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All Number 1s are special, but the festive chart-topper is the ultimate prize. Let's look back at every Official Christmas Number 1 single in the UK.

There's not many chart records the Beatles haven't broken and, yes, they have the most Christmas Number 1s of everyone – four in total. The first three, I Want To Hold Your Hand, I Feel Fine and Day Tripper/We Can Work It Out topped the Official Singles Chart consecutively from 1963–1965. Hello, Goodbye was the fourth in 1967.

Spice Girls also notched up three consecutive Christmas Number 1s: 2 Become 1, Too Much and Goodbye all reigned the festive rundown from 1996–1998.

Seven Christmas Number 1s feature the word ‘Christmas’ in the title, if you include Slade’s Merry Xmas Everybody from 1973. And as Christmas is the season of goodwill, why not, eh? In 66 years of Christmas chart-toppers, 12 are genuine Christmas songs, eight are by TV talent show winners, three are by choirs and three are novelty singles.

Versions of charity smash Do They Know It’s Christmas? have topped the charts on 25 December three times: for Band Aid in 1984, Band Aid II in 1989, and finally for Band Aid 20 in 2004. The first version of Do They Know It’s Christmas? is the biggest selling Christmas Number 1 of all time, with over 3.8 million copies sold.

Mary’s Boy Child has been a Christmas Number 1 twice for totally different artists. Harry Belafonte topped the charts with it in 1957 and Boney M took a one-horse open sleigh all the way to Number 1 with it (mashed up with Oh my Lord) in 1978.

The only song to get the Christmas Number 1 twice by the same artist is Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen. It first topped the Christmas charts in 1975 and pulled it off again 16 years later, following the death of Queen frontman Freddie Mercury. As a result, it is one of the longest-reigning Number 1 hits of all-time.

The Official Christmas Number 1s:

Listen to all the Official Christmas Number 1s on Spotify, Deezer and Apple Music

YEAR TITLE ARTIST 1952 HERE IN MY HEART AL MARTINO 1953 ANSWER ME FRANKIE LAINE 1954 LET'S HAVE ANOTHER PARTY WINIFRED ATWELL 1955 CHRISTMAS ALPHABET DICKIE VALENTINE 1956 JUST WALKIN' IN THE RAIN JOHNNIE RAY 1957 MARY'S BOY CHILD HARRY BELAFONTE 1958 IT'S ONLY MAKE BELIEVE CONWAY TWITTY 1959 WHAT DO YOU WANT TO MAKE THOSE EYES AT ME FOR? EMILE FORD & THE CHECKMATES 1960 I LOVE YOU CLIFF RICHARD & THE SHADOWS 1961 MOON RIVER DANNY WILLIAMS 1962 RETURN TO SENDER ELVIS PRESLEY 1963 I WANT TO HOLD YOUR HAND THE BEATLES 1964 I FEEL FINE THE BEATLES 1965 DAY TRIPPER/WE CAN WORK IT OUT THE BEATLES 1966 GREEN, GREEN GRASS OF HOME TOM JONES 1967 HELLO, GOODBYE THE BEATLES 1968 LILY THE PINK THE SCAFFOLD 1969 TWO LITTLE BOYS ROLF HARRIS 1970 I HEAR YOU KNOCKING DAVE EDMUNDS 1971 ERNIE (THE FASTEST MILKMAN IN THE WEST) BENNY HILL 1972 LONG HAIRED LOVER FROM LIVERPOOL JIMMY OSMOND 1973 MERRY XMAS EVERYBODY SLADE 1974 LONELY THIS CHRISTMAS MUD 1975 BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY QUEEN 1976 WHEN A CHILD IS BORN (SOLEADO) JOHNNY MATHIS 1977 MULL OF KINTYRE/GIRLS' SCHOOL WINGS 1978 MARY'S BOY CHILD – OH MY LORD BONEY M 1979 ANOTHER BRICK IN THE WALL (PART 2) PINK FLOYD 1980 THERE'S NO ONE QUITE LIKE GRANDMA ST WINIFRED'S SCHOOL CHOIR 1981 DON'T YOU WANT ME THE HUMAN LEAGUE 1982 SAVE YOUR LOVE RENÉE AND RENATO 1983 ONLY YOU THE FLYING PICKETS 1984 DO THEY KNOW IT'S CHRISTMAS? BAND AID 1985 MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE SHAKIN' STEVENS 1986 REET PETITE JACKIE WILSON 1987 ALWAYS ON MY MIND PET SHOP BOYS 1988 MISTLETOE AND WINE CLIFF RICHARD 1989 DO THEY KNOW IT'S CHRISTMAS? BAND AID II 1990 SAVIOUR'S DAY CLIFF RICHARD 1991 BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY/THESE ARE THE DAYS OF OUR LIVES QUEEN 1992 I WILL ALWAYS LOVE YOU WHITNEY HOUSTON 1993 MR BLOBBY MR BLOBBY 1994 STAY ANOTHER DAY EAST 17 1995 EARTH SONG MICHAEL JACKSON 1996 2 BECOME 1 SPICE GIRLS 1997 TOO MUCH SPICE GIRLS 1998 GOODBYE SPICE GIRLS 1999 I HAVE A DREAM/SEASONS IN THE SUN WESTLIFE 2000 CAN WE FIX IT? BOB THE BUILDER 2001 SOMETHIN' STUPID ROBBIE WILLIAMS & NICOLE KIDMAN 2002 SOUND OF THE UNDERGROUND GIRLS ALOUD 2003 MAD WORLD MICHAEL ANDREWS & GARY JULES 2004 DO THEY KNOW IT'S CHRISTMAS? BAND AID 20 2005 THAT'S MY GOAL SHAYNE WARD 2006 A MOMENT LIKE THIS LEONA LEWIS 2007 WHEN YOU BELIEVE LEON JACKSON 2008 HALLELUJAH ALEXANDRA BURKE 2009 KILLING IN THE NAME RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE 2010 WHEN WE COLLIDE MATT CARDLE 2011 WHEREVER YOU ARE MILITARY WIVES WITH GARETH MALONE 2012 HE AIN'T HEAVY, HE'S MY BROTHER THE JUSTICE COLLECTIVE 2013 SKYSCRAPER SAM BAILEY 2014 SOMETHING I NEED BEN HAENOW 2015 A BRIDGE OVER YOU THE LEWISHAM & GREENWICH NHS CHOIR 2016 ROCKABYE CLEAN BANDIT 2017 PERFECT ED SHEERAN 2018 WE BUILT THIS CITY LADBABY 2019 I LOVE SAUSAGE ROLLS LADBABY

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Click through below to see the artwork of every Official Christmas Number 1 single:

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Main image: Warner Bros/Regency/Canal +/Kobal/Mark Allan/Invision/AP/Shutterstock