Wannabe Trivia Quiz

Answer: Father Christmas

Ironically, Greg Lake, whose only solo hit single this is, wrote "I Believe in Father Christmas" as a protest against what he saw as the commercialisation of Christmas. Although it peaked at number two in the UK charts, it was a commercial success.

The song which pipped this one to the post was Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody", a song which repeated this success in 1991.

Answer: I Have a Dream

"I Have a Dream" was beaten to Number One by Pink Floyd with their single "Another Brick in The Wall (Part 2)".

Twenty years later, in 1999, Westlife claimed the Christmas Number One spot in the UK with a double A side release of "I Have a Dream / Seasons in the Sun".

Answer: Blue

"Blue Christmas" was beaten to the Number One spot by Renée & Renato's "Save Your Love". First recorded in 1948, "Blue Christmas" has been covered by over 70 artists, including Bruce Springsteen, Johnny Cash, Celine Dion, Dean Martin and The Beach Boys. Perhaps the most well known version of the song was released in 1957 by Elvis Presley.

Shakin' Stevens went on to have a Christmas Number One single with "Merry Christmas Everyone" in 1985, a song which reentered the UK charts over 20 years later, in 2007, due to digital download sales.

Answer: Last Christmas

"Last Christmas" was one of Wham!'s biggest selling singles, and at the time of its original release, was the biggest selling single ever that did NOT reach Number One.

Interestingly, in early December of 1984, another Christmas classic was getting a lot of airplay. Frankie Goes to Hollywood's "The Power of Love" made it to Number One and it looked like the battle for the Christmas Number One would be between these two songs.

Answer: Fairytale of New York

Originally released in 1987, this Christmas classic didn't make to Number One. That spot was taken by Pet Shop Boys with their version of "Always on my Mind".
It has featured in a number of polls including VH1's Greatest Christmas Songs, in which it made Number One for three years in a row.
Some of the language in the song is controversial and BBC Radio 1 censored the song for a single day in December in 2007 but reversed their decision after public outcry.

Answer: Mariah Carey

The Christmas Number One spot in 1994 was taken by East 17 with "Stay Another Day". Although not a Christmas themed song, it did feature Christmas bells.
In 2003, "All I Want for Christmas is You" was featured in the movie "Love Actually", performed by actress Olivia Olsen.
Notably, it has become one of the most popular holiday ringtones in the USA.

Answer: The Millennium Prayer

"The Millennium Prayer" was kept off the Number One spot by Westlife's version of "I Have a Dream" in 1999. It features Cliff Richard singing the Lord's Prayer to the tune of "Auld Lang Syne". It did go on to make Number One and was one of Cliff Richard's best selling singles.
Although it was a charity single, it was not well received by critics with some radio stations simply refusing to play it, and it managed to top VH1's 2004 poll of worst number ones of all time.

Answer: Mad World

"Christmas Time (Don't Let the Bells End)" had been the bookmakers' favourite to be Christmas Number One in 2003. It was beaten to the spot by a cover version of Tears for Fears' "Mad World", in one of the closest battles ever for this coveted spot. It was in pole position all week until sales on the final Saturday pushed "Mad World" across the line.

Answer: Jeff Buckley

Alexandra Burke was the winner of "X-Factor" in 2008 and recorded an edited version of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" as the winner's single.
In a public backlash, fans of the song who felt that this version did not do the song justice launched a campaign to make Jeff Buckley (who many feel created the 'definitive' version of "Hallelujah") the UK's Christmas Number One. Although not successful, it resulted in widespread discussion and debate of this Leonard Cohen classic.

Answer: Teletubbies

"Teletubbies say 'Eh-oh!'" made it to number two in 1997. The Christmas Number One for that year was the Spice Girls' "Too Much". This was the second of three UK Christmas Number One singles in a row by the Spice Girls, matching a record set by The Beatles. The first, "Two Become One", was in 1996 and the third was "Goodbye" in 1998.