Noughties Christmas Number Ones: Part Ten 2009

The final year of the decade and we are finally up to date. This may well go down as the year that people power fought the machine and won. One thing it does go down in history as is the first time that the UK number one was held by a record that was not physically available in any form in the shops, it was purely by download.

Yeah after last year trying to usurp the X-Factor and Simon Cowells stranglehold on the Christmas number one spot, this year the campaign started before the final winner was revealed. The record was chosen, a totally non-Yuletide song by Rage Against the Machine, Killing in the Name was the song that finally showed that people still decide who gets to number one not record executives.



But as it is so anti-Christmas I clearly have to balance it up with one of the Greatest Christmas number ones of all time. Take it away Noddy.

Noughties Christmas Number Ones: Part Nine 2008

We only have two more years to cover of the noughties Christmas top selling singles. But 2008 saw the start of a campaign of anti-X-Factor domination.

In 2008 the Christmas Number One did go the the X-Factor winner Alexandra Burke with her Version of Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah.



However, Jeff Buckley's version was just behind it at number 2 (the first time any song had achieved this on the same week for 51 years) and Cohen's original was at 36.

Of course Hallelujah if not Leonard Cohen's song is a very traditional Christmas sentiment. Here is one of my favourite versions of Handel's original Hallelujah Chorus, from the Soulful Celebration album version.



While we're on the subject of choruses one of my favourite things about Christmas as a kid was sitting there reading the Albums, for me that was The Beano and Rupert the Bear. Therefore when Paul McCartney re-released this for the Christmas charts of 1984 and 1985 it brought back many memories. It is one of only three songs from Christmas 1984 to chart three times the others* have already been featured on this look back over the noughties.



* Band Aid Do They Now It's Christmas...? and Wham! Last Christmas

Noughties Christmas Number Ones: Part Eight 2007

Christmas is getting closer you can almost imagine the sleigh bells are getting polished and the tack to hold Rudolph and chums in place in getting buffed. Yes there are three sleeps and three songs left that had been number one at Christmas in the decade.

So 2007 was the next act from the X-Factor and local lad Leon Jackson with When You Believe.



In 1985 Shakin' Stevens managed to conjure up a Christmas Number One with Merry Christmas Everyone.



Keeping up the Christmas theme, you can tell I'm getting in the mood now, lets have the St. Winifred's School Choir from the top spot in 1980 as well, with There's No-one Quite Like Grandma from 1980.

Noughties Christmas Number Ones: Part Seven 2006

Moving onwards with our X-Factor Christmas countdown in is now just four sleeps off the big day. So we carry on with the Christmas countdown.

2006 saw the start of Britain's next big female vocalist when Leona Lewis had A Moment Like This. Buy Syco seem to have stopped all the video embeds.



In 1983 rather more of a surprise the Flying Pickets took a Capella to the top of the Christmas Charts for the only time in UK chart history with their cover of Yazoo's Only You.



It sounds quite Christmassy without having a Christmas theme. So I guess it is time for a little Cliff to set that right. In 1988 he combined two essential Christmas components to come up with the seasonal chart topped, Mistletoe and Wine.

Noughties Christmas Number Ones: Part Six 2005

*Into the home stretch as we have only five more sleeps to Christmas day and our countdown of Christmas number ones enters. We also enter what must be known as the X-Factor zone. For the talent show ends the weekend before the last chart before Christmas and has dominated the seasonal top spot ever since, despite some concerted efforts to break the cycle in the last couple of years.

So in 2005 that was Shayne Ward with That's My Goal.



Now there have been a couple of Christmas Number Ones that have be at the top spot more than once. Yesterday we celebrated Band Aid, we also had Mary's Boy Child with both Henry Belefonte and Boney M. But only one song has hit the top spot twice for Christmas with the same line up singing it. It needs no introduction.



Having made the top spot first at Christmas 1975 it's re-release after Freddie's death in 1991 propelled it to the top for a second Christmas in 1991. Not really Christmassy. But as the Muppets are releasing a version* of it this year I think that links in to the 1955 song by Dickie Valentine Christmas Alphabet so here is the King of Christmas with his version.



