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The Official Top 20 bestselling Christmas Number 1s
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Music is an essential part of any Christmas party, but have you noticed how many festive chart-toppers barely even mention a snowflake or a bauble, let alone Santa himself and his strange habit of plunging down your chimney?
Only twelve Official Christmas Number 1s have acknowledged the festive season; the rest are just the tunes people happened to love the most as the year came to an end. Because there's more to Christmas than jingle bells, so we count down the biggest selling chart-topping hits associated with the most wonderful time of the year.
MORE: Every Official Christmas Number 1 ever
Do They Know It's Christmas?
Sales: 3.82 million
Despite its overarching air of melancholy, the UK's top-selling festive chart-topper is both Christmas-themed AND a Christmas Number 1. The second biggest selling single of all time, Band Aid and their clanging chimes of doom first hit the top in 1984, spawning three successful cover versions which also went to Number 1. It's the only Xmas hit to sell over 3 million units - 3.82 million to be exact.
Band Aid - Do They Know Its Christmas? (1984) 
Bohemian Rhapsody
Sales: 2.62 million
Not particularly festive, but Bohemian Rhapsody has got serious Christmas credentials, scoring the Christmas Number 1 twice with the exact same version, sixteen years apart, on its first release in 1975 and again in 1991, following the death of lead singer Freddie Mercury. An impressive 2.62 million copies later, and it's the third biggest selling song of all time. See all of Queen's biggest albums and songs in their chart archive.
Queen - Bohemian Rhapsody (1975)
MORE: New Christmas songs for 2020: Will any become classics?
Mull of Kintyre
Sales: 2.09 million
The Official Singles Chart welcomed all kinds of unusual, unlikely hits in the '70s, and 1977's Christmas Number 1 was the mega-selling Mull of Kintyre from Wings, led by none other than former Beatle Paul McCartney. With 2.09 million copies sold, it's Macca's top selling single ever, more than any of his Beatles hits. What are the chances? Take a look at Wings' UK chart history in full.
Mary's Boy Child – Oh My Lord
Sales: 1.9 million
The UK's fourth biggest Christmas smash has got the lot: glitz, campery and, of course, actual Jesus popping up in the lyrics. Mary's Boy Child has hit Christmas Number 1 twice by separate artists: Boney M's disco-lite version from 1978 – like we said, the '70s were wild – is the biggest, though, with 1.9 million sales. Harry Belafonte's version is at 14, from 1957, on 1.19 million. See all Boney M's UK hit songs and albums
Boney M - Mary's Boy Child - Oh My Lord (1978)
I Want to Hold Your Hand
Sales: 1.82 million
The Beatles have the record for the most Christmas Number 1s – four – and three of them make the Top 20. Biggest selling, however, is the first: I Want to Hold Your Hand is on 1.82 million.
The Beatles - I Want To Hold Your Hand (1963)
QUIZ: Can you spot the Christmas Number 1?
I Will Always Love You
Sales: 1.66 million
The biggest selling Christmas Number 1 by a female solo artist, Whitney's dramatic rendition version of Dolly Parton's ballad soundtracked the movie The Bodyguard, topping the charts for ten weeks. 1.66 million of you bought this one, belting out the high note at Christmas karaoke, aided no doubt by potent eggnog. See all of Whitney's UK chart hits in her archive
1992: Whitney Houston – I Will Always Love You. Spent 10 weeks at the top and was also 1992's Christmas Number 1.
Hallelujah
Sales: 1.33 million
This relatively Christmassy Leonard Cohen cover from Alexandra Burke ruled the festive rundown in 2008. The first X Factor winner's single to be released on download right after the final, Hallelujah has sold 1.33 million copies and its nearest competition for Christmas Number 1 was another cover of the same song, this time by Jeff Buckley.
MORE: The 2020 Official Christmas Number 1 contenders
Merry Xmas Everybody
Sales: 1.32 million
Slade's classic shouty and raucous festive fave first hit the chart way back in 1973, becoming that year's Christmas Number 1, and the sixth and final chart-topper for the band. Since that first release, it's returned to the Top 40 ten times, peaking the highest in 2017, at Number 16. It's sold 1.32 million.
Slade - Merry Xmas Everybody (1973) 
2 Become 1
Sales: 1.15 million
Not a Christmas song, no, it's actually a thinly disguised sex education campaign, but 2 Become 1 topped the charts at Christmas 1996 and the girls look like they're half-frozen in the video, don't they? Luckily, they sold 1.15 million copies of this song, earning them enough cash to invest in hats, scarves, and an oil-filled radiator so they could warm up in time for their next two Christmas Number 1s. In our recent interview with Emma Bunton she reveals 2 Become 1 is her fave Spice Christmas song.
