"cover of the disco song ""Don't Leave Me This Way"". The band included singer Jimmy Somerville who had previously enjoyed success with Bronski Beat, and later started a solo career. The Christmas number one single was something of a surprise, a re-issue of Jackie Wilson's 1957 single ""Reet Petite"". Wilson had died in 1984, but the song been re-issued after being used in a television advert for Levi's, with a new video made of a Claymation version of Wilson. Having first been released 29 years earlier, it broke the record for the longest time between a single being released and"
"million copies by the end of January 1976. It reached number one again in 1991 for another five weeks when the same version was re-released following Mercury's death, eventually becoming the UK's third-best-selling single of all time. It is also the only song to be the UK Christmas number one twice by the same artist. It topped the charts in several other markets as well, including Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, and The Netherlands, later becoming one of the best-selling singles of all time selling over six million copies worldwide. In the United States, the song originally peaked at number"
"sixteen consecutive weeks, a record that remains to this day. It also became the biggest selling single of the year, selling over a million copies. The Christmas number one single this year was Queen's ""Bohemian Rhapsody"", re-issued after the death of Freddie Mercury in November, coupled with ""These Are the Days of Our Lives"". As ""Bohemian Rhapsody"" had previously hit the top in 1975 (also becoming the Christmas number one) it became the first song ever, not counting re-entries, to hit number 1 twice. The death of Joy Finzi, who had founded the Finzi Trust in 1969 to commemorate her"
"George Michael George Michael (born Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou, 25 June 1963 – 25 December 2016) was an English singer, songwriter, record producer, and philanthropist who rose to fame as a member of the music duo Wham! and later embarked on a solo career. He was widely known for his work in the 1980s and 1990s, including hit Wham! singles such as ""Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go"" and ""Last Christmas"" and solo albums such as ""Faith"" (1987) and ""Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1"" (1990). Michael achieved seven number one singles in the UK and eight number one songs on the"
"went to number one on 29 December 1990, becoming that year's Christmas number one and replacing the previous week's UK number one, ""Ice Ice Baby"" by Vanilla Ice. A week later ""Saviour's Day"" dropped back down to number three, and spent only one more week in the top 40 at number twenty. The final charted spot in the top 100 was on 19 January 1991, when ""Saviour's Day"" was at number 53. The song was Richard's second solo Christmas number one in the UK, after ""Mistletoe and Wine"" in 1988. In 2005, ""Saviour's Day"" was one of two songs by"
"for five weeks. Before Lennon was shot in New York City on 8 December 1980, the single had reached number 6 on the US charts. It climbed to number 1 for the week ending 27 December. ""Billboard"" ranked it at the No. 4 song for 1981. In the UK it had peaked at number 8 in the charts and had fallen to position number 21 before Lennon's death propelled it to number 1. It was overtaken to the Christmas Number One Single rank by the St Winifred's School Choir's ""There's No One Quite Like Grandma,"" finishing at number 2 on"
"five weeks, becoming the Christmas number one of 1984. The record became the fastest selling single in UK chart history, selling a million copies in the first week alone and passing 3 million on the last day of 1984, on the way to displacing Wings's ""Mull of Kintyre"" as the biggest-selling single of all time in the UK. It held this title until 1997 when it was overtaken by Elton John's ""Candle in the Wind 1997"", released in tribute to Diana, Princess of Wales following her death. The original version of ""Do They Know It's Christmas?"" has sold 3.8 million"
"(including two in the traditionally-black Soul/R&B category), and two Grammy Awards from eight nominations. George Michael George Michael (born Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou, 25 June 1963 – 25 December 2016) was an English singer, songwriter, record producer, and philanthropist who rose to fame as a member of the music duo Wham! and later embarked on a solo career. He was widely known for his work in the 1980s and 1990s, including hit Wham! singles such as ""Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go"" and ""Last Christmas"" and solo albums such as ""Faith"" (1987) and ""Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1"" (1990). Michael achieved"
"relatively popular in the UK and Ireland, it remains largely overshadowed by a collection of chart hits recorded in a bid to be crowned the UK Christmas number one single during the 1970s and 1980s. Band Aid's 1984 song ""Do They Know It's Christmas?"" is the second best selling single in UK Chart history. The 1987 single ""Fairytale of New York"" by The Pogues, a rock band from London, is regularly voted the British public's favourite ever Christmas song, and it is also the most-played Christmas song of the 21st century in the UK. British glam rock bands had major"
"There's No One Quite Like Grandma ""There's No One Quite Like Grandma"" was a number-one hit in the UK Singles Chart, by the Stockport-based primary school choir St Winifred's School Choir from 27 December 1980 to 3 January 1981. It was written by Gordon Lorenz. The song was a Christmas number-one single in both the UK and Ireland. In the UK, it demoted John Lennon's last single, ""(Just Like) Starting Over,"" to number two. After two weeks at number one, a previous Lennon song, ""Imagine,"" replaced it. This was a posthumous release as Lennon had been killed three weeks prior."
