Inside Top Of The Pops’ wildest Christmas moments as annual show axed after 57 years – can you remember these No1 hits?
FOR 57 years, Top Of The Pops was up there with the Queen’s speech as essential Christmas Day viewing.
The biggest names in music clamoured to be part of the glittering chart special, and being No1 on December 25 meant more than any other singles success.
But now the BBC has axed the beloved programme in a cost-saving drive.
No longer will the likes of Robbie Williams and the Spice Girls co-present the telly spectacular.
Nor will we see legends performing in Santa hats.
The annual broadcast began in 1964 with The Beatles at No1, while last year Ed Sheeran and Elton John had the top record after teamed up with LadBaby.
Readd More on Top Of The Pops
Among the favourites to reach the pinnacle this Christmas are Lewis Capaldi and Tyson Fury.
Surely, if boxing legend Fury knocks out his rivals with his cover of Sweet Caroline, millions would tune in just to see that?
Here, The Sun celebrates seven decades of chart-topping Christmas cheer.
1960s
THE launch of the Christmas special came in 1964 with a glittering line-up including The Beatles, Cilla Black, The Kinks and Sandie Shaw.
Most read in Celebrity
When Top Of The Pops first aired on New Year’s Day of that year, it was only expected to run for six weeks — but the format ended up being copied in 120 countries across the world.
The Fab Four had three Christmas No1s in a row and they performed I Feel Fine for the first Top Of The Pops festive special, which was broadcast on Christmas Eve.
From then on the BBC aired the chart show on December 25 each year, with The Beatles winning the race again in 1967.
Paul McCartney’s brother Mike’s band The Scaffold followed them the next year with Lily The Pink.
The final No1 of the decade, Two Little Boys, is best forgotten.
Behind the mic was shamed TV host Rolf Harris.
1970s
PEAK Top Of The Pops was the Seventies, when most of the biggest-selling Christmas seven-inches were released and the show drew its largest audience.
Three of the top ten selling UK singles of all time — never mind festive ones — came out in this period.
They were Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody, which shifted 3.5million copies in 1975; Wings’ Mull Of Kintyre, which sold two million in 1977; and Boney M’s Mary’s Boy Child, which sold 1.79 million in 1978.
The icing on the cake has to be Slade’s Merry Xmas Everybody, which remains the most played festive anthem, edging out Wizzard’s I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday in 1973.
Noddy Holder recalled of the show: “I was pelted with custard pies.
“So that’s the performance I remember.”
Top Of The Pops itself, hosted by the likes of Kid Jensen and Noel Edmonds pulled in 19m viewers in the late 1970s.
1980s
FOR many people Last Christmas by Wham! is the greatest slice of festive pop ever recorded.
But George Michael’s classic track only made it to No2 in 1984 because Band Aid’s Do They Know It’s Christmas? charity Christmas dropped at the same time.
Bob Geldof and Midge Ure’s song, released to raise money to help relieve the famine in Ethiopia, is the biggest-selling Christmas chart-topper of all time.
During the Top Of The Pops special, the stage was filled with famous singers for the performance at the end of the programme, including Simon Le Bon, Boy George, Paul Weller and Sting.
It racked up more than 3million sales by the end of 1984 and was again Christmas No 1 in 1989 and 2004.
1990s
The Spice Girls owned the festive charts near the end of the Nineties, scoring number ones three years in a row.
The highlight has to be 1996 when they co-presented the Top of the Pops special with Robbie Williams.
Victoria Beckham said: “My favourite Top of the Pops memory was the Christmas of 1996. We did Wannabe, Say You’ll Be There and 2 Become 1.”
Ginger Spice wore a revealing black dress as the girl band performed the romantic hit.
The BBC attempted some radical innovations to the programme in the Nineties, including having grumpy comedian Jack Dee and quirky singer Bjork co-hosting in cracker hats in 1995.
Jack’s quips about shoplifting may not have struck the right note, because he didn’t return.
But they couldn’t have been worse than 1993’s Xmas topper - Mr Blobby ‘singing’ Mr Blobby.
2000s
The turn of the Millennium was no gift for the chart show, whose viewing figures started to plummet.
Much of the waning of interest in Christmas number ones was blamed on the dominance of reality singing competitions.
In 2002 Girls Aloud had the biggest selling-single with Sound of the Underground, just ahead of One True Voice’s Sacred Trust.
Those were the acts that had finished first and second respectively on Popstars: The Rivals.
Simon Cowell’s X-Factor champions then grabbed the coveted number one seven times between 2005 and 2014.
Outraged fans rebelled by downloading Rage Against the Machine’s distinctly unfestive Killing in the Name enough times to break that hold in 2009.
The dawn of streaming meant buying singles was outdated, so young people were not interested in the weekly edition of Top of the Pops.
In July 2006 it was canned for good.
2010s
One of the joys of the time of year is Christmas carol singing and this decade tapped into the collective pleasure of belting out a tune.
In 2011 Gareth Malone’s Military Wives Choir lifted the nation with their inspirational track Wherever You Are.
