THE RACE FOR CHRISTMAS Number One
WILL LADBABY EQUAL THE BEATLES’ RECORD?
YOUTUBE sensation Ladbaby is among the favourites for Christmas number one and to equal a record set by the Beatles - despite not announcing any plans to release a song.
After three successive Christmas number ones with, We Built This City On Sausage Rolls (2018), I Love Sausage Rolls (2019) and Don’t Stop Me Eatin’ (2020), the bookies are refusing to rule out Ladbaby topping the charts for a fourth successive year.
But the star, real name Mark Hoyle, is yet to release a song this winter, and has not revealed any intention to do so.
Despite that, the bookies are taking no chances and William Hill - which instituted the now traditional flutter on each year’s festive chart-topper in 1977 - has given Ladbaby an evens chance of being number one on Christmas Day.
If the bookies are right and the public have not yet had their fill of sausage roll-based parody songs, then Ladbaby would equal music legends the Beatles.
Since the charts began in 1952, the Fab Four are the only recording artist to have four UK Christmas number ones.
In 1963, John, Paul, George and Ringo scored their first Christmas number one with I Want To Hold Your Hand.
That was followed up with I Feel Fine in 1964 and the double “A” side Day Tripper and We Can Work It Out, which topped the Christmas charts in 1965.
Tom Jones won the chart battle in 1966, before the Beatles secured their fourth Christmas number one with Hello, Goodbye in 1967.
Paul McCartney also had a Christmas number one in 1977 with Mull of Kintyre, recorded with his post-Beatles band, Wings, making him the only artist to top the charts on five different Christmases.
His former songwriting partner John Lennon just missed out on the honour at Christmas 1972 when Happy Xmas (War Is Over) was just kept off the number one spot by Jimmy Osmond and Long Haired Lover From Liverpool.
Ladbaby and The Spice Girls each topped the Christmas charts for three successive years.
Only two other artists have scored more than one Christmas number one - Queen and Cliff Richard.
Queen did it with the same song, Bohemian Rhapsody, both in 1975 when it was first released, and in 1991, shortly after the death of lead singer Freddie Mercury.
Meanwhile Band Aid have made it to number one three times with Do
They Know It’s Christmas - although each time a new version of the song has been performed by a different collection of stars.
The original Band Aid got to number one at Christmas 1984, Band Aid II achieved the top spot in 1989 and Band Aid 20 in 2004.
Paul McCartney sang on the original Band Aid single and on Band Aid 20, but with collaborating artists only given a line to sing each, he probably didn’t contribute enough to claim a sixth and seventh Christmas number one.
Of songs that are definitely being released in time for this Christmas, Elton John and Ed Sheeran are the current favourites for number one with their collaboration Merry Christmas.
Bookmaker William Hill has Elton and Ed at odds of 4/5 to top the Yuletide charts, after overtaking Ladbaby.
Also in the running are the Have A Word Pod (8/1), Adele (12/1), indie band The Lathams (20/1), Mariah Carey (20/1) and Abba (25/1).
And anyone sick of novelty Christmas songs shouldn’t celebrate yet, even if Ladbaby has had enough of sausage roll-themed hits.
Crazy Frog - also aptly known as “The Annoying Thing “- terrorised the charts in the noughties and is back with a 50-1 shot of reaching number one by Christmas Day this year.