* I also quite like the Lego version.

Noughties Christmas Number Ones: Part Five 2004

Well the countdown is hoting up we are mere days away from the big day. But in 2004 the same song was Christmas Number one for the third time in 20 years. It was time to know it was Christmas time with Band Aid 20.

Here are all three versions of Band Aid and Do They Know It's Christmas?

1984 So take it away Paul Young..et al



1989 over to you Kylie and friends....including Cliff.



2004 and finally Chris Martin of Coldplay and the rest for the latest version....Bono back doing his line that Jason Donavon and Matt Goss didn't give the same punch to last time.

Noughties Christmas Number Ones: Part Four 2003

There is now only a week until Christmas which means we are now on 2003 for our countdown of the Christmas number ones of the decade.

In 2003 we had perhaps the most inventive video for a Christmas Number One for the decade to accompany Michael Andrews and Gary Jules version of Mad World.



Me secquay's do get lame at times in this series, but from mad we get to Mud or more particularly the 1974 Christmas chart topper Lonely This Christmas.



This is turning out to be a rather sad and lonely look at Christmas singles past so let's up the pace if not the heart break quotient with this Wham! classic that was held of the number one spot by amongst other's themselves. But more of that tomorrow.

Noughties Christmas Number Ones: Part Three 2002

Well there are now only eight sleeps to Christmas Day which means on my countdown of the decades Christmas number ones we are up to 2002.

She is now one of the people who si helping the shape the sound of the Christmas Number Ones as one of the judges on the X-Factor but in 2002 Cheryl Cole was part of another talent show band that made that top spot. Girls Aloud were top with Sounds of the Underground.



So Christmases past we look to another favourite Rolf Harris. He was at number one on my First Christmas with Two Little Boys. Here is Rolf in a recent appearance singing that song.



Of course as anyone who saw Rolf's Who Do You Think Are? this will realise how un-Christmaslike the sentiments of that song are now to him. He did sing a version of The Little Drummer Boy so here is the classic Bing Crosby and David Bowie version.

Noughties Christmas Number Ones: Part Two 2001

With nine sleeps remaining until Christmas Day it is time to continue the countdown of the decades Christmas Number Ones with a little bit of nostalgia to bring in a little bit more Christmas spirit. This post like all in series is scheduled to go live well in advance. Indeed this one will hit t'Internet while I'm on the Irish Sea so do not know if I will have coverage to blog live.

So we move unto 2001 when a couple of big stars from the entertainment world did something stupid. Err, no I mean a couple of big stars sang Something Stupid step up to the mike Robbie Williams and Nicole Kidman.



Of course Robbie wants to appear in movies, especially it seems as James Bond and Nicole went on to sing in Moulin Rouge, so which singing film star is most associated with Christmas. Yeah that is right Mr Iain Dale's favourite Cliff Richard. He seems to always have a new Christmas single out although he has only been Christmas Number One three times as the named artist, equal with the Spice Girls and one less than the Beatles, but was also on Band Aid II to equal the Livepudlians.

Back in 1960 here is his first one with the Shadows and I Love You.



Of course Sir Cliff did also try to kick the whole Noughties decade at number one. Indeed it is the first decade since the 50s he hasn't been at number one. But here was his last number one in the nineties, which was actually to mark the start/end of the new millenium.

Noughties Christmas Number Ones: Part One 2000

There are now just 1o sleeps until Christmas, so I'm going to run down the 10 Christmas Number ones of the decade. Along with a classic number one of the season from the past (as to be honest most of them aren't very Christmassy).

In 2000 we were had the animated renderings of Bob the Builder. Anyone with a child, grandchild, nephew, niece or knowing a young person growing up this decade will have encountered Bob at some point.



So let's get a little more into Christmas. Henry Belafonte was Number 1 in 1957 with Mary's Boy Child. Only I couldn't find footage of him singing the song so here is Boney M's version.




But here is the man himself with Nat King Cole.