Christmas Number 1 Contenders 2024: WHAM! vs Band Aid

As the UK's biggest chart race – the Official Christmas Number 1 – is close to getting underway, Official Charts is kicking off the festive season's favourite pop battle by spotlighting this year's key players.

First, we shone a festive fairy light on Tom Grennan and his yuletide newbie It Can't Be Christmas. Next up are perennial contenders WHAM! and Band Aid, the most iconic charity supergroup in Official Charts history. 

WHAM!'s melancholy festive bop Last Christmas and Band Aid's heartfelt charity anthem Do They Know It's Christmas? have been intertwined from the start. 

Back in December 1984, the WHAM! boys – George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley – released Last Christmas as a double A-side with Everything She Wants. The exuberant duo weren't just gunning for Christmas Number One, but also for their fourth chart-topper of 1984.

That year, they'd already made the summit with WHAM!'s Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go and Freedom, plus George's debut solo single Careless Whisper (which he co-wrote with Andrew).

MORE: Unsung heroes of festive pop: An Official Charts investigation

And WHAM! would have made it four out of four if it weren't for the unprecedented Band Aid phenomenon. Written by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure, and recorded in a single day at London's Sarm West Studios, the supergroup's stirring charity single Do They Know It's Christmas? was rush-released and sold over a million copies in its first week (December 7-13, 1984).

It went on to spend five consecutive weeks on top of the Official Singles Chart, a stellar run that encompassed that year's coveted Christmas Number 1 spot. In the process, Do They Know It's Christmas? raised over £8 million for the 1983–1985 famine in Ethiopia.

WHAM!'s Last Christmas / Everything She Wants had to settle for five weeks at Number 2, though in a way George Michael did score that year's Christmas Number 1 because he is one 37 credited vocalists on Do They Know It's Christmas? – he sings the first verse lyrics "But say a prayer / Pray for the other ones / At Christmas time".

And generously, he and Andrew Ridgeley donated all of their Last Christmas / Everything She Wants royalties to the Ethiopian famine relief fund.

The story has an even happier ending, though, because Last Christmas finally made it to Number 1 on January 1, 2021 – more than 37 years after its initial release! Then last year, it claimed the prestigious Christmas Number 1 spot for the first time as part of its month-long reign over the Official Singles Chart. 

There was just a hint of bittersweet to this victorious moment because George Michael, who died on Christmas Day in 2016, wasn't around to witness it.

Speaking to Official Charts at the time, Andrew Ridgeley said: "Last Christmas has finally ascended to the much-cherished and sought-after Official Christmas Number 1, which was always the main goal. 

“George would be beside himself [that] after all of these years, [we’ve] finally obtained Christmas Number 1. Yog [George] said that he wrote Last Christmas with the intention of writing a Christmas Number 1. It’s mission accomplished!"

Let's fast forward to this year, 2024, when the original 1984 Band Aid recording of Do They Know It's Christmas? is still one of the UK's biggest-selling singles of all time.

But now, it's gunning for Number 1 again in the form of the recently released Do They Know It's Christmas? 2024 Ultimate Mix. 

Assembled to mark Band Aid’s 40th anniversary, the new version was produced by Trevor Horn and features vocalists from the 1984 original, 2004’s Band Aid 20, and 2014’s Band Aid 30. All three versions have topped the Official Singles Chart, as did 1989’s Band Aid II.

The 2024 Ultimate Mix will benefit from nostalgia for the original Band Aid, not least because a fascinating documentary about the star-studded recording session is now available on BBC iPlayer. It features candid glimpses of Boy George, Bono, Bananarama, Status Quo, Spandau Ballet's Tony Hadley and many other artists who sang on the original 1984 recording of Do They It's Christmas?.

But only a fool would count out WHAM! – this year or any year. After all, Last Christmas has returned to the Top 3 during every holiday season since 2017, making it all the way to Number 1 in 2020, 2022 and 2023.

And at the time of writing, Last Christmas is hot on the heels of Gracie Abrams' That's So True for this week's Number 1 spot. Could 2024 be the year that roles are reversed and WHAM! pip Band Aid to Christmas Number 1? Keep checking back on OfficialCharts.com to find out how this year's Christmas Number 1 race pans out.

When will the 2024 Christmas Number 1 be revealed?

This year's Official Christmas Number 1 race 2024 kicks off Friday December 13 with sales and streams counting up until midnight (11.59pm) on Thursday, December 19.   

Tune in to The Official Chart on BBC Radio 1 on Friday December 20 from 4pm to hear the Christmas Top 40 countdown and the exclusive reveal of the Official Christmas Number 1 2024. 

The full Top 100 Official Christmas Singles Chart and Albums Chart will be published on OfficialCharts.com from 5.45pm. 

Join the conversation now using the hashtag #XmasNo1. Follow @OfficialCharts on TikTok, Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. For all the latest race updates join the Official Charts mailing list for Breaking News on this year’s race and beyond.

Image: Band Aid/Press