of how to grab your early bird tickets.
In the meantime, do chart positions still matter? I remember the fuss when Rage Against The Machine beat Joe McElderry to the number one slot, and there was an imprompty moshpit at my cousin Rachel's wedding! But has there been a really good festive number one since the 90s? Is the chart still relevant? Sam Ryder seems excited to be at number 12, so I guess it must have a certain amount of kudos.
Spare a thought for long suffering retail workers, who have been listening to the same songs on a loop since Halloween. Never mind...it will soon be Easter.
