Christmas Number One Rewind

Episodes

1. 7

   2010s

   Episode 7 follows the most recent full decade of the Christmas number one battles: the 2010s. The decade saw The X Factor continue where it left off in the 2000s, undeterred by the Rage Against the Machine battle of 2009. Elsewhere, the 2010s saw the return of the charity record, with five of the...

   Dec 9, 2020

   1h 18m
2. 6

   2000s

   Episode 6 travels back to the Christmas number ones of the 2000s, a decade dominated by talent shows and reality TV. After Girls Aloud took on One True Voice in 2002, Simon Cowell saw gold and took over the festive chart for the second half of the decade with his next show The X Factor. However,...

   Dec 4, 2020

   1h 11m
3. 5

   1990s

   Episode 5 is a trip back to the Christmas number ones of the 1990s, the decade of Girl Power and power ballads. Cliff Richard was still around, we said goodbye to a rock icon, Take That were beaten by a bloke in a rubber suit, and the Spice Girls repeated the Beatles’ record. Novelty was back in...

   Nov 28, 2020

   1h 09m
4. 4

   1980s

   Episode 4 takes us back to the 1980s, the era of charity singles, random one-offs and iconic festive records. The decade continued where the ’70s left off, with novelty and one-off successes for grandmas, Italian lovers and a random ’50s re-release. There are also Christmas classics for years to...

   Nov 23, 2020

   1h 09m
5. 3

   1970s

   Episode 3 looks back at the golden era of the Christmas number one: the 1970s. Arguably the decade where the UK’s fascination with the festive chart toppers truly began, it was the decade of glam rock, novelty fun and Christmas anthems. Slade, Mud, Wizzard, Johnny Mathis and Boney M would show…

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   Nov 18, 2020

   1h 05m
6. 2

   1960s

   For episode 2, we travel back for the Christmas number ones of the 1960s. It was the decade of the Beatles’ takeover of the festive charts, plus a couple of oddities and rock and roll favourites. It proved to be the decade that showed that the festive chart was something the biggest artists…

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   Nov 13, 2020

   43m
7. 1

   1950s

   For episode 1, we go back to where it all began: 1952. We first take a look at what came before the UK Singles Chart began, and the Christmas standards we still hear today such as Bing Crosby’s ‘White Christmas’ and ‘Let It Snow’. While the Christmas number one concept didn’t exist for a while…

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   Nov 10, 2020

   37m