Monday, 17 December 2012

Continuing on from the earlier blog on Christmas number ones. 1975 saw Queen at number one with their classic "Bohemian Rhapsody" and over the next few years we had several normal hits at the top over Christmas, Until 1980 when just about every Grandma in the country was given the same record for Christmas. St. Winifred's School Choir singing "There's no one quite like Grandma"


(In 2009 the choir reformed and re-recorded their hit for an Help the Aged campaign)


1981 saw the Human League hit the top spot with "Don't you want me" before 1982 saw yet another novelty hit reaching number one for a total of four weeks. Renee & Renato with "Save your love"


This was such a big hit that Kenny Everett did his own parody on his TV show


The following year the top spot was held for five weeks by The Flying Pickets with their accapella version of Yazoo's "Only You"


1984 was the year of Band Aid. This was the year that all record shops in the UK gave up any profits on the single for the charity set up by Bob Geldoff. "Do they know it's Christmas" became one of the fastest produced and released singles of all time, and sold by the millions. It is still played all over the world every year, and has been re-recorded by generations of singers since.


1985 Shakin' Stevens reached the number one slot at Christmas with "merry Christmas everyone" staying their for just two weeks.


1986 we had Jackie Wilson reach the top with "Reet Petite" this was due to a TV advert for beer featuring plasticine animation



The Pet Shop Boys enjoyed four weeks at number one in 1987 with "Always on my mind" and the following year saw Cliff Richard hit the top with"Mistletoe and wine" and started the myth that he always had a hit each Christmas. Thankfully this was not true, though he did manage to hit number one with "Saviour's day" at the start of the next decade.

The last Christmas number one saw the first of the up-dated versions of Band Aid's hit, this time by Band Aid 20.

To finish with here's one Christmas song from the eighties that wasn't a hit, but is worth a listen.

They Might be Giants "Santa's beard"

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