"the Christmas number one of 1987, with their cover of Elvis Presley's ""Always on My Mind"". The Pogues peaked at number 2 and has been re-issued several times since, reaching the top 10 in 2005, 2006 and 2007. In the world of classical music, Nicholas Maw's new work ""Odyssey"" made an impact, and veteran composer Malcolm Arnold produced his ""Salute to Thomas Merritt"", Op. 98, whilst Michael Nyman and Judith Weir both brought new operas to the stage. The BBC Cardiff Singer of the World competition was won by Italian soprano Valeria Esposito, and the Lieder prize was introduced into"
"singles chart while peaking at number-two on the UK Singles Chart. Ross considers it one of her signature songs. The UK release included her 1985 hit ""Chain Reaction."" It missed the UK Christmas number one spot for 1991 by a couple of hundred units, beaten out by the re-release of Queen's ""Bohemian Rhapsody"" commemorating the passing of lead singer, Freddie Mercury. The single was awarded a Silver Disc for UK sales exceeding 200,000 copies. The single's music video featured scenes of Ross in an evening gown singing on stage intercut with home video footage of Ross with her two sons"
"song has also become the last song that Mark Radcliffe and Stuart Maconie play before Christmas on their BBC Radio 6 Music show and on a number of occasions Noddy Holder has been a guest on the show to introduce it. Noddy Holder has referred to the song as his pension scheme, reflecting its continuing popularity and the royalties it generates. In 2015 it was estimated that the song generates £500,000 of royalties per year. The song has been credited with popularizing the annual race for the UK Christmas Number One Single. 7"" single 12"" single (1985 reissue) CD single"
"music of Christmas has always been a combination of sacred and secular, and every year in the UK there is highly publicised competition to be the Christmas number one single, which has led to the production of music which provides the mainstay of festive playlists. Responding to a BBC report on the 1984 famine in Ethiopia, Bob Geldof created the charity supergroup Band Aid who recorded ""Do They Know It's Christmas?"". It has been Christmas number one three times. Written by Sarah Flower Adams in 1841, the Christian hymn ""Nearer, My God, to Thee"" is associated with the sinking of"
"before his death in December 2016. The song samples the BBC News theme tune. On 19 August 2012, the song entered the UK Singles Chart at number 15, becoming his last top 40 hit in his lifetime, following his death on 25 December 2016. The song has also charted in Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands, and Switzerland. White Light (George Michael song) ""White Light"" is a song by English singer George Michael. It was released to radio on 29 June 2012, in order to commemorate the 30-year anniversary since his first single (co-written by Andrew Ridgeley) entered the British charts in"
"2011 at his home in Llandudno, Wales. Gordon Lorenz Gordon Lorenz (4 March 1943 – 5 June 2011) was an English songwriter and record producer, who made his fame by writing the UK Christmas number one hit ""There's No-one Quite Like Grandma"" for St Winifred's School Choir. Since the song's release, Lorenz became one of the most prolific record producers in the music industry, producing over 800 albums selling eight million records, and earning seventeen platinum, gold and silver discs. Born in Childwall, an affluent suburb of Liverpool, his parents were both members of the Salvation Army. He was a"
"Lonely This Christmas ""Lonely This Christmas"" is a popular Christmas song by the English glam rock band Mud, that topped the UK Singles Chart in 1974, selling over 750,000 copies and reaching Christmas number one. Written and produced by Nicky Chinn and Mike Chapman, ""Lonely This Christmas"" was Mud's second number one single in the UK, spending four weeks at the top in December 1974 and January 1975. It was the third number one single that year for the ChinniChap writing and production team, and was performed in the style of Elvis Presley's slower songs from his later career. The"
"was included on the Wings compilation ""Wings Greatest"" in 1978, the UK/Canada version of McCartney's 1987 compilation album ""All the Best!"", the 2001 compilation """" and the 2016 compilation ""Pure McCartney"". The song's broad appeal was maximised by its pre-Christmas release and it became a Christmas number one single in the UK, spending nine weeks at the top of the charts. It also became an international hit, charting high in Australia and many other countries over the holiday period. It went on to become the first single to sell over two million copies in the UK and became the UK's"
