Updated in 2022 to celebrate 70 years of Christmas Number One hit singles… and the unlucky runners-up!
Back in 2013 and inspired by a conversation with a friend regarding the best Christmas song of all time, I created two infographic Christmas Cards showcasing every Christmas Number One and Christmas Number Two since the Official UK Singles Chart began back in 1952.
The Pogue's 'Fairytale of New York' can’t be beaten for me – but I was surprised to learn that it never actually made it to number one (beaten in 1987 by the Pet Shop Boys' 'Always on My Mind').
This discovery set my mind to wonder how many other great songs and artists had missed out on the number one spot. Could I create a Christmassy visual to represent every number one – and indeed every number two – hit single of all time?
Nine years on, 70 songs have clinched the coveted Christmas Number One slot – from the Spice Girls (three times in a row) to Shakin’ Stevens, Band Aid to Girls Aloud, Bob The Builder and Mr Blobby – with husband and wife vloggers Ladbaby equalling The Beatles (4 times festive chart toppers) by reaching number one for the past four Christmases.
I’ve now updated my original infographics to reflect these modern times and the recent dominance of talent show contestants, YouTubers and, ahem, Ed Sheeran.
I’ve refreshed the design and combined the winning tunes with the –arguably superior – runners up in a flip and switch format – Number Ones on the front and Number Twos on the reverse.
A limited run of 148mm square cards have been printed on 350gsm recycled stock and will be landing on clients’ doormats in the next week or so.
I'm likely to have some cards left over so if you're not already on my Christmas Card list but would like to get your hands on one – please do get in touch.