Spice Girls - 2 Become 1 (1996)
The Official Top 20 bestselling Christmas songs
| POS | TITLE | ARTIST | YEAR |
| 1 | DO THEY KNOW IT'S CHRISTMAS? | BAND AID | 1984 |
| 2 | BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY | QUEEN | 1975/1991 |
| 3 | MULL OF KINTYRE/GIRLS' SCHOOL | WINGS | 1977 |
| 4 | MARY'S BOY CHILD/OH MY LORD | BONEY M | 1978 |
| 5 | I WANT TO HOLD YOUR HAND | THE BEATLES | 1963 |
| 6 | I WILL ALWAYS LOVE YOU | WHITNEY HOUSTON | 1992 |
| 7 | DON'T YOU WANT ME? | HUMAN LEAGUE | 1981 |
| 8 | I FEEL FINE | THE BEATLES | 1964 |
| 9 | WE CAN WORK IT OUT/DAY TRIPPER | THE BEATLES | 1965 |
| 10 | HALLELUJAH | ALEXANDRA BURKE | 2008 |
| 11 | MERRY XMAS EVERYBODY | SLADE | 1973 |
| 12 | GREEN, GREEN GRASS OF HOME | TOM JONES | 1966 |
| 13 | EARTH SONG | MICHAEL JACKSON | 1995 |
| 14 | MARY'S BOY CHILD | HARRY BELAFONTE | 1957 |
| 15 | DO THEY KNOW IT'S CHRISTMAS? | BAND AID 20 | 2004 |
| 16 | ANOTHER BRICK IN THE WALL (PART 2) | PINK FLOYD | 1979 |
| 17 | 2 BECOME 1 | SPICE GIRLS | 1996 |
| 18 | THAT'S MY GOAL | SHAYNE WARD | 2005 |
| 19 | CAN WE FIX IT? | BOB THE BUILDER | 2000 |
| 20 | WHEN WE COLLIDE | MATT CARDLE | 2010 |
©2020 Official Charts Company. All rights reserved.
Listen to Every Official Christmas Number 1 on Spotify below:
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Bengy
Very little change in pure sales figures from last year.
Adding streams would make a big difference.
And allowing no. 2s such as Wham.
Janice
Did you know that White Christmas is the best selling song worldwide with over 50 million copies sold?
Bengy
Heading for article is,
The Official Top 20 bestselling Christmas Number 1s
Heading for top 20 list is,
The Official Top 20 biggest selling Christmas songs
So which is it - pure sales or sales plus streams?
GF
Gary Feld
this is pure sales
Johnny McVey
I'm guessing Stay Another Day must be #21?
GF
Gary Feld
YEP...I'd say so too....followed by Spice Girl's Goodbye
LM
Lee Moore
These all time lists are terribly inconsistent, some include streaming, some dont. IMO any such lists without streaming seem archaic. I assume Band Aid combined sales are over 4 million now? Also, Bohemian Rhapsody, in a recent queen best sellers list, was listed at 2.6 million, not the 2.55 quoted here...
Official Charts
Hi Lee. All time lists will differ depending on context. Consistently, any list focusing on sales only will be marked as 'bestselling', while all-time charts that include streaming are 'biggest'. Hope this clarification helps.
LM
Lee Moore
Appreciate the reply, thanks.
N
Nick
List is wrong. Should read Beatles - I Feel Fine 1964 & Beatles - We Can Work It Out/Day Tripper 1965
Sunshine Gal
so, do xmas themed music just chart on your guys' reg. albums and singles charts? bb's xmas holiday charts are only up during the xmas season. for example, mariah's 'all i want for xmas is you' is #1 on the holiday hot 100, but i don't think it's eligible to be on the main hot 100 chart. if it does, not in the upper regions, even if it was the #1 downloaded/streamed song for that week.
etin
İts eligable and was peaked #11 last year's hot 100
Sunshine Gal
you mean, mariah peaked @ #11 on the bb hot 100 or you guy's single charts?
etin
Hot 100
Sunshine Gal
oh really? well, i'm not surprised, she's been #1 on the holiday hot 100 each xmas season ever since that song came out. i think she holds the all time record for most wks @ #1 on the holiday hot 100 chart.
gabby evans
w dont have that many chart not official ones anyway
Sunshine Gal
oh ok thanks.
etin
İnteresting.. pogues & slade passed Mariah. What about their sales???? May u do a chart for only christmas themed songs
Sunshine Gal
we actually have a 'holiday hot 100' chart, where it's only xmas songs...same for a xmas albums chart. and mariah is always #1 on the holiday hot 100 all season long every year since 1994 :)
Bengy
Can we please have more official sales figures?
What has The Beatles "I want to hold your hand" now sold, with and without streams?
Bengy
Apparently 1,858,728 and 1,810,829 (so says OCC).