Editing Christmas music (section)

===United Kingdom and Ireland===
====Most played songs====
{{See also|List of Christmas hit singles in the United Kingdom}}
A collection of chart hits recorded in a bid to be crowned the UK [[List of Christmas number one singles (UK)|Christmas No. 1 single]] during the 1970s and 1980s have become some of the most popular holiday tunes in the United Kingdom. [[Band Aid (band)|Band Aid]]'s 1984 song "[[Do They Know It's Christmas?]]" is the [[UK Singles Chart#Best-selling singles|second-best-selling single in UK Chart history]]. "[[Fairytale of New York]]", released by [[The Pogues]] in 1987, is regularly voted the British public's favourite-ever Christmas song. It is also the most-played Christmas song of the 21st century in the UK.<ref>{{Cite web|author=Martin Chilton|date=December 15, 2011|title=Fairytale Of New York is true sound of Christmas|url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/music-news/8957971/Fairytale-Of-New-York-is-true-sound-of-Christmas.html|access-date=September 22, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111215120515/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/music-news/8957971/Fairytale-Of-New-York-is-true-sound-of-Christmas.html |archive-date=December 15, 2011|work= The Telegraph |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/4101207.stm |title=Pogues track wins Christmas poll |date=December 16, 2004 |work=BBC News |access-date=September 22, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/4533030.stm |title=Fairytale still the festive pick |date=December 15, 2005 |work=BBC News |access-date=December 19, 2005}}</ref> British [[glam rock]] bands had major hit singles with Christmas songs in the 1970s. "[[Merry Xmas Everybody]]" by [[Slade]], "[[I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday]]" by [[Wizzard]], and "[[Lonely This Christmas]]" by [[Mud (band)|Mud]] all remain hugely popular.<ref>{{Cite web |date=December 6, 2007 |title=UK's most popular Christmas song revealed |url=https://www.nme.com/news/slade/32997 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120112021033/https://www.nme.com/news/slade/32997 |archive-date=12 January 2012 |access-date=December 18, 2011 |website=NME}}</ref>

