Over the centuries, many carols have been written and sung at Christmas, but many of the most renowned date back to the Victorian era when the festival really gained ground in Britain.
Today, popular music songs for the season are as well-known as any of the Christmas carols sung by choirs and carollers during the yuletide festival, with bands and singer-singer songwriters crafting Christmas classics of their own.
Read on as we carry out our Christmas countdown of 10 songs you’re sure to hear this year. Love them or hate them, there’s no denying these songs conjure up a host of Christmas memories when they start to play.
1. Wham – Last Christmas
This Christmas tearjerker was a festive hit for George Michael and his band, but despite being one of the best-selling singles in UK history, it didn’t make it to number one for December 25, 1984. That year saw the Band Aid song Do They Know It’s Christmas? in support of Ethiopia take the top spot, but in the spirit of the season of giving, Wham donated all royalties from their song to the famine relief charity.
2. Mariah Carey – All I Want for Christmas is You
The biggest selling modern Christmas song of all time, All I Want for Christmas is You was co-written and produced by Carey and released in 1994. The upbeat seasonal love song features, bell chimes and prominent backup singers that harks back to 1960s girl groups like The Ronettes. In 2011, Carey joined Justin Bieber in a duet, singing the song on his holiday album, and many more artists have covered this contemporary Christmas classic, including Miley Cyrus and Shania Twain.
3. Slade – Merry Xmas Everybody
A Christmas number one for the rock band back in 1973, songwriter Noddy Holder penned this festive anthem to celebrate a traditional British family Christmas. With the UK facing tough economic times, Holder felt both he and the country needed cheering up and wrote in a message of hope for the holidays – “Look to the future now, it’s only just begun”.
4. Aled Jones – Walking in the Air
What could be more magical than this song from the fabulous animation The Snowman? Although the original that accompanied the cartoon of Raymond Briggs Christmas storybook was sung by choirboy Peter Auty, it was Aled Jones who recorded the version popularised on radio and television in 1985. You can bring the beloved characters of the Snowman series into your home and garden in many ways, including acrylic ornaments for indoors and out, and LED lights shaped like the Snowman and his more recent Snowdog companion.
5. Chris Rea – Driving Home for Christmas
What song better evokes that feeling of yearning to get home to family at Christmas than this holiday track from Chris Rea? From thinking of his family’s faces while stuck in traffic, to a shared moment with another driver eager to get home too, the lyrics of this song are always welcome on the car radio when Christmas is upon us.
6. Gwen Stefani – Santa Baby
What list of festive tunes doesn’t have a song about Father Christmas? Ever since 1953 when Eartha Kitt sang it, this tongue-in-cheek letter sung to Santa Claus has been a favourite for female artists, including pop divas Madonna and Kylie Minogue. Stefani joined this Christmas list in 2017 with her rendition asking the man from the North Pole for sports cars, yachts, Tiffany gifts and an engagement ring.
7. Paul McCartney – Wonderful Christmastime
Popular all over the world, this McCartney classic continues to be favoured at Christmas time. Released in 1979, it mentions all the hallmarks of the holidays in Britain from festive glasses raised in cheer, to children’s choirs. It’s estimated that each year this song for the season earns over £300,000 in royalties for Beatle, making it quite a Christmas present!
8. Wizzard – I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday
While pipped to the post by Slade for a Christmas number one in 1973, this sleighride of a song by glam-rock band Wizzard is every bit an equal. A foot-stomping favourite for the festive season written by Ron Wood, the song has also featured in numerous ads and Christmas TV commercials since its original release.
9. The Pogues – Fairytale of New York
Often voted the UK’s favourite Christmas song, this holiday hit from the Pogues saw front-man Shane MacGowan joined by singer Kirsty MacColl for a festive duet. MacGowan claims to have written it out of season while enjoying peanuts and sherry to get in the Christmas spirit and answer a challenge from the band’s producer Elvis Costello that they couldn’t craft a seasonal song. Today, it’s popularly believed to be the most-played track at Christmas of the 21st Century.
10. Frank Sinatra – Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas
No winter wish list of Christmas tunes can be called complete without a song from classic crooner Sinatra. Track number eight on his album “A Jolly Christmas from Frank Sinatra” in 1957, it lives on today as one of the most performed and played holiday songs for the Christmas festival. For the Sinatra version, the tense of the song was changed from future to present and a new line was added, “Hang a shining star upon the highest bough.”
Placing stars atop our trees is a time-honoured tradition and with today’s LED technology, we can even make them twinkle.
You might be buying presents around town on a shopping spree or listening to the radio while you tackle some garden chores this December, but whatever you’re up to, you can be sure you’ll hear these 10 Christmas pop songs playing this year.
While there’s something enchanting about the hush that falls on the world after snow, Christmas wouldn’t be quite as magical without a little festive music for its seasonal soundtrack. If carollers come knocking this year, why not welcome them with a holly ring on your door that light up with twinkly LEDs and a welcome dècoir mat designed for Christmas?
