Christmas comes early to the U.K. singles chart as perennial hits by Wham and Mariah Carey begin their annual march back up the tally.
While the Beatles’ plunder the record books with “Now And Then” (Apple Corps), which blasts to No. 1 on the Official U.K. Singles Chart, 60 years after their last leader, two holiday classics quietly make their move.
Wham’s “Last Christmas”(via Epic) reenters the Official U.K. Singles Chart at No. 37, while Carey’s “All I Want For Christmas For You” (Columbia) returns at No. 40.
According to the Official Charts Company, this sets a record for the earliest appearance of a Christmas song on the tally, busting the mark established just last year by Carey, when “All I Want For Christmas Is You” reentered the national chart in the third week of November.
Both “Christmas” numbers are former leaders which completed a decades long journey to the top.
“All I Want For Christmas Is You” finally climbed the chart mountain for the first time December 2020, some 26 years after its release, breaking a chart record in the process. Mimi’s holiday hit had spent 70 weeks in the top 40 before claiming the prize; no other song had spent more weeks in the top tier before cracking No. 1.
Wham’s “Last Christmas” saw-in 2021 from the penthouse of the singles chart, completing a 36-year trek – a record for a single to reach No. 1.
The Christmas spirit can be felt on the Official U.K. Albums Chart as Gregory Porter’s Christmas Wish (Decca) debuts at No. 14.
With the floodgates now open, expect the U.K. charts to be awash with Christmas cuts in the weeks ahead.