Christmas classics reach new all-time highs on the Official Singles Chart

Christmas has well and truly arrived on the Official Singles Chart, with 17 festive tracks impacting this week’s Top 40, putting several classics in the running now as strong contenders for next Friday’s Official Christmas Number 1 2017 crown.

Mariah Carey’s All I Want For Christmas rises three places to Number 2, surpassing its personal best in the digital era of Number 4 in 2007, and matching its chart peak that it achieved way back in 1994.

Wham! complete the Top 3 with Last Christmas at Number 3, marking the first time the song has been in the Official Chart Top 5 since January 1985. A Facebook campaign to get Last Christmas to Christmas Number 1 also kicks off today, Last Christmas is the best-selling single never to have reached Number 1, but could all that be set to change next week?  Both All I Want For Christmas Is You and Last Christmas have been boosted by their huge popularity on UK streaming services this week, each having been streamed over 4 million times across the past seven days alone and the potential to climb higher still as Christmas draws ever closer.

One other Christmas song sits in this week’s Top 10 – The Pogues and Kirsty MacColl’s Fairytale of New York, up three to Number 7.

Band Aid’s Do They Know It’s Christmas is at Number 12, its highest entry since December 1985, while Brenda Lee’s Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree vaults 27 places to Number 15, its highest chart placing for 54 years since 1963. Shakin’ Stevens is also scaling the Top 40, up five to Number 16 with Merry Christmas Everyone.

Two yuletide songs also break into the Top 20 for the very first time this week. Michael Buble’s It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas lifts 27 slots to Number 18, while Step Into Christmas by Elton John (19) becomes his 46th UK Top 20 hit – the song originally peaked at Number 24 in 1974.

Wizzard hop two positions to Number 22 with I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday, while Chris Rea’s Driving Home For Christmas speeds to a new personal best, climbing 45 rungs to Number 23. Santa Tell Me, the modern festive favourite from Ariana Grande, also hits new heights at Number 29, and Slade shift from 62 to Number 30 with Merry Xmas Everybody

Five more holiday singles also re-enter the Top 40 this week: John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s Happy Xmas (War is Over) (35); Leona Lewis’ One More Sleep (36); It’s The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year by Andy Williams (37); Bing Crosby’s White Christmas (38); and Paul McCartney’s Wonderful Christmastime (39).

Finally, away from the Christmas crackers, NF’s Let You Down reaches a new peak of Number 11, up two, and grime star Ramz scores his debut Top 40 entry with Barking at Number 27.

December 15, 2017 1:00pm ET by Official Charts Company  

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