Are you over the yuletide vibes? Here are some classic non-festive Christmas number ones

Virgin Radio

29 Dec 2021, 13:38

There seem to be a few different types of Christmas number one. For instance, there are your classic festive tunes, such as Mistletoe and Wine, and there are also those songs that aren’t specifically Christmas-related but have an indefinable festive feel. Think 2 Become 1 by the Spice Girls.

Then you’ve also got novelty songs which go down well at Christmas, such as Bob the Builder, charity records like Do They Know It’s Christmas, and the behemoths that would steamroller the opposition at any time of the year. For example, Whitney Houston’s version of I Will Always Love You, which spent ten weeks at the top spot, and the only song to achieve the Christmas number one twice by the same artist, Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody. 

Occasionally though, songs will top the Christmas charts that don't seem to fit in with any of the above categories, and they’re not festive in any obvious way. 

So if you're totally over the festivities but still want to hear some bangers, then here are a few of the best non-festive Christmas number ones to add to your playlist:

PINK FLOYD - ANOTHER BRICK IN THE WALL (PART 2)

This 1979 classic doesn’t exactly scream Christmas, with its subject-matter of abusive school teachers. It did, however, sell by the bucketload.

The band’s first UK single since 1968’s Point Me at the Sky shifted over four million copies worldwide. It was nominated for a Grammy Award and was number 384 on Rolling Stone's list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

THE HUMAN LEAGUE - DON'T YOU WANT ME

This 1981 classic was inspired by lead singer Philip Oakey reading a photo-story in a teen-girl's magazine.  

Its somewhat bitter lyrics hardly spread festive goodwill: “Success has been so easy for you, but don't forget it's me who put you where you are now, and I can put you back down too.” Merry Christmas!  

GIRLS ALOUD - SOUND OF THE UNDERGROUND

Whilst it’s hardly unusual for a Christmas number one to come from a reality TV show, there can’t be too many that are paeans to drum and bass. That’s pretty much what this 2002 banger was all about.

Girls Aloud came about through Popstars: The Rivals, and this song is credited with helping to reshape British pop for the 2000s. Whilst it might not deliver Christmas vibes, is still a sure-fire dancefloor filler nearly two decades on.

PET SHOP BOYS - ALWAYS ON MY MIND

This mournful lament is a much-covered classic, and according to one of its writers Wayne Carson, is “one long apology.” 

It has been famously sung by the likes of Elvis Presley and Willie Nelson, and in 1987 synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys unleashed their own version of it into the charts.

It instantly became a pop-dance classic, and do you know which song it beat to Christmas number one? Only Fairytale of New York by The Pogues and Kirsty MacColl!

RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE - KILLING IN THE NAME

Surely the ultimate non-Christmassy Christmas number one? It’s certainly the sweariest!

The revolutionary protest song, with its powerful guitar riffs and uncompromising vocals, reached the number one spot following a campaign to attempt to usurp 2009’s X Factor winner from the top of the charts.

Tom Morello from the band described achieving the Christmas number one as “a wonderful dose of anarchy”.

When congratulating RATM online in 2009, the Official UK Charts Twitter account rather charmingly described Killing in the Name as a “ditty!”. Have a listen to the ditty below (obviously there's a language warning on the song. It's very NSFW).

Killing in the Name was the first download-only single to become the UK Christmas number one, selling 502,672 downloads in its first week.

Rage Against The Machine recently retweeted an Official Charts poll which pitted their song against the 1996 number one, 2 Become 1 by the Spice Girls. They captioned the tweet "MAKE CHRISTMAS RAGE AGAIN".