"until 1991. Many songs this year competed for the Christmas number one single, and the entire top 3 from 1984 re-entered the chart this year; Paul McCartney's ""We All Stand Together"" at number 32, Wham!'s ""Last Christmas"" at number 6, and Band Aid's ""Do They Know It's Christmas?"" at number 3. There were also attempts from Bruce Springsteen with a cover of ""Santa Claus Is Coming to Town"", and ventriloquist Keith Harris released a cover of ""White Christmas"" with his green puppet Orville the Duck. However, the Christmas number one went to Shakin' Stevens with the song ""Merry Christmas Everyone""."
"Merry Christmas Everyone ""Merry Christmas Everyone"" is a festive song recorded by Welsh singer-songwriter Shakin' Stevens. Written by Bob Heatlie and produced by Dave Edmunds, it was the fourth number one single for Shakin' Stevens on the UK Singles Chart. It was released on 25 November 1985 and was the Christmas number one for that year. Ever since it has been included on many top-selling Christmas collections and received frequent airplay every Christmas. In 2007, the song re-entered the UK top 30 and reached number 22 on the Christmas chart. This was because downloads now make up the UK Singles"
"Happy Xmas (War Is Over) ""Happy Xmas (War Is Over)"" is a Christmas song released in 1971 as a single by John & Yoko/Plastic Ono Band with the Harlem Community Choir. The lyrics, by John Lennon and Yoko Ono, are set to the traditional English ballad ""Skewball"". It was the seventh single release by Lennon outside his work with the Beatles. The song reached number 4 in the UK, where its release was delayed until November 1972, and has periodically reemerged on the UK Singles Chart, most notably after Lennon's death in December 1980, when it peaked at number 2."
"followed by a successful comeback as a solo artist again from the 1980s. Between 1972 and 1995, Glitter had 26 hit singles, which spent a total of 180 weeks in the UK Singles Chart; twelve of those reached the Top 10, with three charting at number-one. He continued to record in the 1980s and 1990s, with his 1984 song ""Another Rock and Roll Christmas"" becoming one of the most played Christmas hits of all time. He released seven studio albums, and at least fifteen compilation or live albums. In 1998, his recording of ""Rock and Roll"" was listed as one"
"Another Rock and Roll Christmas ""Another Rock and Roll Christmas"" is a 1984 Christmas song by English glam rock singer Gary Glitter, written by Glitter with Mike Leander and Eddie (Edward John) Seago and produced by Leander. It was one of the most played Christmas hits on UK radio from the mid-1980s to the mid-1990s, but is now very rarely heard publicly following Glitter's convictions for child pornography and child abuse in 1999. Initially released in 1984, the song was later included on Glitter's fifth studio album, ""Boys Will Be Boys"" (1984) and was reissued many times, both as a"
"on 14 November 2004 in benefit of Sudan's troubled Darfur region. The group, consisting of such luminaries as Coldplay lead singer Chris Martin and U2 lead singer Bono, re-recorded the 1984 song ""Do They Know It's Christmas?"", written by Band Aid organisers Bob Geldof and Midge Ure. Stone, who was born two years after the release of the original single, was not initially aware of who Bob Geldof was. The media gleefully reported that she repeatedly referred to him as Bob Gandalf. Despite some criticism, the single became the UK's biggest-selling single of 2004 as well as the 2004 Christmas"
"BBC One show ""Noel's House Party"", with ""Mr. Blobby"" (the first ever eponymously titled number 1 single). In the final week before Christmas, he was knocked off by Take That's ""Babe"", making Mr. Blobby the first one-week #1 since U2's ""The Fly"" in November 1991, and making Take That the first act to have three singles in a row all enter at #1. However, the following week (Christmas week) saw Mr. Blobby climb back up to the top, the first time this had happened since January 1969, and officially become this year's Christmas number 1. Take That's ""Babe"" became the"