With proceeds going to veterans’ charities it sold 556,000 copies in the week, which was more than the rest of the combined top 12 could manage.
Four Christmases later it was the turn of Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Choir to win over everyone with their song A Bridge Over You.
Other number ones were Ed Sheeran’s Perfect and Clean Bandit’s Rockabye.
Fearne Cotton, who was the regular presenter alongside Reggie Yates, during this period said she’d been left “bereft” when the weekly programme ended.
2020s
The biggest names were up for what turned out to be the last Christmas Top of the Pops.
Ed Sheeran and Sir Elton John started and ended 2021’s special.
Their single Sausage Rolls for Everyone with LadBaby was number one and the legends even munched on the hot snacks in the song’s video.
Nottingham duo LadBaby have a record four consecutive festive chart toppers, starting in 2018 with a comedy version of We Built This City.
All their songs have aimed to raise money for charity and a smile.
READ MORE SUN STORIES
Radio One DJs Clara Amfo and Jordan North were the hosts of the final programme, which included performances from KSI and Clean Bandit.
But even Sir Elton and Ed were unable to prevent the BBC wrapping up Top of the Pops.
Xmas No1 hits
- 1964 I Feel Fine – The Beatles
- 1965 Day Tripper/We Can Work It Out – The Beatles
- 1966 The Green, Green Grass Of Home – Tom Jones
- 1967 Hello Goodbye – The Beatles
- 1968 Lily The Pink – Scaffold
- 1969 Two Little Boys – Rolf Harris
- 1970 I Hear You Knockin’ – Dave Edmunds
- 1971 Ernie (The Fastest Milkman In The West) – Benny Hill
- 1972 Long-Haired Lover From Liverpool – Jimmy Osmond
- 1973 Merry Xmas Everybody – Slade
- 1974 Lonely This Christmas – Mud
- 1975 Bohemian Rhapsody – Queen
- 1976 When A Child Is Born – Johnny Mathis
- 1977 Mull Of Kintyre/Girl’s School – Wings
- 1978 Mary’s Boy Child/Oh My Lord – Boney M
- 1979 Another Brick In The Wall – Pink Floyd
- 1980 There’s No One Quite Like Grandma – St Winifred’s School Choir
- 1981 Don’t You Want Me? – The Human League
- 1982 Save Your Love – Renee & Renato
- 1983 Only You – The Flying Pickets
- 1984 Do They Know It’s Christmas? – Band Aid
- 1985 Merry Christmas Everyone – Shakin’ Stevens
- 1986 Reet Petite – Jackie Wilson
- 1987 Always On My Mind – The Pet Shop Boys
- 1988 Mistletoe And Wine – Cliff Richard
- 1989 Do They Know It’s Christmas? – Band Aid II
- 1990 Saviour’s Day – Cliff Richard
- 1991 Bohemian Rhapsody/These Are The Days Of Our Lives – Queen
- 1992 I Will Always Love You – Whitney Houston
- 1993 Mr Blobby – Mr Blobby
- 1994 Stay Another Day – East 17
- 1995 Earth Song – Michael Jackson
- 1996 2 Become 1 – The Spice Girls
- 1997 Too Much – The Spice Girls
- 1998 Goodbye – The Spice Girls
- 1999 I Have A Dream/Seasons In The Sun – Westlife
- 2000 Can We Fix it? – Bob The Builder
- 2001 Somethin’ Stupid – Robbie Williams and Nicole Kidman
- 2002 Sound Of The Underground – Girls Aloud
- 2003 Mad World – Gary Jules and Michael Andrews
- 2004 Do They Know It’s Christmas? – Band Aid 20
- 2005 That’s My Goal – Shayne Ward
- 2006 A Moment Like This – Leona Lewis
- 2007 When You Believe – Leon Jackson
- 2008 Hallelujah – Alexandra Burke
- 2009 Killing In The Name – Rage Against The Machine
- 2010 When We Collide – Matt Cardle
- 2011 Wherever You Are – The Military Wives Choir With Gareth Malone
- 2012 He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother – The Justice Collective
- 2013 Skyskraper – Sam Bailey
- 2014 Something I Need – Ben Haenow
- 2015 A Bridge Over You – The Lewisham & Greenwich NHS Choir
- 2016 Rockabye – Clean Bandit
- 2017 Perfect – Ed Sheeran
- 2018 We Built This City – LadBaby
- 2019 I Love Sausage Rolls – LadBaby
- 2020 Don’t Stop Me Eatin’ – LadBaby
- 2021 Sausage Rolls For Everyone (ft Ed Sheeran And Elton John) – Ladbaby
... didn't make it
WIZZARD: I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday (1973)
Charted: No 2 – lost to Slade
PAUL McCARTNEY: Wonderful Christmastime (1979)
Charted: No 6 – Lost to Pink Floyd
WHAM!: Last Christmas (1984)
Charted: No 2 – Lost to Band Aid
THE POGUES (ft KIRSTY MacCOLL): Fairytale Of New York (1987)
Charted: No 2 – lost to Pet Shop Boys
MARIAH CAREY: All I Want For Christmas Is You (1994)
Charted: No 2 – lost to East 17