In four out of the five years between 2008 and 2012, [[PRS for Music]] (who collect and pay royalties to its 75,000 song-writing and composing members) conducted a survey of the top ten most played Christmas songs in the UK over the past year, and published a top-ten list for each year except 2011 (the 2008 list was for the previous five years, and the 2009 measured the entire previous decade):<ref>{{Cite press release|title=Fairytale of New York most popular Christmas song|url=https://www.prsformusic.com/press/2012/fairytale-of-new-york-most-popular-christmas-song|date=December 14, 2012|access-date=January 1, 2023|website=[[PRS for Music]]|language=en}}</ref><ref name="PRS-2010">{{citation |title=Survey Reveals White Christmas As Most Memorable Christmas Song: But Mariah Carey's Hit Most Played |url=http://www.prsformusic.com/aboutus/press/latestpressreleases/Pages/SurveyRevealsWhiteChristmasAsMostMemorableChristmasSong.aspx |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20101215120003/http://www.prsformusic.com/aboutus/press/latestpressreleases/Pages/SurveyRevealsWhiteChristmasAsMostMemorableChristmasSong.aspx |date=December 14, 2010|archive-date=December 15, 2010 |work=PRS for Music}}, press release. See also the [https://web.archive.org/web/20100206022857/http://www.prsformusic.com/aboutus/press/latestpressreleases/Pages/MariahisourChristmasNumber1.aspx 2009] and [https://web.archive.org/web/20101219235406/http://prsformusic.com/aboutus/press/latestpressreleases/prs/Pages/TopTenChristmasSongs.aspx 2008] lists. PRS did not publish a chart in 2011.</ref>
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Song title !! Composer(s) !! Performer(s) !! Year !! 2012 rank !! 2010 rank !! 2009 rank !! 2008 rank
|-
| "[[Fairytale of New York]]" || {{Sort|finer|[[Jem Finer]]}} and [[Shane MacGowan]] || {{Sort|pogues|[[The Pogues]]}} with [[Kirsty MacColl]] || 1987 || 1 || 3 || 2 || 3
|-
| "[[All I Want for Christmas Is You (Mariah Carey song)|All I Want for Christmas Is You]]" || {{Sort|carey|[[Mariah Carey]]}} and [[Walter Afanasieff]] || {{Sort|carey|Mariah Carey}} || 1994 || 2 || 1 || 1 || 4
|-
| "[[Do They Know It's Christmas?]]" || {{Sort|geld|[[Bob Geldof]]}} and [[Midge Ure]] || [[Band Aid (band)|Band Aid]] || 1984 || 3 || 4 || 5 || 2
|-
|"[[Last Christmas]]" || {{Sort|micha|[[George Michael]]}} || [[Wham!]] || 1984 || 4 || 2 || 7 || 1
|-
|"[[Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town]]" || {{Sort|coots|[[John Frederick Coots]]}}, [[Haven Gillespie]] || {{Sort|spri|[[Bruce Springsteen]]}} || 1981 || 5 || {{sort|11|}}  || {{sort|11|}} || 5
|-
|"[[Do You Hear What I Hear?]]" || {{Sort|regney|[[Noel Regney]]}}, Gloria Shayn || {{Sort|crosby|[[Bing Crosby]]}} || 1962 || 6 || {{sort|11|}} {{sort|11|}} || {{sort|11|}} || {{sort|11|}}
|-
|"[[Happy Christmas (War Is Over)]]" || {{Sort|lenn|[[John Lennon]]}} || {{Sort|lenn|John Lennon}} || 1971 || 7 ||{{sort|11|}}  || {{sort|11|}} || {{sort|11|}}
|-
|"[[Wonderful Christmastime]]" || {{Sort|mcca|[[Paul McCartney]]}} || {{Sort|mcca|Paul McCartney}} || 1979 || 8 || {{sort|11|}} || 10 || {{sort|11|}} 
|-
|"[[I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday]]" || {{Sort|wood|[[Roy Wood]]}} || [[Wizzard]] || 1973 || 9 || {{sort|11|}} || {{sort|11|}} || 7
|-
|"[[Merry Xmas Everybody]]" || {{Sort|hold|[[Noddy Holder]]}}, [[Jim Lea (musician)|Jim Lea]]|| [[Slade]] || 1973 || 10 || 5 || 3 || 8
|-
|"[[White Christmas (song)|White Christmas]]" || {{Sort|berl|[[Irving Berlin]]}} || {{sort|cros|[[Bing Crosby]]}} || 1947 || {{sort|11|}} ||6<!-- misattributed to Louis Armstrong --> || {{sort|11|}}  || 10
|-
|"[[Driving Home for Christmas]]" || {{sort|reac|[[Chris Rea]]}} || {{Sort|reac|Chris Rea}} || 1986 || {{sort|11|}} || 7 || 6 || {{sort|11|}} 
|-
|"[[Merry Christmas Everyone]]" || {{sort|heat|[[Bob Heatlie]]}} || {{Sort|stev|[[Shakin' Stevens]]}}<!-- the 2010 press release misprinted attribution the song to Slade in apparent confusion with Merry Xmas Everybody --> || 1985 || {{sort|11|}} || 8 || {{sort|11|}}  || {{sort|11|}}
|-
|"[[Mistletoe and Wine]]" || {{sort|paul|[[Jeremy Paul (screenwriter)|Jeremy Paul]]}}, [[Leslie Stewart (writer)|Leslie Stewart]], [[Keith Strachan]], Cliff Richard || {{sort|rich|[[Cliff Richard]]}} || 1988 || {{sort|11|}} || 9 || {{sort|11|}} || {{sort|11|}}
|-
|"[[Walking in the Air]]" || {{sort|blak|[[Howard Blake]]}} || {{sort|jone|[[Aled Jones]]}} || 1985 || {{sort|11|}} || 10 || {{sort|11|}} || {{sort|11|}}
|-
|"[[Stop the Cavalry]]" || {{sort|lewi|[[Jona Lewie]]}} || {{sort|lewi|Jona Lewie}} || 1980 || {{sort|11|}} ||{{sort|11|}} || 4 || 6
|-
|"[[I Believe in Father Christmas]]" || {{sort|lake|[[Greg Lake]]}}, [[Peter Sinfield]], [[Sergei Prokofiev]] || Greg Lake || 1975 || {{sort|11|}} || {{sort|11|}} || 8 || {{sort|11|}}
|-
|"[[Step into Christmas]]" || {{sort|john|[[Elton John]]}}, [[Bernie Taupin]] || {{sort|john|Elton John}} || 1973 || {{sort|11|}} || {{sort|11|}} || 9 || {{sort|11|}}
|-
|"[[Lonely This Christmas]]" || {{sort|chap|[[Mike Chapman]]}}, [[Nicky Chinn]] ||[[Mud (band)|Mud]] || 1975 ||{{sort|11|}} ||{{sort|11|}}  || {{sort|11|}} || 9
|}