"I got Christmas number one it would be the best feeling in the world,"" she said. ""I'd be ecstatic. I don't know if I'd be able to look Simon Cowell in the eye! No, I don't think he'd talk to me!"" She subsequently said that she was not disappointed that the single did not make it into the UK top 20. Other artists who have covered the song include: Driving Home for Christmas ""Driving Home for Christmas"" is a popular Christmas single written and composed by Chris Rea and released in 1988. It was originally released as one of two"
"Christmas, sold over a million (making it the highest selling song ever not to be number 1) and proceeds from that also went to the charity. Further Band Aid singles would be released in 1989 (Band Aid II) and 2004 (Band Aid 20), both also Christmas number one. Notes: The 1984 BRIT Awards winners were: 1984 in British music This is a summary of 1984 in music in the United Kingdom, including the official charts from that year. 1984 was a year of several huge selling releases, including at the time the biggest selling single ever. Six singles this year"
"only single to have been Christmas number one twice with the same version. The second was upon its re-release (as a double A-side single with ""These Are the Days of Our Lives"") in 1991 following Mercury's death, staying at number one for five weeks. In the United States, the single was also a success, although to a lesser extent than in the UK. The single, released in December 1975, reached number nine on the ""Billboard"" Hot 100 and was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America for sales of one million copies. In a retrospective article, Anthony DeCurtis"
"calling the move ""way overdue"". In November 1984, Michael joined other British and Irish pop stars of the era to form Band Aid, singing on the charity song ""Do They Know It's Christmas?"" for famine relief in Ethiopia. This single became the UK Christmas number one in December 1984, holding Michael's own song, ""Last Christmas"" by Wham!, at No. 2; Michael also donated the royalties for ""Last Christmas"" to Ethiopia. ""Do They Know It's Christmas?"" sold 3.75 million copies in the UK and became the biggest selling single in UK chart history, a title it held until 1997 when it"
"who died from Alzheimer's disease in 2001, aged 81. This Christmas Day ""This Christmas Day"" is a song by Scottish singer-songwriter Amy Macdonald. The song was released as a digital download on 1 December 2017 through Mercury Records with all proceeds going to Alzheimer's Research UK. The song has peaked at number 57 on the Scottish Singles Chart. A music video to accompany the release of ""This Christmas Day"" was first released onto YouTube on 1 December 2017 at a total length of three minutes and thirty-nine seconds. The video features home videos of Amy and her family during the"
"#3. Cliff Richard scored the Christmas number one single with ""Saviour's Day"", his 13th number one, and his 100th top 40 hit. With this he became the only person to have a number one in the 1950s, 60s, 70s, 80s, and 90s. Merseyside composer John McCabe produced a flute concerto, written for James Galway and premièred by the London Symphony Orchestra who had commissioned it; it was not recorded until 1999. Another Lancashire composer, John Pickard, produced his best-known work ""The Flight of Icarus"". Simon Rattle became musical director of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, of which he had"
"Do They Know It's Christmas? ""Do They Know It's Christmas?"" is a song written in 1984 by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure in reaction to television reports of the 1983–1985 famine in Ethiopia. It was first recorded in a single day on 25 November 1984 by Band Aid, a supergroup put together by Geldof and Ure and consisting mainly of the biggest British and Irish musical acts at the time. The single was released in the United Kingdom on 3 December 1984 and aided by considerable publicity it entered the UK Singles Chart at number one and stayed there for"
"tend to be the Mud or James Memphis King versions. Lonely This Christmas ""Lonely This Christmas"" is a popular Christmas song by the English glam rock band Mud, that topped the UK Singles Chart in 1974, selling over 750,000 copies and reaching Christmas number one. Written and produced by Nicky Chinn and Mike Chapman, ""Lonely This Christmas"" was Mud's second number one single in the UK, spending four weeks at the top in December 1974 and January 1975. It was the third number one single that year for the ChinniChap writing and production team, and was performed in the style"