• ROXi poll of 2,000 Brits reveal’s Slade’s 1973 hit ‘Merry Xmas Everybody’ is the most popular Christmas #1 since records began in 1952.
• Mr Blobby’s self-titled 1993 Christmas hit is the most despised in history closely followed by Rolf Harris’ 1969 chart topper ‘Two Little Boys’.
• ROXi’s music entertainment system has all the Christmas #1s to play and sing karaoke to as well as 40 million others, available for £99.95 from buyroxi.com (order by 5pm on 23rd December for Christmas Delivery)
19th December 2019 – With 2019’s Christmas #1 revealed on Friday, a poll of 2,000 Brits commissioned by music entertainment system ROXi and carried out by CensusWide Research* today reveals the TOP 10 Best & Worst Christmas #1’s in history.
BRITS LOVE A BIT OF NODDY AT CHRISTMAS
1973’s ‘Merry Christmas Everybody’ by Slade the UK’s favourite hit. Slade’s hit is most popular with older generations with 21% of over 55s who voted for a Christmas song agreeing it’s the best Christmas chart topper ever. Meanwhile 21% of people in the South West, Scotland and Wales (with 22%) have the most love for the tune. The cities of Cardiff with 26% and Glasgow with 25% are craziest for Noddy Holder’s tune written to cheer up Britain in the wake of the early ‘70’s economic slump and miner’s strike of 1972.
Only the people of Nottingham think Queen’s 1975 Christmas cracker ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ was superior than Slade’s hit with 13% of the city voting for the band. Meanwhile 13% of friends living together as housemates thought Band Aid’s 1984 Christmas classic ‘Do They Know It’s Christmas?’ was the best #1 of Christmas. Ever. Band Aid’s hit is also the only song to make it into the all-time Top 10 list 3 times, with the original 1984 version written by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure in response to the 1983-85 famine in Ethiopia, proving the most popular.
Ed Sheeran’s 2017 chart topping song ‘Perfect’ is the only tune written this century in the UK’s Top 10 Christmas #1 list at #6 on our list with 3% of the vote. The song was penned by Ed about finding love with his then future wife Cherry Seaborn who he’d previously known from his school days.
East 17 also make the Top 10 list with their 1994 hit ‘Stay Another Day’. The band’s songwriter Tony Mortimer has just released a rerecorded version of the song with Waltham Forest Youth Choir 25 years on from its original release.
CHRISTMAS CREATIONS FROM MR BLOBBY AND ROLF HARRIS ARE NATIONS MOST HATED
Children’s TV, it turns out, is responsible for some of the worst Christmas hits ever released. Noel Edmonds’ pink and yellow spotted creation Mr Blobby is the most hated Christmas #1 of all time with his self-titled 1993 hit ‘Mr Blobby’. 18% of people who voted for their worst Christmas #1 in Northern Ireland, Belfast and Nottingham expressed their loathing for the song; a higher rate than anywhere else in the UK. The lowest measure of dislike for the song meanwhile came from 16-24 year olds, a mere 1% of whom hated the song. We can only presume they’re too young have heard it…
Meanwhile, more men (8%) than women (7%) find Rolf Harris’ 1969 hit Two Little Boys the worst Christmas chart topper. The highest levels of dislike to the disgraced Children’s TV entertainer’s hit record comes from the East of England with 11% of people from that area calling it out as their least favourite Christmas #1.
Surprisingly, Harry Belafonte’s 1957 Christmas Number 1 ‘Mary’s Boy Child’ is voted one of the best and also the worst Christmas #1’s ever. Overall ‘Mary’s Boy Child’ attracted more people who thought it was one of their worst Christmas #1’s than those who thought it was one of the top 10 Best Christmas tunes with 16% of those voting for their worst Christmas #1 voting for Belafonte.
Can We Fix It? By Bob The Builder is the most recent song to make it into our Top 10 Worst Christmas #1’s after hitting the top spot in Christmas 2000 and ranking 6th on our worst offender list.
BEST CHRISTMAS #1’s OF ALL TIME:
#1: 1973: ‘Merry Xmas Everybody’ by Slade – 15%
#2: 1975: Bohemian Rhapsody – Queen – 8%
#3: 1984: ‘Do They Know It’s Christmas?’ – Band Aid – 7%
#4: 1957: ‘Mary’s Boy Child’ – Harry Belafonte – 4%
#5: 1985: ‘Merry Christmas Everyone’ – Shakin’ Stevens – 4%
#6: 2017: ‘Perfect’ – Ed Sheeran – 3%
#7: 1994: ‘Stay Another Day’ – East 17 – 3%
#8: 2004: ‘Do They Know It’s Christmas?’ – Band Aid 20 – 3%
#9: 1959: ‘What Do You Want To Make Those Eyes At Me For?’ – Emile Ford & The Checkmates – 2%
#10: 1989: Do They Know It’s Christmas?- Band Aid II – 2%
WORST CHRISTMAS #1’s OF ALL TIME:
#1: 1993: ‘Mr Blobby’ – Mr Blobby – 9%
#2: 1969: ‘Two Little Boys’ – Rolf Harris – 8%
#3: 1956: ‘Just Walkin’ In The Rain’ – Johnnie Ray – 5%
#4: 1957: ‘Mary’s Boy Child’ – Harry Belafonte – 5%
#5: 1960: ‘I Love You’ – Cliff Richard & The Shadows – 4%
#6: 2000: ‘Can We Fix It?’ – Bob The Builder – 4%
#7: 1972: ‘Long Haired Lover From Liverpool’ – Jimmy Osmond – 3%
#8: 1961: ‘Moon River’ – Danny Williams – 3%
#9: 1971: ‘Ernie (The Fastest Milkman In The West)’ – Benny Hill – 3%
#10: 1958: ‘It’s Only Make Believe’ – Conway Twitty – 3%
Rob Lewis said: “Whether you like belting out Bohemian Rhapsody on the karaoke or opening presents on Christmas morning to ‘Do They Know It’s Christmas’ ROXi’s music entertainment system has all the Christmas #1s to play and sing along to as well as 40 million others. ROXi is the perfect way to get households listening to music, singing karaoke, dancing and playing music games together this Christmastime.”
With unlimited music access, and ROXi’s unique Sing With The Stars feature, where you can duet with 1000’s of famous artists, ROXi now includes 1000’s of traditional Karaoke tracks, Name That Song music games, Worldwide Radio access and a huge picture gallery delivering stunning artwork on your TV whilst the music plays. Priced at just £99.95 including a free 1-Year Premium Music Pass, ROXi is the best value music entertainment experience you can buy this Christmas.
Available now from buyroxi.com.
*CensusWide Research Poll commissioned by ROXi in November 2019. Sample: 2,004 UK internet users.
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Notes to Editors:
About ROXi
ROXi is the innovative British upstart brand creating unique music products, content and services focused on shared music entertainment experiences for the family home. An antidote to small screen and social media addiction in the family home, ROXi’s innovative ‘made for TV’ music entertainment system provides Unlimited Music with ad free streaming access to over 40 million songs, 1000’s of karaoke tracks, 1,000’s of Sing with The Stars tracks where you singalong to the original song with the artist, Name The Song music trivia games, access to over 10,000 Worldwide Radio stations, and a therapeutic Sound Machine for yoga and meditation. www.buyroxi.com
Contact
Tim Hadley – Communications Director – ROXi
tim.hadley@myroxi.com +447976410001
www.buyroxi.com