The best Christmas song "to get adults and children in the festive spirit for the party season in 2016" was judged by the ''[[Daily Mirror]]'' to be "Fairytale of New York".<ref>{{Cite news |last=McCrum |first=Kirstie |url=https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/best-christmas-songs-adults-children-11736486?service=responsive |title=Best Christmas songs to get adults and children in the festive spirit |date=December 24, 2017 |work=Mirror |access-date=December 24, 2017}}</ref> Mariah Carey's "All I Want For Christmas is You" was declared "the UK's favourite Christmas song", narrowly beating out "Fairytale of New York" according to a "points system" created by ''The Independent'' in 2017. Both score well ahead of all others on the list of top twenty Christmas songs in the UK.<ref name=":0" />
{{Quote box
|width=30%
|align=right
|quote="The Christmas song is a genre in its own right . . More than any other type of music, it spans and links generations with disparate musical taste buds."<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.prsformusic.com/Pages/default.aspx |title=PRS for Music |date=December 5, 2009 |publisher=PRS for Music |access-date=December 18, 2011}}</ref> |source=Ellis Rich, Chairman of PRS for Music}}

====Christmas Number Ones====
{{See also|List of UK Singles Chart Christmas number ones|List of Irish Singles Chart Christmas number ones}}
The "Christmas Number One" – songs reaching the top spot on either the [[UK Singles Chart]], the [[Irish Singles Chart]], or occasionally both, on the edition preceding Christmas – is considered a major achievement in the United Kingdom and Ireland. The Christmas number one benefits from broad publicity, so much so that the [[List of UK Singles Chart Christmas number twos|songs that attempt but fail to achieve the honor and finish second]] also get widespread attention. [[Social media]] campaigns have been used to try to encourage sales of specific songs so that they could reach number one.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/liverpool-news/in-the-mix/2011/12/13/will-christmas-number-one-hopes-the-w-factor-the-wombles-or-mw-factor-the-military-wives-beat-the-x-factor-100252-29942852/ |title=Will Christmas Number One hopes 'The W Factor' (The Wombles) or 'MW Factor' (The Military Wives) beat The X Factor? |last=Shennan |first=Paddy |date=December 13, 2011 |website=Liverpool Echo |access-date=August 23, 2012}}</ref><ref name="cn1-Choir">{{Cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-16285101 |title=Military Wives Choir capture Christmas number one |date=December 25, 2011 |work=BBC News |access-date=December 25, 2011}}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Sexton |first=Paul |date=December 23, 2011 |title=Military Wives & Italian Donkey in Race for U.K.'s No. 1 Christmas Single |url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/464672/military-wives-italian-donkey-in-race-for-uks-no-1-christmas-single |magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] |access-date=December 25, 2011}}</ref>

These songs develop an association with Christmas or the holiday season from their chart performance, but the association tends to be shorter-lived than for the more traditionally-themed Christmas songs. Notable longer-lasting examples include [[Band Aid (band)|Band Aid]]'s "[[Do They Know It's Christmas?]]" (No. 1, 1984, the second-biggest selling single in UK Chart history; two re-recordings also hit No. 1 in 1989 and 2004), [[Slade]]'s "[[Merry Xmas Everybody]]" (No. 1, 1973), and [[Wham!]]'s "[[Last Christmas]]" (No. 2, 1984). ''Last Christmas'' would go on to hold the UK record for highest-selling single not to reach No. 1, until it finally topped the chart on January 1, 2021, helped by extensive streaming in the final week of December 2020; it eventually reached Christmas number one in 2023.<ref>{{cite web|last=Griffiths|first=George|title=Christmas Number 1 2023: Wham! make history as Last Christmas finally secures festive top spot for the first time|url=https://www.officialcharts.com/chart-news/christmas-number-1-2023-wham-last-christmas-makes-chart-history-andrew-ridgeley/|website=[[Official Charts]]|date=December 22, 2023}}</ref>

[[The Beatles]], [[Spice Girls]], and [[LadBaby]] are the only artists to have achieved consecutive Christmas number-one hits on the [[UK Singles Chart]], with LadBaby having the longest [[winning streak]] at five years. The Beatles won annually between 1963 and 1965 (with a fourth in 1967), the Spice Girls between 1996 and 1998, and LadBaby between 2018 and 2022 (all five of LadBaby's Christmas number-ones were [[parody music|parodies]] of other popular songs that included a [[running gag]] mentioning [[sausage roll]]s). "[[Bohemian Rhapsody]]" is the only recording to have ever been Christmas number one twice, in both 1975 and 1991.<ref>{{Cite news|author=<!--Not stated--> |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2002/may/08/3 |title=Bohemian Rhapsody named favourite song |date=May 8, 2002 |work=The Guardian |access-date=December 20, 2018 |issn=0261-3077}}</ref> Three of the four different Band Aid recordings of "[[Do They Know It's Christmas?]]" have been number one in Christmas week.

At the turn of the 21st century, songs associated with [[reality show]]s became a frequent source of Christmas number ones in the UK. In 2002, ''[[Popstars: The Rivals]]'' produced the top three singles on the British Christmas charts. The "rival" groups produced by the series—the [[girl group]] [[Girls Aloud]] and the [[boy band]] [[One True Voice]]—finished first and second respectively on the charts. Failed contestants [[The Cheeky Girls]] charted with a novelty hit, "[[Cheeky Song (Touch My Bum)]]", at third. Briton [[Will Young]], winner of the first ''[[Pop Idol]]'', charted at the top of the Irish charts in 2003.

''[[The X Factor (UK TV series)|The X Factor]]'' also typically concluded in December during its run; the winner's debut single earned the Christmas number one in at least one of the two countries every year from 2005 to 2014, and in both countries in five of those ten years. Each year since 2008 has seen protest campaigns to outsell the ''X Factor'' single (which benefits from precisely-timed release and corresponding media buzz) and prevent it from reaching number one. In 2009, as the result of a campaign intended to counter the phenomenon, [[Rage Against the Machine]]'s 1992 single "[[Killing in the Name]]" reached number one in the UK instead of that year's ''X Factor'' winner, [[Joe McElderry]].<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/8423340.stm |title=Rage win Christmas chart battle |date=December 20, 2009 |work=BBC News |access-date=December 20, 2018}}</ref> In 2011, "[[Wherever You Are (2011 song)|Wherever You Are]]", the single from a choir of military wives assembled by the TV series ''[[The Choir (TV series)|The Choir]]'', earned the Christmas number-one single in Britain—upsetting ''X Factor'' winners [[Little Mix]].<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-16285101 |title=Military Wives Choir captures Christmas number one |date=December 25, 2011 |work=BBC News |access-date=January 7, 2020 |publisher=[[BBC]]}}</ref> With the Military Wives Choir single not being released in Ireland, Little Mix won Christmas number-one in Ireland that year.{{Citation needed|date=January 2020}}